The German colonies standard stamp issue was a view of the Kaiser’s yacht. The hope was he would come for them in times of trouble. In 1914 Kaiser Wilhelm announced he would rather turn Berlin over to the Russians than Kiautschou over to the Japanese. Inspired by the Kaiser’s words the colonists mounted a defense of the colony, despite being outnumbered 10-1 and no help coming from Germany, certainly not the Kaiser’s yacht. The Kaiser ended up turning over Kiautschou to Japan. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
There was a lot of second thoughts about maintaining far off colonies as was being promoted by German merchants. One proponent was Kaiser Wilhelm. Perhaps given this his yacht instead of his portrait or a battleship should have given colonists pause. Most of the colonies fell at the beginning of World War I without a fight.
Todays stamp is issue A3 a three cent stamp issued by the German naval colony at Kiautschau in 1905. There is an earlier version of the issue denominated in pfennig and marks. This was a ten stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.75 used.
In the 1890s, much mapmaking was being carried out by Germans hoping to find a German equivalent of Hong Kong. Germans had both the desire to create a model colony and the need for a coaling station for Germany’s far eastern naval presence. No target was finalized when two German priests in Kiatschou were killed in their beds by 20 armed members of the Chinese Big Swords Society. The Big Swords Society were local units of peasant farmers who fought back against looters, bandits, tax collectors, and apparently missionaries. The group’s members believed themselves immune to bullets based on the magic of their leaders. The far east German naval commander out of Shanghai wired Berlin and suggested taking advantage of the provocation and taking Kiautschou. He was told to sail the fleet immediately. Germany landed 700 rifle armed sailors and faced no opposition from the much more numerous Chinese defenders. The morning they landed and secured the place in two hours they received a further wire telling them not to land but wait for negotiations with China. They wired back saying they had already taken the city and made a public declaration. Berlin told them to then stay and negotiated from strength a Hong Kong style 99 year lease going till 1997.
Germans set out to build their ideal colony under a naval administration. A railway was built to the nearest coal mine that Germany owned. A new city plan was devised and then expanded in 1910. By the time of Sun Yat-sen’s visit in 1912. The colony had the highest proportion of schools and students in China. He remarked that the colony was a model for China’s future.
When war came in 1914, the German far east fleet was mostly at sea and did not return to the colony out of fear of being bottled up. Japan declared war on Germany and began a blockade. They landed 25,000 troops that were backed up by 1000 British and 500 Sihks. There were several friendly fire incidents until the Japanese gave the British Japan style raincoats to wear. The blockade and siege lasted 2 months until the Germans gave up. On their way to be prisoners of war in Japan, they spat at the British that fought alongside the Japanese. The Treaty of Berlin from 1885 stated that Europeans should stick together in far off colonies no matter political differences in Europe.
Japan only held the colony until 1922 until it was returned to China under pressure from the USA. The Japanese were back during World War II. Post war for a few years the American Pacific fleet was based in what was now called Qingdao, using the old German port facilities. They left in 1948. The city now has more than 8 million people. If you are wondering what ever happened to the Big Sword Society. After expending much effort to convert them to the communist cause, in 1953 the government ordered the remnants liquidated. There have been small attempts to relaunch the societies using overseas Chinese who had kept up the traditions.
Well my drink is empty, and so I will have to wait until there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.