German colonial administration was headed by a governor and combined direct coercion with the use of selected traditional rulers as agents.
Administration
The governor was the supreme colonial authority. Officials supervised districts, courts, taxation, labour and public works.
Policies
- Paternalism treated colonial subjects as people to be controlled and guided by the colonial state.
- Indirect rule used traditional rulers to collect taxes, organize labour and enforce orders.
- Military force was used against communities that resisted.
Economic Development
- Plantations produced export crops such as cocoa, coffee, bananas and rubber.
- Roads, bridges, railways and ports supported extraction and trade.
- Commercial companies gained land and labour for colonial production.
Effects
Some infrastructure and commercial activities expanded, but development primarily served colonial interests and involved forced labour, land alienation and social disruption.
