{{Short description|German military officer and colonial administrator}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Friedrich von Schele | order = 3rd Reichskommissar of German East Africa | predecessor = Julius von Soden | successor = Hermann Wissmann | image = Friedrich von Schele.png | term_start = 15 September 1893 | term_end = 25 April 1895 | birth_date = 15 September 1847 | death_date = 20 July 1904 | birth_place = Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia | death_place = Berlin, Prussia, German Empire | branch = {{army|Prussia}} | allegiance = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Prussia}} Kingdom of Prussia (1863–1871)<br/>{{flagicon|German Empire}} German Empire (1871–1904) | service_years = 1863–1904 | battles = Austro-Prussian War<br/>Franco-Prussian War<br/>Wahehe rebellion | rank = Generalleutnant | awards = Pour le Merite | honorific_prefix = Freiherr | deputy = Lothar von Trotha }}
'''Friedrich Rabod Freiherr{{efn|{{German title|Freiherr}}}} von Schele''' (15 September 1847 – 20 July 1904) was a German military officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of German East Africa from 1893 to 1895.
== Early life and career == Friedrich was born in Berlin to Werner Von Schele (1814–1869) and Marie Eichhorn (1822–1861).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Friedrich Freiherr von Scheele (Schele) – Personen in Deutsch-Ostafrika |url=https://www.doa-pdb.de/wiki/Friedrich_Freiherr_von_Scheele_(Schele) |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=www.doa-pdb.de}}</ref> He joined the officer corps of the Prussian Army in 1865 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Von Schele first saw combat during the Austro-Prussian War as an officer in the cavalry. During the Franco-Prussian War, von Schele was appointed Deputy Adjutant of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Brigade, and served as an orderly officer to Prince Albert of Prussia. In 1877, von Schele was promoted to Rittmeister of the 2nd Hanoverian Dragoons.<ref name=":1" />
By 1891, von Schele had attained the rank of major and was appointed head of the cavalry department in the Ministry of War.
== Colonial service == In 1892, von Schele was promoted to colonel, and was assigned commander of the ''Schutztruppe'' in German East Africa, beginning a gradual conquest of the East African interior. He crushed a revolt by the Nyamwezi under chief Isike,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Iliffe |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m0dalboHfXgC&q=schele&pg=PA97 |title=A Modern History of Tanganyika |date=1979-05-10 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-29611-3 |language=en}}</ref> before leading a campaign against Chaga king Mangi Meli, capturing the king's base at Moshi in Kilimanjaro.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Beachey |first=R. W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSS6wgEACAAJ |title=A history of east africa, 1592-1902 |date=1996 |publisher=Tauris Academic Studies |language=it}}</ref> In September 1893, Schele was appointed Reichskommissar of the colony.
Upon his appointment as governor, Schele quickly began a pacification campaign against the Mbunga tribe, which had been fighting a rebellion against German rule since 1889. Von Schele led the ''Schutztruppe'' in an expedition along the Rufiji River in search of Mbunga chieftain Lubiki-w-mtu, during which German troops torched and looted villages and killed around 250 Mbunga.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boasblogs » Pompeii in Africa |url=https://boasblogs.org/dcntr/pompeii-in-africa/ |access-date=2023-02-08 |language=en}}</ref> Lubiki-w-mtu was eventually captured and was hanged in front of his own subjects on 20 December 1893, after which von Schele declared that all the Mbunga were now subjects of Wilhelm II, and any further "marauding, plundering or slaving" by the Mbunga would be prohibited.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pizzo |first=David |title="To Devour the Land of Mkwawa": Colonial Violence and the German-Hehe War in East Africa c. 1884-1914 |url=https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/downloads/df65v7991?locale=en}}</ref>
In March 1894, Schele's troops suppressed an uprising led by slave trader Bwana Heri, who had previously rebelled against the Germans during the Abushiri revolt three years earlier.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Finke |first=Jens |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=16--sm53nX4C&dq=bwana+heri&pg=PA154 |title=Tanzania |date=2003 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=978-1-85828-783-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Macke |first=Alberta |date=July 1970 |title=Colonialism in Africa, 1870–1960, Vol. I, The History and Politics of Colonialism, 1870–1914 edited by L. H. Gann and Peter Duignan Cambridge University Press. 1969. Pp. xi+532. 100s. $17.50. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-modern-african-studies/article/abs/colonialism-in-africa-18701960-vol-i-the-history-and-politics-of-colonialism-18701914-edited-by-l-h-gann-and-peter-duignan-cambridge-university-press-1969-pp-xi532-100s-1750/4CF9EAD02CE36F165A693FB61C509C28 |journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies |language=en |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=316–318 |doi=10.1017/S0022278X00019789 |s2cid=154437983 |issn=1469-7777|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In October of that year, von Schele initiated a new military campaign against the Hehe tribe and their leader, Chief Mkwawa. The ''Schutztruppe'' attacked and took Mkwawa's stone fortress at Kalenga on 28 October, though were unable to capture the chief, who had escaped during the attack.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Log into Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/login.php?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Flegacy%2Fnotes%2F186207184787217%2F |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=Facebook |language=en}}</ref> Nonetheless, von Schele was awarded the Pour le Mérite, the highest order of merit in the Imperial German army, on 20 November 1894 for his successful suppression of the Hehe.<ref name="PLM">{{Cite book |last=Boochs |first=Wolfgang |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M4slEAAAQBAJ&dq=Friedrich+von+Schele&pg=PA202 |title=Deutsche Kolonien in Afrika: Afrikaner unter deutscher Flagge |date=2021-03-24 |publisher=Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-7534-3256-4 |language=de}}</ref>
== Later life and death == Despite his successes, Schele's brutal methods in quelling revolts were met with harsh criticism from the German government. Furthermore, Schele's policies and campaigns were often at odds with the Imperial Colonial Office, and as a result he often clashed with civilian administrators. Eventually, in April 1895, von Schele resigned from his post in protest.<ref name=":2" /> Following his resignation, Schele returned to Berlin, where he became an aide-de-camp to Wilhelm II.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Röhl |first=John C. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F-KGQYUc5AEC&dq=Schele+Ostafrika&pg=PA817 |title=Wilhelm II: der Aufbau der persönlichen Monarchie, 1888-1900 |date=2001 |publisher=C.H.Beck |isbn=978-3-406-48229-8 |language=de}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Friedrich Freiherr von Schele |url=http://prussianmachine.com/prussia/schele.htm |access-date=2023-02-08 |website=prussianmachine.com}}</ref> He then served as the military governor of Mainz before being discharged from the army for medical reasons in May 1904.
Schele was married to Emma Clothilde Wilhelmine von Hammerstein (1855–1918). They had one daughter, Marie Agnes. Schele died in Berlin on 20 July 1904, aged 56.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1847-09-15 |title=Friedrich Richard Frhr. von Schele |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Friedrich-Richard-Frhr-von-Schele/6000000090312800114 |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=geni_family_tree |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Honours and awards== * {{flagicon image|Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg}} Kingdom of Prussia:<ref name="rangliste">{{citation|title=Rangliste de Königlich Preußischen Armee|year=1904|chapter=Militärisches Gefolge Seiner Majestät des Kaisers und Königs|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062308245&seq=551 521]|location=Berlin|publisher=Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn|language=German|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref> ** Knight of the Royal Order of the Crown, 4th Class with Swords, ''20 September 1866'';<ref name="prus1">{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste|volume=1|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021|pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&seq=455 455], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&seq=831 797]|language=German|location=Berlin|publisher=Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei|year=1886|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref> 2nd Class with Star, ''10 June 1899'' ** Iron Cross (1870), 2nd Class ** Service Award Cross ** Knight of the Order of the Red Eagle, 4th Class, ''7 September 1881'';<ref name="prus1"/> 3rd Class with Bow and Swords, ''1893''; 2nd Class with Oak leaves and Swords on Ring, ''15 September 1898''; with Crown, ''1899''; with Star and Swords on Ring, ''18 January 1902'';<ref name="prus2">{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.)|volume=1|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015025921423&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015025921423&seq=627 11], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015025921423&seq=272 16]|language=German|location=Berlin|publisher=Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei|year=1895|chapter=Rother Adler-orden|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref> 1st Class, ''1904'' ** Knight of the Pour le Mérite (military), ''20 November 1894''<ref name="PLM"/> * {{flag|Baden}}: Grand Cross of the Order of the Zähringer Lion<ref name="rangliste"/> * {{flag|Württemberg}}: Commander of the Friedrich Order, 1st Class<ref name="rangliste"/> * {{flag|Austria-Hungary}}: Commander of the Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph, with Star<ref name="rangliste"/> * {{flag|Russian Empire}}: Knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir, 4th Class<ref name="rangliste"/>
== Bibliography == * Heinrich Schnee (Hrsg.): ''Deutsches Kolonial-Lexikon.'' Band 3, Leipzig 1920, S. 262. * ''Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Freiherrlichen Häuser. 1939.'' 89. Jg. Justus Perthes, Gotha 1938. Zugleich Adelsmatrikel der Deutschen Adelsgenossenschaft. * Kurt von Priesdorff: ''Soldatisches Führertum.'' Band 10, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, o. O. [Hamburg], o. J. [1942], DNB 986919810, S. 267–269, Nr. 3208. * Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: ''Die Ritter des Ordens Pour le Mérite des I. Weltkriegs.'' Band 3: ''P–Z.'' Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2011, {{ISBN|3-7648-2586-3}}, S. 195–197.
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schele, Friedrich von}} Category:1847 births Category:1904 deaths Category:Commanders of the Order of Franz Joseph Category:German mass murderers Category:German military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Category:German war criminals Category:Governors of German East Africa Category:Lieutenant generals of Prussia Category:People from Berlin Category:Prussian people of the Austro-Prussian War Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1870), 2nd class Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Category:Schutztruppe personnel