Carl Georg Eduard Friederici (28 January 1866 – 15 April 1947) was a German ethnologist. He wrote extensively on the customs and language of peoples affected by European colonization in America and Oceania.
Life
Carl Georg Eduard Friederici was born on 28 January 1866 in
Stettin
Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...
. His father, Carl Friederici (1832–83), was a wine wholesaler.
His mother was Emilie Schultze (1836–1901), daughter of a baker.
He made his career in the army, but from an early age was interested in the history and peoples of foreign lands.
In 1893–94 he took leave and traveled in Spain and North Africa.
Friederici was the military attaché at the German embassy in Washington from 1894 to 1895, and took the opportunity to travel through the United States, Cuba and Canada and to conduct research in the libraries of
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
Washington, D.C.
His 1900 ''Indianer und Anglo-Amerikaner'' (''Indians and Anglo-Americans'') described the history and differences in treatment of the Indians in the United States and Canada.
A reviewer wrote, "The author shows close familiarity with the literature of the subject, and every statement is substantiated by authoritative reference."
In 1900 Friederici campaigned in China during the
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...
.
He was a captain and company commander when he left the Prussian army in September 1903.
He then devoted himself to the study of ethnology, history and geography in
Tübingen
Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...
,
Göttingen
Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...
and
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
.
He received a PhD from Leipzig.
In 1908 the Imperial Colonial Office sent Friederici and
Karl Sapper to the Pacific.
They studied the
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about .
History
The first inhabitants of the archipela ...
in 1908–09.
In 1909 Friederici was head of an expedition in
German New Guinea
German New Guinea () consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups, and was part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , became a German protectorate in 188 ...
and in the English and French possessions of the Pacific.
In 1909–10 he made another research trip to German and
Dutch New Guinea.
He worked on his findings for several years, but was called back to military service with the outbreak of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
(1914–18).
After being discharged he moved to
Ahrensburg, Holstein where he built a large library on the history of exploration of America and Oceania.
He continued his studies until his death on 15 April 1947 in Ahrensburg.
Work
Friederici researched the history of exploration from old sources. He also undertook the comparative study of native languages, particularly those affected by European colonization.
He used his military knowledge in his many writings on weapons and war methods of foreign nations.
His publications included:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friederici, Carl Georg Eduard
1866 births
1947 deaths
German ethnologists