Julius Scharlach was a Hamburg lawyer, businessman and a prominent figure in the colonial history of Germany in the late 19th and early 20th century. He was a member of the Colonial Council

Colonial Council

The Colonial Council was an advisory body of the Government of Germany that existed from 1890 to 1907 again from 1911 to 1913. It advised the Imperial Colonial Office, a part of the Foreign Office, on political and economic matters relevant to the German colonies in Africa and around the world. Its...

, and founded the Verein für das Deutschtum im Ausland (VDA).

Scharlach got a degree in law from the University of Göttingen, where he became a member of Corps Hannovera Göttingen

Corps Hannovera Göttingen

thumb|Bismarck 1836The Corps Hannovera Göttingen is one of the oldest German Student Corps, a Studentenverbindung or student corporation founded 18 January 1809 at the Georg August University of Göttingen by students like Georg Kloss. The name was chosen because the founders had their home...

. As a lawyer, he defended the dismissed Governor of German East Africa

German East Africa

German East Africa was a German colony in East Africa, which included what are now :Burundi, :Rwanda and Tanganyika . Its area was , nearly three times the size of Germany today....

, Carl Peters. As the lawyer of the Dynamit Nobel company, he became acquainted with leading financial circles in the United Kingdom, and with British colonialists, and between 1905 and 1908 he cooperated extensively with Cecil Rhodes, aiming at preventing conflict between Germany and the United Kingdom. Scharlach had substantial business interests in the German colonies, notably in German South West Africa and Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

. He founded the Gesellschaft Süd-Kamerun, the South West Africa Company and the Otavi Minen- und Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft.

In 1902 Scharlach demanded for German Empire

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 to create forced labour in its colonies stating: But culture is impossible without work and for that reason, the native is obliged to work from the very first day of occupation by whites. I am not afraid to state that introducing compulsory labour for natives is a moral obligation toward the latter

A river in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 was named in his honour by German settlers.

His son Otto Scharlach was also a corporate lawyer and took over the Scharlach law firm.

Literature

• Deutsches Koloniallexikon.