HINTERLAND (

See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

German for " the

See also:

• LAND

land behind ")  , the region lying behind a coast or river line, or a country dependent for trade or commerce on any other region . In the purely physical sense " interior " on " back country " is more commonly used, but the word has gained a distinct political significance . It first came into prominence during 1883–1885, when Germany insisted that she had a right to exercise jurisdiction in the territory behind those parts of the African coast that she had occupied . The " doctrine of the hinterland " was that the possessor of the littoral was entitled to as much of the back country as geographically, economically or politically was dependent upon the coast lands, a doctrine which, in the space of ten years, led to the partition of Africa between various European powers .