German colonies

German colonies throughout history:      German Empire      Colonies of the German Empire      Prussian-Brandenburg colonies      Klein-Venedig ("Little Venice")

Arrival of the Brandenburgers in West Africa, 1682; in the foreground Major von der Groeben

This is a list of former German colonies (German: Deutsche Kolonien) and protectorates (German: Schutzgebiete) established by Brandenburg-Prussia, the Habsburg Monarchy, and the German Empire.

Brandenburg–Prussian colonies

Africa expeditions, here a German one, relied on well-payed bearers (Träger), sometimes hundreds at a time.

Schutztruppe uniform with Schutztruppenhut (above) and Tropenhelm (below)

Loyal and brave Askari march to battle for Imperial Germany, the Kaiser and General von Lettow-Vorbeck, the "Lion of Africa" (German: Löwe von Afrika), in German East Africa.

These were colonies unsuccessfully settled by Brandenburg-Prussia (part of the Holy Roman Empire), since 1701 Kingdom of Prussia, and before the foundation of the German Empire in 1871.

Africa

• Groß Friedrichsburg (in Ghana), 1683–1718
• Arguin (in Mauritania), 1685–1721
• Whydah (in present Bénin), circa 1700
  • this Brandenburg 'colony' was just a minor point of support, a few dwellings at a site co-inhabited by British and Dutch

North America

These territories were held briefly under lease or occupation during the early European colonizations of the New World:

• Saint Thomas. Leased by Brandenburg from the Danish West India Company, 1685–1720.
• Island of Crabs (Krabbeninsel in German) (Caribbean, now US), Brandenburg annexation in the Danish West Indies, 1689–1693
• Tertholen (Caribbean), 1696. Occupation.

Habsburg Monarchy colonies

These were colonies of the Habsburg Monarchy (part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation), since 1804 Austrian Empire, since 1867 Austria-Hungary:

• Banquibazar & Cabelon (1719/23–1744/50)
• Nicobar islands (1778–1783)
• Tientsin concession (1901–1917)

Imperial German colonies

German officers in drill formation with native colonial troops (Reichsneger) at the German Government Station, Ebolowa, German Kamerun, West Africa. Ca. 1915.

These are colonies settled by and controlled by the German Empire from 1884 to 1919 which constituted the German Colonial Empire and were taken from Germany under the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

Africa

The following were German African protectorates:

• German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika):
  • Tanganyika. In 1922 became a League of Nations mandate under the United Kingdom. In 1961 became independent and in 1964 joined with former British protectorate of the sultanate of Zanzibar to form present-day Tanzania
  • Ruanda-Urundi (1885–1917) – present-day Rwanda and Burundi after Belgian mandate period
  • Wituland (1885–1890) – since 1890 in Kenya
  • Kionga Triangle – since 1920 (earlier occupied) in Portuguese Mozambique
• German South West Africa (1884–1915/1919; Deutsch-Südwestafrika) – present-day Namibia (except then-British Walvis Bay) and part of Botswana (Südrand des Caprivi-Zipfels)
  • See also: Hottentot War
• German West Africa (Deutsch-Westafrika) – existed as one unit only for two or three years, then split into two colonies due to distances:
  • Kamerun (1884–1914) – after World War I, separated into
    • a British part, Cameroons, later split in half, with one part joining Nigeria and the other becoming part of modern Cameroon.
      • Kamerun, Nigeria-Ostteil, Tschad-Südwestteil, Zentralafrikanische Republik-Westteil, Republik Kongo-Nordostteil, Gabun-Nordteil
    • a French Cameroun, which became present Cameroon.
  • Togoland (1884–1914) – after World War I it separated into two :
    • a British part (Ghana-Westteil), which joined Ghana
    • a French part, which became Togo republic, because of the Treaty of Versailles in World War 1

Pacific

These were German colonies in the Pacific:

• German New Guinea (Deutsch-Neuguinea) (1884–1914/1919) and Micronesia (later incorporated into the German New Guinea)
  • Kaiser-Wilhelmsland
  • Bismarck Archipelago (Bismarck-Archipel)
  • German Solomon Islands or Northern Solomon Islands (Salomonen or Nördliche Salomon-Inseln) (1885–1899)
  • Bougainville Island (Bougainville-Insel) (1888–1919)
  • Nauru (1888–1919)
  • Marshall Islands (Marschall-Inseln) (1885–1919)
  • Mariana Islands (Marianen) (1899–1919) – present-day Northern Mariana Islands
  • Caroline Islands (Karolinen) (1899–1919) – present-day Federated States of Micronesia and Palau
• German Samoa (Deutsch-Samoa) (1899–1914) – present-day Samoa

China

German concessions in China, leased to it by the Imperial Qing Dynasty:

• Kiautschou Territory and Tsingtau (1898–1919)
  • Occupied by Japan from Nov 1914. Returned to China by them in 1922.
• Certain rights only in Chefoo (c1870–1917)
  • today called Yantai.

See also

• Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck
• Hermann Detzner

Further reading

• Dr. Heinrich Schnee (de):
  • German Colonization - Past & Future – The Truth About the German Colonies, London 1926 (PDF; at wintersonnenwende.com/)
  • Unsere Kolonien (PDF)
  • Die koloniale Schuldlüge, Knorr & Hirth, München 1924 (HTML)
  • Die deutschen Kolonien vor, in und nach dem Kriege, Quelle und Meyer, Leipzig 1935
• Prof. Bruce Gilley: In Defense of German Colonialism – And How Its Critics Empowered Nazis, Communists, and the Enemies of the West, 2019
  • German edition: Verteidigung des deutschen Kolonialismus, 2021
  • See also Colonialism Reconsidered from Jesse Russell, 2022