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Kamerun was an African
colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
of the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's
Republic of Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...
. Kamerun also included northern parts of
Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
and the Congo with western parts of the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
, southwestern parts of
Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
and far eastern parts of
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.


History


Years preceding colonization (1868–1883)

The first German trading post in the Duala area on the Kamerun River
delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...
was established in 1868 by the
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
trading company . The firm's primary agent in
Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
, Johannes Thormählen, expanded activities to the Kamerun River delta. In 1874, together with the Woermann agent in
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
, Wilhelm Jantzen, the two merchants founded their own company,
Jantzen & Thormählen Jantzen & Thormählen was a German firm based in Hamburg that was established to exploit the resources of Cameroon. The firm's commercial and political influence was a major factor in the establishment of the colony of Kamerun in 1884. Coastal ...
there. Both of these West Africa houses expanded into shipping with their own sailing ships and steamers and inaugurated scheduled passenger and freight service between Hamburg and Duala. These companies and others obtained extensive acreage from local chiefs and began systematic
plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
operations, including bananas. The Cameroon territory was under the informal control of the British Empire throughout the years preceding 1884, with substantial British trading operations as well. Eventually, these companies would begin agitating for royal protection. By 1884,
Adolph Woermann Adolph Woermann (10 December 1847 in Hamburg – 4 May 1911 in the Grönwohld-Hof near Trittau) was a German merchant, shipowner and politician, who was also instrumental in the establishment of German colonies in Africa. In his time he was the ...
, as spokesman for all West African companies, petitioned the imperial foreign office for "protection" by the German Empire. This, among a number of other factors, led to Imperial Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...
approving the establishment of a colony.


Colonial goals and motivation

For many years prior to the 1880's, Bismarck had resisted the idea of colonial ventures in Africa. This was primarily due to Bismarck's focus on shoring up German interests in Europe itself, especially given the lack of a military infrastructure able to protect colonial interests. Moreover, Germany had no need for the resources that a colony might provide, being largely self sufficient, so a colony would only function as an economic drain. This perspective would change in the early 1880s, due to a variety of internal pressures. The two key factors motivating this change were pressure from economic interests in Germany, and concerns about missing out on what would later be called the Scramble for Africa. On the political side, colonies became a point of national pride, as Germans saw that other nations had colonies, and thought they should too as a matter of national prestige. Several government officials took this stance, and it seemed to enjoy public support as well. On the commercial side, the companies already operating in Cameroon (represented by the likes of Adolph Woermann) wanted the protection and support an official Germany colony would provide, and many German producers sought new markets for their excess goods. These pressures would eventually culminate in Bismarck allowing the establishment of a Cameroonian colony, among others.


Initial colonization (1884–1889/90)

The official beginning of the German "Protectorate of Cameroon" was on 17 August 1884.
Gustav Nachtigal Gustav Nachtigal (; born 23 February 1834 – 20 April 1885) was a German military surgeon and explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire's consul-general for Tunisia and Commissioner for West Africa. His missio ...
had arrived in Duala in July and negotiated a treaty with a number of rulers local to the region around Duala, at that time the center of Germany's trading operations. From there, he would go on to other parts of Cameroon, securing further treaties with a number of tribes of the regions around the rivers, where trade was already well established. This would establish a trend of using treaties as one method of expanding German control. As mentioned above, one of the primary motivations for the colony was German corporations seeking to expand their economic interests in Cameroon. Bismarck, being aware of this fact and concerned about the substantial costs of a directly administered colony, opted to instead grant the companies already involved in Cameroon a "Chartered" status. As such, initial government fell to large German trading companies and concession companies who had already established themselves in the colony. Eventually, however, it was revealed that the companies were not performing their administrative duties very well. A variety of factors contributed to their failure, but foremost among them were ongoing conflicts with local traders as the traders began to move further inland. This got bad enough that it necessitated the German government stepping in and officially taking over.


Expansionary era of colonization (1890–1906)

From thereon out the administration of the colonies would be at the hands of the German administrators. Regardless, the focus of the colony remained the same: to support the plantation industry and the trade of the German companies. As such, this time saw major expansion in the agricultural industry, and efforts were taken to expand further into the landlocked areas of Cameroon to better trade opportunities and German access to the African interior. The most notable of the German governors, and the man who would come to define the German legacy in Cameroon, would be Jesko Von Puttkammer, who governed from 1895–1906 (and for a few shorter times before). It was Puttkammer who began the German behaviors that lend them a reputation of brutality and harshness as colonizers. During his time, he oversaw a number of military campaigns against local peoples like the Bali, forcing those who rebuffed German attempts at a "treaty" that supposedly justified German expansion. Oftentimes, he would not act directly against these people, instead relying on empowering other rival local powers and establishing them as "protected by Germany" and arming them. These groups would then use their newfound power and armaments to conquer dissenting peoples, without the Germans themselves actually ever getting involved. When the Germans did become involved, however, it was brutal, often going out of their way to punish those who surrendered to them if their leader still refused, and taking a tithe of people from conquered peoples as essentially slaves, though they did not call them such. This leads into the second prominent feature of Puttkamer's governorship, his expansion and support for the plantations. This became a problem, as the plantations had more fields than they did workers, so there was a labor shortage. To address this, Puttkamer instituted the "man tithes" mentioned above, in addition to just taking people whenever they conquered new territories or had to put down a rebellion. These people would then be made to do harsh forced labor, with extremely high rates of death. Extreme forms of discipline were practiced too, including the cutting of hands, genitals, gouging of eyes and decapitations. Severed limbs were often collected and shown to local authorities as proof of death. These practices, which continued even after Puttkammer retired from his position, would define the German colonial legacy.


Final years (1907–1916)

After Puttkamer left his position, aggressive expansion was less common (though more territory would be added via diplomatic means), and the colony began to focus more on development. With subsidies from the imperial treasury, the colony built two rail lines from the port city of Duala to bring agricultural products to market. The Northern line extended to the
Manenguba Mount Muanenguba (also spelled Manenguba or Mwanenguba) is a volcano in the Southwest Province of Cameroon. The Manenguba shrew and endemic vegetal species are native to the mountain. The area is featured in the documentary ''The Mists of Mwanengu ...
mountains, and the mainline went to Makak on the river
Nyong The Nyong (formerly german: Yong) is a river in Cameroon. The river flows approximately to empty into the Gulf of Guinea. Course The Nyong originates east of the town of Abong-Mbang, where the northern rain forest feeds it. The river's leng ...
. An extensive postal and telegraph system and a river navigation network with government ships connected the coast to the interior. The Cameroon protectorate was enlarged with
New Cameroon Neukamerun was the name of Central African territories ceded by the Third French Republic to the German Empire in 1911. Upon taking office in 1907, Theodor Seitz, governor of Kamerun, advocated the acquisition of territories from the French Con ...
(German: Neukamerun) in 1911 as part of the settlement of the
Agadir Crisis The Agadir Crisis, Agadir Incident, or Second Moroccan Crisis was a brief crisis sparked by the deployment of a substantial force of French troops in the interior of Morocco in April 1911 and the deployment of the German gunboat to Agadir, a ...
, resolved by the
Treaty of Fez The Treaty of Fes ( ar, معاهدة فاس, ), officially the Treaty Concluded Between France and Morocco on 30 March 1912, for the Organization of the French Protectorate in the Sherifien Empire (), was a treaty signed by Sultan Abd al-Hafid o ...
.


Loss of Cameroon as a colony

At the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, French,
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
and
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
troops invaded the German colony in 1914 and fully occupied it during the Kamerun campaign. Following Germany's defeat, the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
divided the territory into two League of Nations mandates (Class B) under the administration of the United Kingdom and France.
French Cameroon French Cameroon or French Cameroons (french: link=no, Cameroun) was a French mandate territory in Central Africa. It now forms part of the independent country of Cameroon. History Beginnings The area of present-day Cameroon came under Germ ...
and part of
British Cameroon British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of N ...
reunified in 1961 to form present-day
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
. Notably, this did not end German involvement in Cameroon, as many former German plantation owners bought their plantations back in the 1920s and 30s. It would take until World War II before Germany was "fully out" of Cameroon.


Gallery

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 137-003056, Kamerun, Deutscher Landvermesser.jpg, German surveyor in Kamerun, 1884 File:Bundesarchiv Bild 163-161, Kamerun, Duala, Polizeitruppe.jpg, Policemen at Duala on the Kaiser's birthday, 1901 File:Bundesarchiv Bild 137-034473, Kamerun, bei Tiko, Bananen-Verladung.jpg, Bananas being loaded for export to Germany, 1912


Governors


Planned symbols for Kamerun

In 1914 a series of drafts were made for proposed Coat of Arms and Flags for the
German Colonies German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
. However,
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
broke out before the designs were finished and implemented and the symbols were never actually used.
Flag of Deutsch-Kamerun.svg, Proposed flag Proposed Coat of Arms Kamerun 1914.svg, Proposed coat of arms


See also

*
Elo Sambo Elo Sambo (1885-1933) was a Cameroonian who served in the Imperial German Army in World War I, notable for being one of very few Africans to do so. He served as the kettle drummer in the Life Guard Hussars of Potsdam (1907–18) and later the 4th C ...
*
German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
*
German South West Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...
*
German West African Company The German West African Company, in German Deutsch-Westafrikanische Gesellschaft / Compagnie, was a German chartered company, founded in 1885. It exploited the two German protectorates in German West Africa (Togo and Cameroon) but did not actually ...
* History of Cameroon * Index: German colonisation in Africa *
Iwindo Iwindo was a district within the German colony of German Cameroon, Kamerun, lying along the Ivindo River, presently in Gabon. Most of it was part of Neukamerun, a territory ceded by France to Germany as a result of the 1911 Morocco–Congo Treaty ...
* Kamerun Campaign *
New Cameroon Neukamerun was the name of Central African territories ceded by the Third French Republic to the German Empire in 1911. Upon taking office in 1907, Theodor Seitz, governor of Kamerun, advocated the acquisition of territories from the French Con ...
*
Ossidinge Ossidinge was a government station and capital of the prefecture in the German colony of Cameroon. Location The original Ossidinge station was located about 200 meters from the Cross River located on a low ridge of land between the terraced ban ...
*
Togoland Togoland was a German Empire protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400 km2 (29,867 sq mi) in size. During the period kno ...


Footnotes


External links

*
Banknotes of German Cameroon
{{Coord missing, Cameroon 1884 establishments in Kamerun 1884 establishments in the German colonial empire 1916 disestablishments in Kamerun 1916 disestablishments in the German colonial empire Former German colonies Former colonies in Africa German West Africa German colonisation in Africa History of Cameroon States and territories disestablished in 1916 States and territories established in 1884