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Period: to
German Imperialism
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German Unification
The German Empire was founded on January 18, 1871, in the aftermath of three successful wars by the North German state of Prussia. -
German Southwest Africa (Namibia)
In 1840, German missionaries established stations in Namibia's coast. In 1883, Bremen merchant F. A. E. Lüderitz fraudulently acquired Lüderitz Bay, leading to the German Reich taking over the property. -
Togo Under German Protection
German delegates signed protectorate agreements with a number of leaders, and the empire of Togo was put under "protection" on 5-7-1884. This encompassed the eastern portion of modern-day Ghana and the region of the Republic of Togo. -
German New Guinea:
Germany took control of German New Guinea, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Te German colonization of this region included the exploitation of natural resources like as copra, lumber, and minerals. Under German control, indigenous communities were subjected to forced labor, land confiscation, and cultural assimilation. The German government also enforced stringent controls on indigenous peoples, resulting in tensions and periodic uprisings against colonial rule. -
German East Africa (Tanzania)
Despite constant resistance, the Germans conquered large areas in Tanzania's interior, including regions of Burundi and Rwanda, and expanded their colony to include the independent states of Tanzania in 1905/07, reaching its peak in the following years. -
The Maji-Maji War in East Africa
The Maji-Maji uprising, a conflict between African ethnic groups in the south of the German-occupied Congo, was primarily driven by work pressure and arbitrary rule. The Africans formed an alliance against the German Reich's colonial rule in 1907. This armed resistance, one of Africa's largest conflicts, ended in a defeat. Most of the victims died from starvation and other war-related consequences, as the German "Schutztruppe" burned down fields and villages, depopulating entire regions. -
German Cameroon
The Germans exploited the Cameroonian population through plantations, road and railway construction, and predatory practices. Extra-economic coercion, alcohol, ignorance, and bribery were used to subjugate the African workforce. The mortality rate among the African workforce was catastrophic. Scientific studies critical of colonialism found that workers suffered from hunger, long working days, inadequate nutrition, housing, and forced labor.