So Germany Used to Own Bits of Africa Too Then ..

We all know how France and Britain carved up Africa for themselves a couple of centuries ago, but they weren’t the only Europeans to get in on the act. The Portuguese had Angola and Mozambique, Spain had a few bits and pieces in the north and west of the continent (and still holds on tenaciously to a few cities), Belgium made a real botch up of Congo and the Dutch did their thing in South Africa.

One of the European powers to grab hold of territory that has faded in memory is Germany. Like so many others, the Germans fancied themselves as worthy of an empire, and so helped themselves to the following swathes of lucrative countryside:

Tangyanika fell into German hands until their ignominious defeat at the end of World War 1 when control passed to the British under a League of Nations mandate. In 1962 Tangyanika threw off British dominance to become independent, and two years later joined with the British protectorate of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. But what should such a new entity be called? Tanzania of course. Goodbye Germany, goodbye Britain.

Also in Deutsch-Ostafrika was the territory of Ruanda-Urundi which was German from 1885 until 1917 when administration was given to Belgium. Around 1911 the Germans sided with the Tutsis to put down the Hutus, and eventually in the early 1960s the modern independent nations of Rwanda and Burundi emerged.

Some other tracts of land in east Africa also fell under German control for a while. Wituland was eventually incorporated into Kenya, and the Kionga Triangle fell to the Portuguese in Mozambique.

Then there was German South West Africa. Again it was World War 1 that robbed Germany of this prized territory. The Germans established it as a colony in 1884 and held onto it in spite of rebellions until 1915. It was basically the South Africans who defeated the German colonial presence and the League of Nations replaced it with a South African colonial presence in 1916. Things remained that way until 1990 when the new country of Namibia was born after years of rebellion.

Moving on to West Africa, the German empire ruled two separate territories which they first tried to administer as one unit. Cameroon they held from 1884 until 1914. After the war France and Britain where each given part of the territory and in time the two became one, the present country of Cameroun, although half of the British bit joined Nigeria.

The other West African part to Germany’s empire was Togoland. Again WW1 resulted in another loss for Germany, and half of Togoland became British and eventually was added to Ghana, and half was given to France and in the 1960s became the nation of Togo.

So there we have it There is a German empire no more, but its demise in Africa was followed of course by the demise of those countries which benefited by Germany’s defeat, namely Britain and France. The main difference I suppose is that Britain and France continued to dominate by granting independence on their own economic terms. Germany was in no position to feather her own nest in that way.

Who could be bothered having an Empire anyway?