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Kamerun
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Kamerun was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.
The first German trading post in the Duala area (modern Douala) of the Kamerun river delta was established in 1868 by the Hamburg trading company C. Woermann. The firm’s agent in Gabon, Johannes Thormählen, expanded activities to the Kamerun delta. In 1874, together with the Woermann agent in Liberia, Wilhelm Jantzen, the two merchants founded their own company, Jantzen & Thormählen.
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Kamerun was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.
The first German trading post in the Duala area (modern Douala) of the Kamerun river delta was established in 1868 by the Hamburg trading company C. Woermann. The firm’s agent in Gabon, Johannes Thormählen, expanded activities to the Kamerun delta. In 1874, together with the Woermann agent in Liberia, Wilhelm Jantzen, the two merchants founded their own company, Jantzen & Thormählen. 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 purchased extensive acreage from local chiefs and began systematic plantation operations. By 1884, Adolph Woermann, representing all West African companies as their spokesman, petitioned the imperial foreign office for "protection" by the German Empire. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck sought to utilize the traders on site in governing the region via "chartered companies," however, in response to Bismarck’s proposal the companies withdrew their petition. At the core of the commercial interests was pursuit of profitable trading activities under the protection of the Reich, but these entities were determined to stay away from political engagements. Eventually Bismarck yielded to the Woermann position and instructed the admiralty to dispatch a gunboat. As a show of German interest, the small gunboat SMS Möwe arrived in West Africa.
The protectorate of Kamerun was established during the period generally known as Europe’s imperialist "Scramble for Africa". The German explorer, medical doctor, imperial consul and commissioner for West Africa Gustav Nachtigal was the driving force toward the colony’s establishment. By then well over one dozen German companies, based in Hamburg and Bremen, conducted their trading and plantation activities in Kamerun. With imperial treasury subsidies, the colony built two rail lines from the port city of Duala to bring agricultural products to market: the Northern line of 160 km to the Manegua mountains, and the 300 km long mainline to Makak on the river Nyong. An extensive postal and telegraph system and a river navigation network with government ships connected the coast to the interior. The protectorate was enlarged with Neukamerun in 1911 as part of the settlement of the Agadir Crisis, resolved by the Treaty of Fez.
The colony was invaded in 1916 by the British and French during World War I. Following Germany's defeat, with the Treaty of Versailles, the territory was divided into two League of Nations mandates (Class B) under the administration of Great Britain and France. French Cameroun and part of British Cameroons reunified in 1961 as Cameroon.
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