Germany had four African colonies in 1914: Togo (today: Togo and territory in eastern Ghana), Cameroon (Cameroon and territory in northeastern Nigeria), German Southwest Africa (Namibia) and German East Africa (Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania except Zanzibar).
What was happening in Germany 1914?
1 August – The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire, following Russia’s military mobilization in support of Serbia; Germany also begins mobilization. World War I: German troops invade neutral Belgium. The United Kingdom declares war on Germany after the latter fails to respect Belgian neutrality.
Why do people in Namibia speak German?
During the period as a German colony from 1884 to 1915 German was the only official language in German Southwest Africa, as Namibia was then known. The German-speaking population wished German to be reinstated as an official language and in 1932 the Treaty of Cape Town encouraged South Africa to do so.
Did Germany ever colonize any country?
Germany then acquired German South-West Africa (today Namibia), Cameroon, Togo, German East Africa (today Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi) and parts of Papua-New Guinea. The second wave of acquisitions took place in 1898/99 after the power shift in 1888 as the more imperialistic Kaiser Wilhelm II took over.
What happened to the German colonies in Africa after WW1?
However, a few colonial military units held out in remote areas for a while longer: German South West Africa surrendered in 1915, Kamerun in 1916 and German East Africa in 1918.
Who was the Chancellor of the German colonial empire?
The German colonial empire (German: Deutsches Kolonialreich) constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies and territories of Imperial Germany. Unified in the early 1870’s, the chancellor of this time period was Otto von Bismarck.
What countries were part of the German Empire in Africa?
The German Colonial Empire encompassed parts of several African countries, including parts of present-day Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, New Guinea, and numerous other West Pacific / Micronesian islands.
