German East Africa

German East Africa
Deutsch-Ostafrika (German)
1885–1918
Service flag of the Colonial Office
Coat of arms of the German Empire
  German East Africa
  Other German possessions
StatusColony of Germany
CapitalBagamoyo (1885–1890)
Dar es Salaam (1890–1916)
Tabora (1916, temporary)[1]
Common languages
Religion
  • Islam
  • Traditional African religions
  • Christianity (Catholic Church and Lutheranism)
Emperor 
• 1885–1888
Wilhelm I
• 1888
Frederick III
• 1888–1918
Wilhelm II
Governor 
• 1885–1891 (first)
Carl Peters
• 1912–1918 (last)
Heinrich Schnee
Historical eraNew Imperialism
• Established by the DOAG
27 February 1885
• Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty
1 July 1890
• Maji Maji Rebellion
21 October 1905
3 August 1914
• Surrender
25 November 1918
28 June 1919
Area
1912995,000 km2 (384,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1912
7,700,000
CurrencyGerman East African rupie
Preceded by
Succeeded by
German East Africa Company
Zanzibar
Rwanda
Burundi
Tanganyika
Ruanda-Urundi
Mozambique

German East Africa (GEA; German: Deutsch-Ostafrika DOA) 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 Mozambique. GEA's area was 994,996 km2 (384,170 sq mi),[2][3] which was nearly three times the area of present-day Germany and almost double the area of metropolitan Germany at the time.

The colony was organised when the German military was asked in the late 1880s to put down a revolt against the activities of the German East Africa Company. It ended with Imperial Germany's defeat in World War I. Ultimately the territory was divided amongst Britain, Belgium and Portugal, and was reorganised as a mandate of the League of Nations.

  1. ^ Michael Pesek: Das Ende eines Kolonialreiches. Campus, Frankfurt a. M./New York 2010, ISBN 978-3-593-39184-7, S. 86/90.
  2. ^ Roland Anthony Oliver (1976). Vincent Todd Harlow; Elizabeth Millicent Chilver; Alison Smith (eds.). History of East Africa, Volume 2. Clarendon Press. ISBN 9780198227137.
  3. ^ Jon Bridgman; David E. Clarke (1965). "German Africa: A Selected Annotated Bibliography". Hoover Bibliographical Series. Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, Stanford University. ISBN 978-0-8179-2192-7. ISSN 0085-1582. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2018.