German East Africa Company
 |
|
| Industry | International trade |
|---|---|
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Founded | 28 March 1884 (as the Society for German Colonisation) |
| Defunct | 1920 |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Germany |
The German East Africa Company (German: Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft, abbreviated DOAG) was a chartered colonial organization responsible for the establishment of German East Africa, a territory which eventually comprised the areas of modern Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda.
In 1888, the company absorbed the bankrupt German Witu Society, which had been created to trade in the German protectorate of Wituland (within modern Kenya) only a year and a half before. In April of that year, the company leased the coastal strip opposite Zanzibar from Sultan Khalifa bin Said for 50 years. Its attempt to take over the administration led to a general revolt along the coast of what is now Tanzania. The company could only hold Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo with the help of the German navy. In 1889, it had to request the assistance of the German government to put down the rebellion. In 1891, after it became apparent that the company could not handle its dominions, it sold out to the German government, which began to rule German East Africa directly. The company initially continued to operate its many activities, including mines, plantations, railways, banking, minting, etc., before it consented to relinquish them to the German colonial administration and other organizations. It subsequently operated as a land company within the German territory prior to its occupation by Britain during World War I.
One of the reasons for the formation of the German East Africa Company was politics occurring inside Germany. According to the “Kolonialpolitischer Führer”, German Imperialism was conceived in the 1850s when the growth of the economy due to industrialization caused German businessmen to look beyond Germany for business prospects. Later in the century, a newly unified Germany had to take a part in the exploration and expansion overseas if it were to be among the world’s leading imperial powers. Being a large manufacturing country that both bought and sold goods, it had made sure its stake in resources was guarded. Gustav Schmoller, an economist, had a desire for a large naval fleet which was linked to this very idea of expanding the empire. Twenty million people were estimated to have moved to Germany from other countries in the 1900s, and the colonies would be a good place to hold some of the population. The leaders of the country made an effort to show the German people how the industry and its workers prospered from German imperialism.
...
Wikipedia