Jantzen & Thormählen

Jantzen & Thormählen was a German firm based on Hamburg that was established to exploit the resources of Cameroon. The firm's commercial and political influence was a major factor in the establishment of the colony of Kamerun in 1884.

Until the later part of the 19th century, most German trade with Africa passed through Hamburg. The Carl and Adolf Woermann Firm, established in 1837 by the Hamburg merchant Carl Woermann, entered the West African market in 1849 and came to dominate the trade of the region. Jantzen and Thormahlen were initially agents of Adolph Woermann's Woermann-Linie. Johannes Thormählen was the firm’s agent in Gabon, and Wilhelm Jantzen was the Woermann agent in Liberia. After they established their own firm in 1875, they maintained contact with Woermann. Woermann, Jantzen & Thormählen and other German firms controlled a network of trading posts in different parts of West Africa. About half the trade with Kamerun was German-controlled.

The traders were mainly interested in selling goods including guns and liquor in return for palm products, and had no interest in permanent colonization. In fact, they preferred to operate informally and without interference from German civil servants, and opposed annexation. Many felt that African traders working on credit produced better results at lower cost than European agents, who were hard to recruit and were prone to sickness.

The shift toward favoring permanent colonies was driven by two factors: a fall in the prices of African products created a demand to bypass the local African traders and establish direct routes to the interior; and once firms such as Jantzen & Thormählen had established bases and plantations they required military protection.

Trade with the interior of Cameroon was handled by the Duala people settled at the mouth of the Wouri River in the area now covered by the city of Douala. They were led by two "kings" representing the Bell and Akwa factions. The rival Duala groups were plagued by disputes. Their leaders sought European protection to support their authority and stabilize trade.

On 12 July 1884, King Ndumbé Lobé Bell and King Akwa signed a treaty in which they assigned sovereign rights, legislation and administration of their country in full to the firms of Carl Woermann and Jantzen & Thormählen, represented by the merchants Edward Schmidt and Johann Voss. The treaty included conditions that existing contracts and property rights be maintained, existing customs respected and the German administration continue to make "comey", or trading tax, payments to the kings as before. King Bell received 27,000 marks in exchange for signing the treaty, a very large sum at that time.

...
Wikipedia