List of former German colonies

This is a list of former German colonies owned by states of Germany:

## Holy Roman Empire and German Confederation

[edit]

### Brandenburg-Prussia

[edit]

* Groß Friedrichsburg (in Ghana), 1683–1718
* Arguin (in Mauritania), 1685–1721

### Duchy of Courland

[edit]

Main article: Curonian colonisation

* Curlander Gambia 1651–1660, 1660–1661
* St. Andrew's Island
* Juffure
* Banjul Island
* Neu-Kurland (on Tobago) 1642–1650, 1654–1659, 1660–1666

### Free City of Augsburg

[edit]

Main article: Welser family

* Klein-Venedig (in Venezuela), 1528–1545

### County of Hanau

[edit]

* Hanauish-Indies, Planned in 1669 but later canceled in 1672

### House of Ascania

[edit]

Main article: Frederick Ferdinand, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen

* Neu-Askania, 1828–1856

## German Empire

[edit]

Main article: German colonial empire

### Africa

[edit]

Main article: German colonization of Africa

German colonies in Africa, 1914

The following were German African protectorates:

* Kionga Triangle, 1894–1916
* German South West Africa, 1884–1915
* German West Africa, 1884–1915
* Togoland, 1884–1916
* Kamerun, from 1884–1916
* Kapitaï and Koba, 1884–1885
* Mahinland, March 11, 1885 – October 24, 1885
* German East Africa, 1885–1918
* Witu Protectorate, 1885–1890
* German Somali Coast, 1885–1888
* German Congo, 1884–1885
* German Katanga, 1886
* Gwandu Protectorate, 1895–1897
* Gulmu Protectorate, 1895–1897
* German South Africa, 1884–1885

### China

[edit]

These treaty ports were German concessions in China, leased to it by the Qing dynasty:

* Kiautschou Bay concession, 1898–1914
* German concession in Tientsin, 1895–1917
* German concession in Hankou, 1895–1917
* Chefoo, 1901–1914[1]
* German Peking Legation, 1900–1917

### Pacific

[edit]

Map of German Colonies in the Pacific, 1914. Brown, German New Guinea; Orange, North Solomons; Red, German Samoa; Yellow, Other Pacific Territories

These were German colonies established in the Pacific:

* German New Guinea, 1884–1919
* Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, 1885–1914
* Bismarck Archipelago, 1885–1914
* German Solomon Islands Protectorate, 1885–1914
* Bougainville Island, 1885–1914
* Buka Island, 1885–1914
* Choiseul Island, 1885–1900
* Shortland Islands, 1885–1900
* Santa Isabel Island, 1885–1900
* Nauru, 1906–1914
* Northern Mariana Islands, 1899–1914
* Caroline Islands, 1899–1914
* Palau Islands, 1899–1914
* Marshall Islands, 1906–1914
* German Samoa, 1900–1914
* Protectorate of the Marshall Islands, 1885–1906
* Nauru, 1888–1906

## Nazi Germany

[edit]

This section's factual accuracy is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced. (April 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

* Poland (1939–1945)[2]
* Netherlands, 1940–1945
* Norway, 1940–1945
* Belgium and Northern France, 1944
* Ukraine, 1940–1944
* Ostland, 1941–1945

## See also

[edit]

* Ernst Thälmann Island
* German colonial projects before 1871
* German colonization of the Americas
* Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty
* Klein-Venedig
* New Swabia
* Postage stamps and postal history of the German colonies
* Reichskommissariat

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Rotem Kowner: Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War, Lanham (MD): Rowman & Littlefield 2017, pp. 103/104. Available here.
2. ^ O'Sullivan, Rachel (19 October 2023). Nazi Germany, Annexed Poland and Colonial Rule: Resettlement, Germanization and Population Policies in Comparative Perspective. Modern History of Politics and Violence. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781350377240. Retrieved 4 January 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Former colonies of Germany at Wikimedia Commons
* German colonies (in German)
* WorldStatesmen

* v
* t
* e

Former German colonies and protectorates

Colonies|

| Africa|

* East Africa
* Kionga Triangle
* Wituland
* South West Africa
* West Africa
* Kamerun
* Neukamerun
* Kapitaï and Koba
* Mahinland
* Togoland

|

Oceania|

* New Guinea
* Samoa

Concessions|

| China|

* Kiautschou Bay
* Tsingtao
* Tientsin
* German Hankou

|

Unrecognised|

| Antarctica|

* New Swabia (claimed by Nazi Germany)

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template