German East Africa was the largest German colony in Africa, formed in the 1880s by the German East Africa Company of Carl Peters and taken over by the imperial government. It covered mainland Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, with the capital at Dar es Salaam. German rule was marked by forced labour, taxes and plantation farming, and by the brutal suppression of the Maji Maji rebellion of 1905 to 1907, in which many Africans died. During the First World War the colonial force under Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck fought a guerrilla campaign against British, Belgian and Portuguese forces until the end of the war. After the Treaty of Versailles, the territory was divided into mandates under Britain, Belgium and Portugal.
Before and after
- from 15 November 1884 to 26 February 1885Berlin Conference
- 30 December 1884Birth of Hideki Tojo
- 1885Bicycle
- 1885Discovery of neodymium
- from 1885 to 1919German East Africa
- 1885The Potato Eaters
- 1885Construction of Washington Monument
- from 1885 to 1914Scramble for Africa
- 1885Publication of Mila Rodino
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 1760 to 1820Industrial Revolution
- 15 July 1799The Rosetta Stone is found
- 16 March 1815Founding of Kingdom of the Netherlands
- 27 September 1822Champollion deciphers the hieroglyphs
- 17 December 1907Founding of Bhutan
- 7 August 1908Discovery of Venus of Willendorf
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.