Years preceding colonization (1868–1883) The first German trading post in the Duala area on the Kamerun River
delta was established in 1868 by the
Hamburg trading company . The firm's primary agent in
Gabon, Johannes Thormählen, expanded activities to the Kamerun River delta. In 1874, together with the Woermann agent in
Liberia, Wilhelm Jantzen, the two merchants founded their own company,
Jantzen & Thormählen there. Both of these West Africa houses expanded into shipping with their own sailing ships and steamers and inaugurated scheduled passenger and freight service between Hamburg and Duala. These companies and others obtained extensive acreage from local chiefs and began systematic
plantation operations, including bananas. The Cameroon territory was under the informal control of the British Empire throughout the years preceding 1884, with substantial British trading operations as well. Eventually, these companies would begin agitating for royal protection. By 1884,
Adolph Woermann, as spokesman for all West African companies, petitioned the imperial foreign office for "protection" by the German Empire. The two key factors motivating this change were pressure from economic interests in Germany, and concerns about missing out on what would later be called the
Scramble for Africa. On the political side, colonies became a point of national pride, as Germans saw that other nations had colonies, and thought they should too as a matter of national prestige. Several government officials took this stance, and it seemed to enjoy public support as well. On the commercial side, the companies already operating in Cameroon (represented by the likes of Adolph Woermann) wanted the protection and support an official German colony would provide, and many German producers sought new markets for their excess goods.
Gustav Nachtigal had arrived in
Duala in July and negotiated a treaty with a number of rulers local to the region around Duala, at that time the center of Germany's trading operations. From there, he would go on to other parts of Cameroon, securing further treaties with a number of tribes of the regions around the rivers, where trade was already well established. This would establish a trend of using treaties as one method of expanding German control. As mentioned above, one of the primary motivations for the colony was German corporations seeking to expand their economic interests in Cameroon. Bismarck, being aware of this fact and concerned about the substantial costs of a directly administered colony, opted to instead grant the companies already involved in Cameroon a "Chartered" status.
Expansionary era of colonization (1890–1906) From thereon out the administration of the colonies would be at the hands of the German administrators. Regardless, the focus of the colony remained the same: to support the plantation industry and the trade of the German companies. As such, this time saw major expansion in the agricultural industry, and efforts were taken to expand further into the landlocked areas of Cameroon to better trade opportunities and German access to the African interior. It was Puttkammer who began the German behaviors that lend them a reputation of brutality and harshness as colonizers. During his time, he oversaw a number of military campaigns against local peoples like the Bali, forcing those who rebuffed German attempts at a "treaty" that supposedly justified German expansion. Oftentimes, he would not act directly against these people, instead relying on empowering other rival local powers and establishing them as "protected by Germany" and arming them. This leads into the second prominent feature of Puttkamer's governorship, his expansion and support for the plantations. This became a problem, as the plantations had more fields than they did workers, so there was a labor shortage. To address this, Puttkamer instituted the "man tithes" mentioned above, in addition to just taking people whenever they conquered new territories or had to put down a rebellion. These practices, which continued even after Puttkammer retired from his position, would define the German colonial legacy. In German Cameroon the indigenous slave trade were banned in 1902 and all slaves born after 1902 declared born free; however the slave trade supplied by slave raids in Northern German Cameroon were, in practice, tolerated the entire German colonial period.
Final years (1907–1916) After Puttkamer left his position, aggressive expansion was less common (though more territory would be added via diplomatic means), and the colony began to focus more on development. An extensive postal and telegraph system and a river navigation network with government ships connected the coast to the interior. The Cameroon protectorate was enlarged with
New Cameroon (German: Neukamerun) in 1911 as part of the settlement of the
Agadir Crisis, resolved by the
Treaty of Fez.
Loss of Cameroon as a colony At the outbreak of
World War I,
French,
Belgian and
British troops invaded the German colony in 1914 and fully occupied it during the
Kamerun campaign. Following Germany's defeat, the
Treaty of Versailles divided the territory into two
League of Nations mandates (Class B) under the administration of the United Kingdom and France.
French Cameroon and part of
British Cameroon reunified in 1961 to form present-day
Cameroon. Notably, this did not end German involvement in Cameroon, as many former German plantation owners bought their plantations back in the 1920s and 30s. It would take until World War II before Germany was "fully out" of Cameroon.
Gallery File:Bundesarchiv Bild 137-003056, Kamerun, Deutscher Landvermesser.jpg|German surveyor in Kamerun, 1884 File:Bundesarchiv Bild 163-161, Kamerun, Duala, Polizeitruppe.jpg|Policemen at
Duala on the Kaiser's birthday, 1901 File:Bundesarchiv Bild 137-034473, Kamerun, bei Tiko, Bananen-Verladung.jpg|Bananas being loaded for export to Germany, 1912 File:Tripolitans in Dikoa.jpg|Civilians in Dikoa, located in the far northern region of Kamerun, 1913 File:Cameroonian troops in World War I.jpg|German Kamerun colonial troops, 1914 ==Governors==