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German East Africa (1885-1919)

Deutsch-Ostafrika

Last modified: 2005-06-03 by jarig bakker
Keywords: german east africa | tanga |
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German protectorate (1885-1919)

Following the 1885 Congress of Berlin which delimited European spheres of influence in Africa and so set the ground rules for the Scramble for Africa, the territory which became Tanganyika fell within the German sphere. By 1890 German East Africa comprised the modern-day territories of Tanganyika, Burundi and Rwanda.
Stuart Notholt, 29 Jun 1996

There are coloured prints of the jack and ensign of "German government vessels engaged in East African trade", in the 1892 amendments to the Admiralty Flag Book.
The jack is the merchant flag with a plain blue anchor in the centre of the white band, and the ensign a Reichskriegsflagge with a plain blue anchor in the lower hoist.
[National Archives (PRO) ADM 116/353]
"The German civil ensign - a horizontal tricolor black white red - flew over Witu and was carried by askaris."
A photograph shows the German flag being dipped to the Sultan of Witu when he reviewed askaris in front of his palace c1882.
[Article "The Forgotten Flags of Witu" by James Marill in (probably) an issue of the Flag Bulletin]
David Prothero, 28 Oct 20