List of German colonial possessions

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This is a comprehensive list of all German colonies and possessions outside of the European borders of the German Empire.

Not all of these colonies and possessions are directly administered. Institutions such as Mittelafrika and Deutsch-Ostasien represent specific jurisdictions within the German Empire, while the Aufsichtsrat der Ostasiatischen Generalverwaltung represents economic concessions managed on its behalf within the League of Eight Provinces.

German Colonies are divided into 4 (5) categories:

• Schutzgebiet (literally "Protected Territory", but always translated as "Protectorate" or "Colony") - These are fully German colonies, most of them are either pre-war colonies or French colonies of similar status annexed after the war.
• Protektorat ("Protectorate") - These are former French protectorates which have maintained their special status under Germany. They are ruled by a combination of native and German administration and de jure maintain some level of sovereignty.
• Pachtgebiet ("Leased Territory") - German concessions in China de jure they are only on a long-term lease from the Chinese government but de facto there is little to no difference in how they are managed compared to other colonial possessions.
• Britisch-deutsches Kondominium ("Anglo-German Condominium") - Territories of United Kingdom which after the British Revolution which were taken over by Germany either under explicit invitation of local British governors or at least without their protest. Germany states that these territories are just under temporary Imperial protection and will be returned to a legitimate British government should one ever manifest itself. The territories still use British symbols and are administered with great autonomy by local British elites, an arrangement which has for the most part suited both sides.
• Kondominium Neue Hebriden ("Condominium of New Hebrides") - A unique region under permanent joint British-German administration. Many institutions are shared between the two countries but since the British Revolution the British Hebrides became a condominium themselves, further complicating this arrangement.

Africa

Morocco

The French Protectorate of Morocco, established in 1912, was transferred to German suzerainty following the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. However, Germany's influence is very marginal compared to the times of the French administration, and therefore Morocco is considered an independent country by most nations.

State	Capital	Flag
Protectorate of the Kingdom of Morocco Deutsch Protektorat Königreich Marokko	Rabat	Flag of the Kingdom of Morocco Flag used by German institutions in Morocco and as a merchant flag

Mittelafrika

German-Mittelafrika is the umbrella for Germany's colonial possessions in Africa, stretching from Ivory Coast in the west to Zanzibar in the east and from the rainforests of Ubangi-Shari to the deserts of Southwest Africa. Mittelafrika's administrative headquarters are located in the thriving East African metropolis of Daressalam, but the various regions of the huge colony have significant autonomy. All in all, German-Mittelafrika is divided into 4 subdivisions: West Africa (Capital: Lome), East Africa (directly administered by the Mittelafrikan central administration in Daressalam), Equatorial Africa (Capital: Buea) and Southern Africa (Capital: Windhuk). These subdivisions are again subdivided into smaller colonies, which are subdivided into districts and autonomous native territories.

German West Africa (Deutsch-Westafrika)

German West Africa, originally only consisting out of Togoland, which was considered Germany's Musterkolonie ("model colony") in Africa, was vastly expanded after the Treaty of Versailles of November 1919, when Germany gained access to the former French Colony of Dahomey.

State	Capital	Flag
Togoland Protectorate Schutzgebiet Togo	Lome
Dahomey Protectorate and Dependencies Schutzgebiet Dahomey und Nebengebiete	Porto-Novo

British West Africa

Since 1925, the British Colonies of Nigeria and Gold Coast are under temporary German protection, but the British civil administration is mostly still in charge.

State	Capital	Flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria (Includes the various Nigerian petty kingdoms)	Lagos	Flag of British Nigeria Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Colony of the Gold Coast, the Crown Colony of Ashanti and the Protectorate of the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast (Includes the Kingdom of Ashanti)	Accra (Gold Coast Colony and seat of the Governor of the entire Gold Coast) Kumasi (Ashanti) Gambaga (Northern Territories)	Flag of British Gold Coast Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag

German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika)

German East Africa consists just of the German Protectorate of the same name and of the native protectorates of Ruanda and Burundi, which are located along Lake Kivu and Lake Tanganijka on the border to the former Belgian Congo.

State	Capital	Flag
German East Africa Protectorate Schutzgebiet Deutsch-Ostafrika (Includes the autonomous Kingdoms of Ruanda and Burundi)	Daressalam

British East Africa

British East Africa consists of the former British colonies of Kenya and Uganda, which have been militarily occupied by Germany since 1925 "for an indefinite period of time". The British civil administrations however are still in place.

State	Capital	Flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya (Includes the Sultanate of Zanzibar)	Nairobi	Flag of British Kenya Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Protectorate of Uganda (Includes the Kingdoms of Busoga, Buganda, Ankole, Bunyoro and Tooro)	Entebbe	Flag of British Protectorate of Uganda Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag

German Equatorial Africa (Deutsch-Äquatorialafrika)

German Equatorial Africa consists of the German core colony of Kamerun as well as the former French territories of Gabon and Ubangi-Shari, which were gained after the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. It is the largest continuous German colonial region and one of the largest colonial entities on earth.

State	Capital	Flag
Kamerun Protectorate Schutzgebiet Kamerun (Includes the Mandara Kingdom)	Buea
German Congo Protectorate Schutzgebiet Deutsch-Kongo	Brazzaville
Gabon Protectorate Schutzgebiet Gabun	Neu-Freiburg (until 1919 Libreville)
Ubangi-Shari Protectorate Schutzgebiet Ubangi-Schari (Includes the Sultanates of Zemio and Rafai)	Fort Mauch (named after Karl Mauch, until 1919 Fort de Possel)

German Southwest Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika)

Sudwestafrika was formed in 1884. during the Weltrkrieg it was occupied by South Africa, but later returned.

State	Capital	Flag
German Southwest Africa Protectorate Schutzgebiet Deutsch-Südwestafrika	Windhuk

British Central Africa

British Central Africa consists of the former British Protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The British administrations are still in charge, though Nyasaland has been claimed by Portuguese authorities since 1925.

State	Capital	Flag
Anglo-German Condominium of Northern Rhodesia (Includes the Kingdoms of Barotseland and Kazembe)	Livingstone	Flag of British Northern Rhodesia Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Nyasaland Protectorate	Zomba	Flag of British Nyasaland Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag

Territories directly subordinated to the German Chancellor

The following territories are considered overseas territories of metropolitan Germany and are administered directly from Berlin by the Reichskanzler (since 1930 Kuno Graf von Westarp) and the Imperial Colonial Office in a similar style to former Crown Colonies of the United Kingdom.

German Somaliland (Deutsch-Somaliland)

State	Capital	Flag
German Somali Coast Protectorate Schutzgebiet Deutsch-Somaliküste	Djibouti City (Dschibuti-Stadt)

German Southeast Africa (Deutsch-Südostafrika)

State	Capital	Flag
Madagascar Protectorate and Dependencies Schutzgebiet Madagaskar und Nebengebiete (Includes Comoros & Mayotte, New Heligoland [formerly Réunion], Europa Island, Bassas da India, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova, Amsterdam Island, Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Islands and Saint Paul Island)	Antananarivo

British Indian Ocean Territories

State	Capital	Flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Crown Colony of Mauritius (Includes Chagos Archipelago)	Port Louis	Flag of British Mauritius Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Crown Colony of Seychelles (Includes Aldabra, Farquhar, and Desroches)	Victoria	Flag of British Seychelles Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag

Asia

German India (Deutsch-Indien)

German India was established in 1919 after the Treaty of Versailles, when Germany gained access to the former French concessions on the Indian East Coast. The colonies inland possessions, notably Chandernagor in Bengal were yielded to the revolutionaries during the later stages of the Indian Civil War, due to its low value and long distance from the rest of Germany's colonial holdings.

State	Capital	Flag
German Protectorates in India Deutsche Schutzgebiete in Indien (Includes Pondicherry, Karikal, Yanon, Mahe)	Pondicherry

Deutsch-Ostasien

The German territories in Indochina and the Anglo-German joint administrations in South East Asia as well as the Chinese navy bases are subordinated to the German East Asian naval administration in Singapore. After the Fall of the British Empire in 1925, the German navy seized the British Colonies in South East Asia. On January 1st, 1926, a central German naval authority was established in Singapore.

German Indochina (Deutsch-Hinterindien)

Gained from France in 1919.

State	Capital	Flag
Indochinese Union Indochinesische Union (The Indochinese Union is the top level administration of all German colonial possessions in the Indochina region therefore it includes protectorates of Luang Phrabang, Cambodia, Annam, Tonkin and the colony of Cochinchina)	Hanoi
German Protectorate of Luang Phrabang Deutsches Protektorat Luang Prabang (De jure Kingdom of Luang Phrabang)	Vientiane (official) Luang Prabang (royal)	Flag of the German Protectorate of Luang Phrabang National Flag of Luang Phrabang
German Protectorate of Cambodia Deutsches Protektorat Kambodscha (De jure Kingdom of Cambodia)	Stung Treng	Flag of the German Protectorate of Cambodia National Flag of Cambodia
German Protectorate of Annam Deutsches Protektorat Annam (De jure Empire of Vietnam)	Huế	Flag of the German Protectorate of Annam National Flag of Annam
German Protectorate of Tonkin Deutsches Protektorat Tonkin (De jure part of the Empire of Vietnam, de facto no native administration exists in Tonkin unlike in other protectorates, making it much closer to a actual colony like German Cochinchina)	Hanoi	Flag of the German Protectorate of Tonkin
German Cochinchina Protectorate Schutzgebiet Deutsch-Kotschinchina	Saigon	Flag of the German Cochinchina Protectorate

German Concessions in China (Deutsche Pachtgebiete in China)

The nucleus of German territories is the port city of Kiautschou, which was annexed in 1898. The French and Belgian concessions would be added in 1919. German concessions elsewhere are part of the Legation Cities.

State	Capital	Flag
Kiautschou Leased Territory Pachtgebiet Kiautschou	Tsingtau	Imperial Colonial Office flag used by the Governor Imperial Navy service flag used by civilian institutions & lighthouses
Guangzhouwan Leased Territory Pachtgebiet Kwangtschouwan	Fort Bayard	Imperial Colonial Office flag used by the Governor Imperial Navy service flag used by civilian institutions & lighthouses
German Concessions in Hankou, Tianjin, Shanghai and Shamian Deutsche Konzessionen in Hankou, Tientsin, Schanghai und Schamian	Subordinated to the Legation Council of the International Mandate for the Concessions, Settlements and Legations in China in Shanghai	Flag of the Legation Council Imperial German Tricolore used by civilian institutions like consulates

British Malaya

The colony of British Malaya was occupied in 1925. Since then, the port city of Singapore has become the administrative capital of German East Asia.

State	Capital	Flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Federated Malay States (Includes Selangor, Perak, Negeri Semibilan and Pahang)	Kuala Lumpur	Flag of the British Protectorate of Federated Malay States Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the State of Johor	Johor Bahru	Flag of the British Protectorate of the State of Johor Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements (Includes Singapore, Malacca, Penang, Dinding and Labuan)	Singapore (German administration, under martial law) Malacca (British administration)	Flag of the British Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag

British Borneo

Borneo consists of a series of Anglo-German condominiums and protectorates.

State	Capital	Flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Raj of Sarawak	Kuching	Flag of the British Protectorate of the Raj of Sarawak Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Protectorate of the State of Brunei	Brunei Town (Brunei-Stadt)	Flag of the State of Brunei Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the State of North Borneo	Sandakan	Flag of British North Borneo Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag

British Concessions in China

The British Concession of Weihaiwei was occupied in 1925 by the Kaiserliche Marine.

State	Capital	Flag
Anglo-German Condominium of Weihaiwei	Port Edward	Flag of British Weihaiwei Imperial Navy service flag always flown alongside the British colonial flag

Aufsichtsrat der Ostasiatischen Generalverwaltung

The Aufsichtsrat der Ostasiatischen Generalverwaltung ("Supervisory Board of the East Asian General Administration"), in short AOG, is the German administration controlling the trade of several Eastern Chinese cities. They operate out of German Tsingtau and are an important factor to secure Germany's economic dominance in China.

Organization	Operating Areas	Flag
AOG	Tsingtau (Headquarters, under German control); Amoy, Canton, Nantong, Wenzhou (Administered from Nanjing, but extended economic rights to the German Empire)

Pacific and Oceania

German Western Pacific Territories (Deutsche Territorien im Westpazifik)

The German territories in the Pacific and Oceania are subordinated to the German East Asian naval administration in Singapore.

State	Capital	Flag
German New Guinea Protectorate Schutzgebiet Deutsch-Neuguinea (Includes German Protectorates in the South sea Deutsche Schutzgebiete in der Südsee)	Simpsonhafen
German Pacific Territories Protectorate Schutzgebiet Deutsche Pazifik-Inseln (German Samoa until 1919; includes German Samoa, New Alsace and Wallis & Futuna and German Oceania)	Solfhafen (named after Wilhelm Solf, until 1919 Nouméa)
Anglo-German Condominium of the New Hebrides Condominium Britisch-deutsches Kondominium des Kondominiums Neue Hebriden (The only colony of its kind, the Condominium of New Hebrides was jointly administered by France and Britain prior to the Weltkrieg, but the French part was ceded to Germany following the Treaty of Versailles. After the British Revolution Germany established a "temporary" Condominium over the British Administration as well, which means that the New Hebrides are ruled by a joint administration of the German Empire on one side and Anglo-German Condominium on the other. Having already earned the title of "the Pandemonium of New Hebrides" during its Franco-British time and with things only getting worse from there, the administrative nightmare of New Hebrides is often considered to be the pinnacle of modern bureaucracy.)	Port Vila	Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office for the German New Hebrides; Used as flag of German institutions on New Hebrides and since 1925 also always flown alongside British colonial flag Flag of the British New Hebrides

British Western Pacific

These islands were occupied in 1925 during the chaos of the British Revolution.

State	Capital	Flag
Anglo-German Condominium of the Western Pacific Territories (Includes Gilbert and Ellice Islands (and Union Islands), Canton and Enderbury Islands, Phoenix Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, British Solomon Islands)	Suva	Most of the constituent colonies have their own distinct flags, but the British Western Pacific Territories use the standard Union Jack. Flag of the Imperial Colonial Office always flown alongside the British colonial flag