German Colonial Empire without WWI

The Germans had one of the more centralized colonial administrations so one would expect their colonies to be more developed. This said I think only Togoland actual made money and that was the ruber trade. Tsingtao was well developed but it was very exposed and another money black hole.

Michael
 
German settlement in the African colonies. Some Boers would move into South-West Africa. Kamerun would get to benefit from the recent (1911) extension of its border to the Congo. The possibility of alliance with China means that the Kiaochow concession will either be sacrificed or developed into another Hong Kong. If Portugal is forced to sell its colonies then Germany is guaranteed a share.
 
The possibility of alliance with China means that the Kiaochow concession will either be sacrificed or developed into another Hong Kong.

I have my doubts about a German Hong Kong clone: Germany had already introduced health insurance and pension plans for the natives in Tsingtao ; this will hinder said German colony in its economic competition with the original Hong Kong and its Manchester-style capitalism.
 
German settlement in the African colonies. Some Boers would move into South-West Africa. Kamerun would get to benefit from the recent (1911) extension of its border to the Congo. The possibility of alliance with China means that the Kiaochow concession will either be sacrificed or developed into another Hong Kong. If Portugal is forced to sell its colonies then Germany is guaranteed a share.

I don't think there would be any significant Boer migration to German SWA, by 1910 South Africa was basically ruled by the Afrikaners again.
 
I always thought that the German colonies were not profitable for Germany and that the only interest on his part was purely prestige. But I am not a connoisseur of this, so I would like to inform me by some German if that is correct and if the ruling classes would continue expanding his empire in spite of it. Best regards and thanks for the information.
 
I always thought that the German colonies were not profitable for Germany and that the only interest on his part was purely prestige. But I am not a connoisseur of this, so I would like to inform me by some German if that is correct and if the ruling classes would continue expanding his empire in spite of it. Best regards and thanks for the information.

This version of history is taught at German schools and the general consensus in public discourse over here.

The problem is that there is a certain anti-imperialistic bias (at least concerning German imperialism ;)) at German schools, which gives an incentive to spread this view ...

The expenses were billed in different accounts (mostly Foreign Office, Colonial Office and Navy) and sometimes hidden to placate the Reichstag (IIRC, some colonial expenses were even concealed in the Reichsbahn budget), so real numbers are hard to come by.

I have no doubts that some colonies made a profit (e.g. African diamond fields) but the comparatively soft treatment of natives reduced possible profits.

I guess that total earnings were rather limited, but this is merely an educated guess.
 
But I am not a connoisseur of this, so I would like to inform me by some German if that is correct and if the ruling classes would continue expanding his empire in spite of it.

If we're talking about WWI avoided (more likely just delayed) at the last minute then there's no room for safe* colonial expansion left, at least for Germany, unless there's a sale of Portuguese colonies (seriously talked about at that time). Germany might get to finish the Baghdad Railway and extend it to the Gulf and help the Ottomans extend the Hejaz Railway to Mecca. There are places all around the world (Afghanistan, Albania, Bulgaria, China, Greece, Haiti, Japan, Liberia, Mexico, Persia, Romania, Sweden, and Turkey) where it can expand its influence and economic interests. That's not really colonialism though.

Earlier on there's Conakry, Cuba, eastern Samoa, Morocco, the Nicaragua Canal, the Philippines, Wituland, Zanzibar.

*Not resulting in war with the US, Japan or a European colonial power.
 
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German south-west africa(Namibia) could be a valuable colony.

German South-West Africa was the only German colony where Germans settled in large numbers. German settlers were drawn to the colony by economic possibilities in diamond and copper mining, and especially farming. In 1902, the colony had 200,000 inhabitants, though only 2,595 were German, 1,354 were Afrikaner, and 452 were British. By 1914, 9,000 more German settlers had arrived. There were probably around 80,000 Herero, 60,000 Ovambo, and 10,000 Nama, who were disparagingly referred to as Hottentots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_South-West_Africa

Could be a second Rhodesia if more germans had settled in Namibia.
 
I always thought that the German colonies were not profitable for Germany and that the only interest on his part was purely prestige. But I am not a connoisseur of this, so I would like to inform me by some German if that is correct and if the ruling classes would continue expanding his empire in spite of it. Best regards and thanks for the information.

The may have been unprofitable then but a bit of exploration and you would find a lot of goodies.

Kaiser Wilhelm Land has one of the largest gold mines in the world and Bouganville has one of the largest copper deposits in the world.

It seems strange that the smallest and most distant colony is probably the richest,

If Germany can Grab some of Portugal's colonies then things become very interesting.
 
I have no doubts that some colonies made a profit (e.g. African diamond fields) but the comparatively soft treatment of natives reduced possible profits.

I guess that total earnings were rather limited, but this is merely an educated guess.

? The Germans didn't treat the natives "softly" at all. The population of SW Africa was nearly exterminated and the East Africa the regime was so brutal and intrusive the territory was wracked by some of the most serious rebellion in Africa. Maybe the last few years before the war there was more effective government, but I would hardly call German colonial history in Africa "soft".

The fundmental problem is that most of the German territory was "leftovers" with little economic value; that made them money pits.
 
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