Status of integrated colonies within Imperial Germany

Let's say that ITTL, WWI ends with a 1914 victory, or is avoided all together. The only real thing needed for this question is that Germany keeps its colonies.

If Germany chose to integrate some of these colonies [such as South West Africa], where would they place within the German Empire? Would they be upgraded to an Imperial Territory like Alsace Lorraine? Or might they become a province of Prussia? As unlikely as it might be, could we see the colony become its own Duchy or Grand Duchy?
 
They most probably would end up as Imperial Territories since no European power ever thought of putting nobility as the ruling class in Africa
 
Last edited:
The German empire had some republican ruled city states, maybe that could be a solution to integrate colonies into the empire, i'd not expect them to elevate some local monarchy to rulership of a newly created colonial kingdom in the imperial federation, too much prestige for non whites.
 
The German empire had some republican ruled city states, maybe that could be a solution to integrate colonies into the empire, i'd not expect them to elevate some local monarchy to rulership of a newly created colonial kingdom in the imperial federation, too much prestige for non whites.

So in essence, might see a category of republics under the German Empire alongside Kingdoms and Duchies. Might we also then see Alsace Lorraine evolve into this group as well?
 
So in essence, might see a category of republics under the German Empire alongside Kingdoms and Duchies. Might we also then see Alsace Lorraine evolve into this group as well?
Maybe? Maybe not. By the time that question poses itself A-L will be firmly majority German and could become a kingdom as a present for the second in the imperial succession or something like that. That is if there's no centralization of the realm in the meantime which would certainly do away with the city state republics for example.
 

Vuu

Banned
An interesting question, nobody actually bothered with fully integrating their colonies
 
An interesting question, nobody actually bothered with fully integrating their colonies
They did, kind of... Falklands, Puerto Rico, French Guyana, Ceuta and Melilla etc. Some might have the status of "overseas territories" or similar but that's just semantics.
 

Vuu

Banned
They did, kind of... Falklands, Puerto Rico, French Guyana, Ceuta and Melilla etc. Some might have the status of "overseas territories" or similar but that's just semantics.
Yeah, but they're the exception, not the rule - and very tiny and remote
 
Yeah, but they're the exception, not the rule - and very tiny and remote

Portugal was in the process of integrating its colonies - or rather the large white settled cities of Angola and Mozambique - in the last 20 years of colonial rule.

Not that it mattered since there weren’t any democratic elections.
 
Unless there's a very large authoritarian/monarchical revival in Germany there's not likely to be duchies in the new colonies. They'll likely just be imperial territories, and potentially provinces just the same as the rest of Germany if they population is overwhelmingly German. Tanganyika probably would never be able to be fully integrated, but South West Africa would probably work if Germany's rule is uninterrupted for several more decades than it was OTL.
 
Top