Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty
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The Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty (German: Helgoland-Sansibar-Vertrag) of 1 July 1890 (also known as the Anglo-German Agreement of 1890) was an agreement between the United Kingdom and the German Empire concerning mainly territorial interests in Africa.
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[edit] Terms
Germany gained the islands of Heligoland (Helgoland in German, originally part of Danish Holstein-Gottorp but during the nineteenth century a British possession) in the North Sea, the Caprivi Strip (chieftainship of the Fwe people in Namibia), and a free hand to control and acquire the coast of Dar es Salaam that would form the core of German East Africa (later Tanganyika, now the mainland component of Tanzania).
In exchange, Germany handed over to the UK the protectorate over the small Sultanate of Wituland (Deutsch-Witu, on the Kenyan coast), parts of East-Africa (vital for the UK to build a railway to Lake Victoria), and pledged not to interfere in the actions of the UK vis-à-vis the Sultanate of Zanzibar. The UK declared a protectorate over the insular sultanate of Zanzibar (the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba) and, in the subsequent 1896 Anglo-Zanzibar War, gained full control of the state.
In addition, the treaty established the German sphere of interest in German South-West Africa (now Namibia) and settled the borders between German Togoland and the British Gold Coast Colony, and German Cameroon and British Nigeria.
[edit] Consequences
The somehow misleading denotation was introduced by resigned Chancellor Otto von Bismarck who intended to attack his successor Leo von Caprivi for concluding an agreement he himself had arranged during his incumbency. In fact Germany had already lost the "Scramble for Africa" and never had any control over the Zanzibar Sultanate. It therefore was not able to swap it for Heligoland, which however was Bismarck's version, eagerly adopted by colonialists who complained about treason against German interests ("trousers for a button"). Alfred Hugenberg appealed for the foundation of the Alldeutscher Verband which took place in 1891.
In contrast the treaty served Caprivi's aims for a settlement with the UK, while the possession of Heligoland was vital for the control over the German Bight with regard to both Wilhelm's II plans for the Imperial Navy and the construction of the Kiel Canal.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Der "Helgoland-Sansibar"-Vertrag (German)
- The Anglo-German Treaty (Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty) 1 July 1890
