German Empire

The German Empire existed from 18 January 1871, when many of the German-speaking states of Europe united under Prussian leadership in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, until the defeat of Germany in World War I in 1918. At its height, it had the third largest colonial empire among the European powers, only behind the British and French colonial empires.

Understand
Since the fall of the Roman Empire, the area that is today Germany had largely been comprised of numerous small kingdoms, principalities and duchies (see Franks and Hanseatic League). However, from A.D. 962 to 1806, many of the Catholic German-speaking states had formed a loose confederation known as the Holy Roman Empire, with the Holy Roman Emperor for much of its history being the Habsburg monarchs of Austria. The unification of the small German-speaking states into one single German nation-state only began in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars in 1864, and the German Empire was proclaimed in 1871, with King Wilhelm I of Prussia becoming the first Kaiser of the German Empire, while Minister-President of Prussia Otto von Bismarck became the first Chancellor of Germany. Austria did not join the German Empire, instead becoming the heart of the separate Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Germany hosted the Berlin Conference in 1884–1885, in which representatives of the United States and the European great powers met to divide Africa among themselves, with Germany obtaining its first overseas colonies in Africa (although some of the individual small German states had made short-lived attempts at colonisation prior to unification). The German colonial empire was to expand in the 1890s, into Oceania and China, and their African holdings were further extended inland, though this expansionism would bring them into conflict with the French and the British. The German Empire came to an end after Germany's defeat in World War I in 1918, as the victorious Allies forced Germany to give up all its overseas colonies, and much of Germany's European territory was granted independence as new nation-states (in particular Poland) or ceded to neighbouring countries (Alsace-Lorraine to France).

Science and technology
The German Empire became a world leader in natural sciences, technology and manufacturing, winning many of the Nobel Prizes up to World War II. See also Route der Industriekultur and Golden Age of Modern Physics.

Europe
During the days of the German Empire, Germany's borders stretched far beyond its modern-day ones. Most of Germany's former European territories were ceded to neighbouring countries after Germany's defeat in World War I as part of the Treaty of Versailles or after its defeat in World War II.

German East Africa
German East Africa comprised of Rwanda, Burundi, and the mainland part of modern-day Tanzania (then known as Tanganyika), as well as the Kionga Triangle, a small piece of land in modern-day Mozambique. After Germany's defeat in World War I, the colony was split up: Rwanda and Burundi were ceded to Belgium, Tanganyika to the United Kingdom, and the Kionga Triangle to Portugal.

German South West Africa
What was German South West Africa is today the independent country of Namibia, and was first colonised by Germany in 1884. It was seized by South Africa on behalf of the British in 1915, and subsequently awarded to the United Kingdom as part of the Treaty of Versailles, but with South Africa continuing to administer it on behalf of the British. After South Africa gained self government in 1931, South West Africa would become a colony of South Africa before gaining independence as the Republic of Namibia in 1990.

Kamerun
German colony from 1884-1916. After Germany's defeat in World War I, the colony was split between the United Kingdom and France. The French-controlled part became independent as Cameroon in 1960, while the British-controlled part was split between Nigeria and Cameroon in 1961.

German New Guinea
German New Guinea included the northern half of what is today Papua New Guinea, as well as several of the neighbouring islands such as Nauru, Palau, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Northern Mariana Islands. After Germany's defeat in World War I, the territory was split between the United Kingdom and Japan, with Australia mostly administering the areas that were awarded to Britain. The Japanese controlled-parts would be ceded to the United States following Japan's defeat in World War II.

Turkey
In the late 19th century, the German Empire was looking for ways to reach its far-flung colonies without having to negotiate the maritime choke points controlled by the rival British Empire (such as Dover, Gibraltar, and Suez), while the already falling-apart Ottoman Empire wanted to strengthen its influence in its southern provinces with a fixed link. So the two empires found themselves in an alliance over the ambitious idea of a railway to be jointly constructed from Berlin to the Persian Gulf through Constantinople, a project later coined the "Baghdad Railway".

Therefore, despite the fact that no part of the country has ever been a German possession, Turkey has significant Imperial German heritage, mostly related to that railway project. The European part of the rail line came to fame with the Orient Express.