| Signed | July 1, 1890 (1890-07-01) |
|---|---|
| Location | Berlin |
| Signatories | |
| Parties |
TheHeligoland–Zanzibar Treaty (German:Helgoland-Sansibar-Vertrag; also known as theAnglo-German Agreement of 1890) was an agreement signed on 1 July 1890 betweenGermany and theUnited Kingdom.
The accord gave Germany control of theCaprivi Strip (a ribbon of land that gaveGerman South-West Africa access to theZambezi River), the strategically located archipelago ofHeligoland in the North Sea, and the heartland ofGerman East Africa. In return, Germany recognized British authority inZanzibar. Heligoland was needed to control the newKiel Canal and the approaches to Germany'sNorth Sea ports. Britain used Zanzibar as a key link in the British control of East Africa.[1]
Germany gained the islands ofHeligoland (German:Helgoland) in theNorth Sea, originally possession of thedukes of Holstein-Gottorp but since 1814 a British possession, the so-calledCaprivi Strip in what is nowNamibia, and a free hand to control and acquire the coast ofDar es Salaam that would form the core ofGerman East Africa (laterTanganyika, now the mainland component ofTanzania).[2]
In exchange, Germany handed over to Britain the protectorate over the small sultanate ofWituland (Deutsch-Witu, on theKenyan coast) and parts of East Africa vital for the British to build a railway toLake Victoria, and pledged not to interfere with British actions vis-à-vis the independentSultanate of Zanzibar (i.e. the islands ofUnguja andPemba). In addition, the treaty established the German sphere of interest inGerman South West Africa (most of present-day Namibia) and settled the borders between GermanTogoland and the BritishGold Coast (nowGhana), as well as between GermanKamerun and BritishNigeria.[3]
Britain divested itself of a naval base which covered the approaches to the main German naval bases in the North Sea. It immediately declared aprotectorate over Zanzibar and, in the subsequent 1896Anglo-Zanzibar War, gained full control of the sultanate.
The treaty served German chancellorLeo von Caprivi's aims for a settlement with the British. After the 1884Berlin Conference, Germany had been losing out in the "Scramble for Africa". TheGerman East Africa Company underCarl Peters had acquired a strip of land on the Tanganyikan coast (leading to the 1888Abushiri Revolt), but had never had any control over the islands of the Zanzibar sultanate. The treaty gave away no vital German interests, while acquiring Heligoland, an island which was strategically placed for control over theGerman Bight. With the construction of theKiel Canal from 1887 onward, control of the German Bight had become essential to EmperorWilhelm's II plans for expansion of theImperial Navy. Wilhelm's naval policies aborted an accommodation with the British and ultimately led to a rapprochement between Britain andFrance, sealed with theEntente cordiale in 1904.
The misleading name for the treaty was introduced by ex-ChancellorOtto von Bismarck, who intended to attack his despised successor Caprivi for concluding an agreement that Bismarck himself had arranged during his incumbency. However, Bismarck's nomenclature implied that Germany had swapped an African empire for tinyHeligoland ("trousers for a button").[4] This was eagerly adopted by imperialists, who complained about "treason" against German interests. Carl Peters andAlfred Hugenberg appealed for the foundation of theAlldeutscher Verband ("Pan-German League") which took place in 1891.[5]
