| Neukamerun | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofKamerun | |||||||||
| 1911–1916 | |||||||||
 Neukamerun | |||||||||
| • Type | Part of the Colony ofKamerun | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1911 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1916 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of |  Chad Central African Republic Republic of the Congo Gabon | ||||||||
Neukamerun was the name ofCentral African territories ceded by theThird French Republic to theGerman Empire in 1911. Upon taking office in 1907,Theodor Seitz, governor ofKamerun, advocated the acquisition of territories from theFrench Congo.[1]
In 1911, theAgadir Crisis broke out over the question of French influence inMorocco. France and Germany agreed to negotiate on 9 July 1911, and on 4 November, they signed an agreement. In exchange for German recognition of France's rights to Morocco[2] and a strip of land in northeastern Kamerun nearFort Lamy between theLogone andChari rivers, France agreed to cede part of the French Congo to Germany. Germany's only major river outlet from its Central African possessions was theCongo River, and the Germans hoped that more territories to the east of Kamerun would allow for better access to that waterway.[3]
Accordingly, Kamerun gained a connection to the Congo centered on theSangha River and another to theUbangi at the town ofZinga; a small strip of French territory lay enclosed by the two outlets. Also included was a strip from northernGabon that resulted in the Spanish colony ofRio Muni becoming surrounded.[4] In total, the Kamerun colony grew from 465,000 km2 to 760,000 km2.[2]Otto Gleim was governor of Kamerun at the time. The expanded colony became known as Grand Kamerun.[5] The transfer took two years, and was completed when Ouham Region of Ubangi-Shari was transferred on June 1, 1913.[6]
The exchange sparked debate in Germany; opponents argued that the new territories presented little opportunity for commercial exploitation or other profit. The German colonial secretary eventually resigned over the matter.[2]
DuringWorld War I, France was eager to regain the territories.[7] In 1916, France seized the territories after the fall of German forces in western Africa. After the war, France administeredCameroun as aLeague of Nations mandate which was distinct from French Equatorial Africa. Neukamerun ceased to exist as the boundary was placed back at its pre-1911 line (except for the strip of land between the Logone and Chari rivers, which remained part of French Equatorial Africa). The territory today forms part ofChad, theCentral African Republic, theRepublic of the Congo, andGabon.[8]
