colony · North America and Oceania

German New Guinea

1884 CE – 1914 CE · capital Finschhafen; later Rabaul

Germany's main Pacific colony, covering northeast New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and much of Micronesia, until Australia and Japan seized it in 1914.

Origins

In 1884 Germany proclaimed a protectorate over northeastern New Guinea, named Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, and the Bismarck Archipelago. The territory was run by the chartered New Guinea Company until 1899, when the Reich took over. That year Germany bought the Caroline, Palau and Northern Mariana Islands from Spain, and the Marshall Islands Protectorate, including Nauru, was merged in 1906.

Rule and society

Administration moved from Finschhafen to Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen (Madang), then Herbertshöhe, and to Rabaul in 1910. Copra plantations depended on recruited labour, often coerced, and phosphate was mined on Nauru and Angaur. Governor Albert Hahl, from 1902 to 1914, extended control through appointed village headmen called luluai and a head tax. Lutheran and Catholic missions were active, and scientists studied the region's peoples.

Decline and legacy

In September 1914 an Australian force captured Rabaul after fighting at Bita Paka, while Japan seized the Micronesian islands. After the war the lands became the Territory of New Guinea, the South Seas Mandate and the Territory of Nauru.

Lineage

Marshall Islands Protectorate 1885 CE – 1906 CEGerman New GuineaSouth Seas Mandate 1919 CE – 1947 CETerritory of Nauru 1920 CE – 1968 CETerritory of New Guinea 1920 CE – 1949 CE

Connections (3)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). German New Guinea. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/german-new-guinea
MLA
“German New Guinea.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/german-new-guinea. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “German New Guinea.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/german-new-guinea.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘German New Guinea’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/german-new-guinea (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻