The first German trading post in the Duala area on the Kamerun River delta was established in 1868 by the Hamburg trading company. The firm's agent in Gabon, Johannes Thormählen, expanded activities to the Kamerun River delta. In 1874, together with the Woermann agent in Liberia, Wilhelm Jantzen, the two merchants founded their own company, Jantzen & Thormählen there. Both of these West Africa houses expanded into shipping with their own sailing ships and steamers and inaugurated scheduled passenger and freight service between Hamburg, Germany and Duala. These companies and others obtained extensive acreage from local chiefs and began systematic plantation operations, including bananas. By 1884, Adolph Woermann, representing all West African companies as their spokesman, petitioned the imperial foreign office for "protection" by the German Empire. Bismarck, the Imperial Chancellor, sought to utilize the traders on site in governing the region via "chartered companies". However, in response to Bismarck's proposal, the companies withdrew their petition. At the core of the commercial interests was pursuit of profitable trading activities under the protection of the Reich, but these entities were determined to stay away from political engagements. Eventually, Bismarck yielded to the Woermann position and instructed the admiralty to dispatch a gunboat. As a show of German interest, the small gunboat SMS Möwe arrived in West Africa. Germany was particularly interested in Cameroon's agricultural potential and it was entrusted to large firms to exploit and export it. Chancellor Bismarck defined the order of priorities as follows: "first the merchant, then the soldier". It was under the influence of businessman Adolph Woermann, whose company set up a trading house in Douala, that Bismarck, initially skeptical about the interest of the colonial project, was convinced. Large German trading companies and concession companies established themselves massively in the colony. Letting the big companies impose their order, the administration simply supported them, protected them and eliminated native uprisings. Germany was planning to build a great African empire, which would connect Kamerun through the Congo to its East African possessions. The German Foreign Minister said shortly before the First World War that the Belgian Congo was too large a colony for a country too small.
The protectorate of Cameroon was established during the period generally known as Europe's imperial "Scramble for Africa". The German explorer, medical doctor, imperial consul and commissioner for West Africa, Gustav Nachtigal, was the driving force toward the colony's establishment. By then well over a dozen German companies, based in Hamburg and Bremen, conducted trading and plantation activities in Cameroon.
20th century
With imperial treasury subsidies, the colony built two rail lines from the port city of Duala to bring agricultural products to market: the Northern line of to the Manenguba mountains, and the long mainline to Makak on the riverNyong. An extensive postal and telegraph system and a river navigation network with government ships connected the coast to the interior. The Cameroon protectorate was enlarged with New Cameroon in 1911 as part of the settlement of the Agadir Crisis, resolved by the Treaty of Fez.
In 1914 a series of drafts were made for proposed Coat of Arms and Flags for the German Colonies. However, World War I broke out before the designs were finished and implemented and the symbols were never actually taken into use. Following the defeat in the war, Germany lost all its colonies and the prepared coat of arms and flags were therefore never used.
