German Southwest Africa: Establishment of the Colony |
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| Form: | Circular with attached loop | ||||||||
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| By: | ? | ||||||||
| Date: | 1884 | ||||||||
| Ref: |
Laidlaw: 1082; |
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| Variations: |
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| Edge: |
Plain. |
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| Obverse: |
Bust of Wilhelm I, right. Legend: "WILHELM I. KAISER VON DEUTSCHLAND". Small cross at foot. |
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| Reverse: |
Within a beaded border round the rim, two ships in bay. Left, on rocky promontory, cross and flag on pole. Radiant sun on horizon. Legend above in three arcs: "VERKÜNDUNG D. DEUTSCHEN PROTECTORATS / D. DR: NACHTIGALL U. ENTFALTUNG / D. DEUTSCHEN FLAGGE A. 5. JULI 1884 (Handing-over ceremony of the German Protectorate to Dr. Nachtigall and the raising of the German flag on July 5, 1884)". In the exergue: "LÜDERITZ-LAND / ANGRA-PEQUENA". |
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| Notes: |
In 1487 Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to discover Angra Pequena, now called Lüderitz in Namibia. On November 16, 1882, Adolf Lüderitz, a German merchant from Bremen, requested German protection for a trading station that he planned to build at Angra Pequena. After protection had been granted, one of his employees, Heinrich Vogelsang, bought land in the surrounding region from the local Nama chief Josef Frederiks II. This territory was named Lüderitz-Land. On 24 April 1884 Lüderitz transferred his rights over Angra Pequena and Lüderitz-Land to the German Imperial Government to deter British encroachment. In early 1884, the gunboat SMS Nautilus visited to review the situation. A favourable report from the government, and acquiescence from the British, resulted in a visit from the SMS Leipzig and SMS Elisabeth. The German flag was finally raised in Southwest Africa on 7 August 1884. In October, the newly appointed Commissioner for West Africa, Dr. Gustav Nachtigal, arrived on the SMS Möwe. The date of 5 July 1844 refers to the day on which Germany first established colonies in West Africa and when Dr. Gustav Nachtigal was appointed Commissioner for all German possessions in West Africa. |
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