Adolph Woermann (* 10 December 1847 in Hamburg; "† 4. May 1910 on the yard with Trittau) was a Hamburg buyer, shipowner and a politician, who were considerably in the mechanism of the German colonies in Africa involved.

Life

Adolph Woermann, visited the Johanneum in Hamburg and completed commercial training, before he became 1874 partners of the paternal commercial firm C. Woermann.

The company C. Woermann had been created 1837 by its father and was mainly in the Africa trade active. 1854 were created their first commercial establishment in Monrovia, 1862 further in Gabon and 1868 in Kamerun.C. Woermann exchanged mainly Branntwein and weapons from the German Reich for and india rubber. was at that time very desired, there it that scarcely becoming Waltran as lubricant and as margarine raw material (Palmin) replaced.

1879 Adolph Woermann to those Hamburg Chamber of Commerce appointed, to which it belonged until 1908, of it 1884 as well as from 1899 to 1902 as transferred it the paternal company C. Woermann, which it led until 1910. From 1880 to 1904 it in addition member were that Hamburg citizenry and from 1884 to 1890 one of three realm tag delegates from Hamburg, it belonged to the national liberal parliamentary group. 1890 it was appointed into the colonial advice, a consulting committee for colonial questions, which contributed the fundamentals of the German colonial policy.

The emergence of the colonies

At the former slave points of sale at the African west coast developed starting from 1840 hanseatische commercial establishments. There was mostly retired ships, so mentioned of Hulks, which served as Warenlager and residence of the Europeans. One could compare selling systematics of the African goods with the slavery: Native dealers got European goods as credit, usually alcohol, and had at a certain later time the agreed upon exchange goods or india rubber to supply. It came also to attack on the hanseatischen commercial establishments, which thereupon wished protection. Leading from beginning of the 1860 years hanseatische buyers at the westAfrican coast were, also in the English governed ports. Only end of the 1870er years became the trading terms for the hanseatischen buyers more badly and the demand after a nationally carried Kolonialisierung louder. When in March 1883 the Sierra Leone agreement in Germany admits became, in which colonial powers England and France co-ordinated their respective spheres of influence in west Africa, fallow panic out. Drauf wrote Adolph Woermann in June 1883 a memorandum to the realm government, in which the hanseatische trade used itself for new Africa politics. Furthermore beside the safety device of the trade before English and French competition, the elimination of the African domestic trade the "acquisition of a coastal line in west Africa was demanded for the establishment of a trade colony".

Due to its high Reputation Adolph Woermann the penetration of these positions and goals succeeded, whereby he held partly also personal conversations with realm chancellor Bismarck. Therefore for the protection of the German trade in December 1883 a warship was sent to west Africa. On 24 April 1884 the possessions of Bremen of the buyer Adolf could load-cut into Angra Pequena (today's loading cutting bay into Namibia) under "realm protection" to be placed. This day marks the beginning of the German Kolonialherrschaft.Am 12 July 1884 areas in Cameroon into the possession of the company C. Woermann and the company Jantzen & was brought and to the safety device (the also under the protection of the realm placed. In order to regulate the allocation of Africa between the great powers obligatorily, from 15 November 1884 to 23 February 1885 in Berlin the conference of Congo was held, in which Adolph Woermann participated.

Emergence of the Woermann line

To the company C. Woermann belonged 1880, when Adolph Woermann took over them, twelve sailing boats and a steam ship. These served exclusively the transport of the own commodity. In the course of the next years the sailing boats were gradually sold and replaced by further steamers. With these steamers starting from 1884 regular connection was developed to Cameroon.

1885 was separated all ships into their own company, the African steam ship corporation, Woermann line. 1896 arranged the Woermann line, in which short form became it well-known, an airline service along the whole west coast of Africa in. Adolph Woermann was also 1890 involved in the establishment the German East Africa line (DOAL). Adolph Woermann possessed twelve per cent of the firm portions of the DOAL, yet the management was closely connected with the Woermann line, so that Adolph Woermann also governed there.

The DOAL had been created, in order to arrive the benefit from subsidies to, which should guarantee a regular Postverbindung to German East Africa. Due to the high competition pressure 1907 in the Africa business, the hostilely reflected Hamburg of Bremen Africa line had developed, had to Woermann with the HAPAG, for the then largest shipping company of the realm, to together-go and portions deliver.

Thus the crisis was overcome, 1914 with outbreak of the First World War had the Woermann shipping company one existence of 29 ships for the west and southwest Africa travel and 11 coastal ships. The DOAL had at this time 23 steamers.

A scandal

On 11 January 1904 the rebellion of the Hereros in the German southwest Africa at that time broke out. The only shipping company, which offered regular connection to southwest Africa, was the Woermann Linie.So actually all military transportation, during the war altogether 15,000 soldiers and 11,000 horses almost exclusively over the Woermann shipping company was completed. When in Reichstag was debated in March 1906 the budget of the war, the delegate central party Matthias Erzberger uncovered that the Woermann line had taken approximately 6 million realm Marks at superelevated freight funds and unstimmigen couch fees of the realm during the war.

Thus Adolph Woermann of one of the largest Kriegsgewinnler of the war against the Herero would have been. Albert Ballin, director of the HAPAG, took Adolph Woermann in protection and stated, the higher fees by extraordinary costs would have been justified. Emperor Wilhelm II. did not want to receive Adolph Woermann on it with his attendance in Hamburg no more.

Literature

• Franklin Kopitzsch (Hrsg.): Hamburgi biography, Christians publishing house, Hamburg
  • 1. - Person encyclopedia, 2001, ISBN 3-7672-1364-8
• Heiko (Hrsg.): Branntwein, Bibles and bananas. The German colonialism a tracing in Hamburg, publishing house association, Hamburg 1999, ISBN 3-922611-72-9
• Hans's B. Moltmann: History of the German merchant shipping, publishing house Hanseati Merkur, Hamburg 1981, ISBN 3-922-857-02-7
• Ulrich Van of the Heyden, Joachim Zeller (Hrsg.): Colonially metropolis Berlin. A tracing, Berlin edition, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-8148-0092-3

Web left

• www.c-woermann.com

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