Dr Carl Peters was President of the new-formed German Colonisation Society which was at the back of the initiatory steps for acquiring oversea territory; and he, with two friends, set out for Zanzibar as a base of operations, being justifiably doubtful of Luderitz's success in operating from St Lucia Bay.
All Dr Peters's proceedings were enveloped in great secrecy.
In workmen's garb the three made their way across France and travelled as steerage passengers to Zanzibar, and thence, towards the end of 1884, proceeded up country and obtained, under the pretext of "autograph collecting," the signatures of Arab and native chiefs to treaties, with which they hurried back to Berlin early in 1885 and founded a company to exploit their "concessions"—the company being known as the German East Africa Society.
The territories covered by these concessions had, through the British Consul, been offered by the Sultan of Zanzibar to Great Britain, who, however, declined to assume the protection until a real necessity arose.
The necessity had now arisen, but Peters and his friends were guarded by treaties bearing the signatures of natives potentates, which according to the ethics of German kultur were worthy of respect.
In 1885 the Sultan of Zanzibar was acquainted by the British Consul of the annexation by Germany of a large portion of his territory on the mainland which had been proclaimed by Bismarck, and instead of supporting the Sultan in his righteous protest our statesmen, having been forestalled, determined to give Germany all assistance to establish herself as a neighbour; and the British Representative received instructions "to co-operate immediately with the German Consul-General in forwarding German interests."
Lord Granville, however, reproached Bismarck with not disclosing his real designs, which must have caused that statesman many a sleepless night.
On his part Lord Granville went out of his way to inform Bismarck, in 1885, that British capitalists intended to build a railway from the east coast (the Nairobi Railway) to the Nile lakes, and that "the project would only receive the support of the Brittanic Government if the latter were assured that it would in no way interfere with German designs." This to Bismarck might very easily have appeared to be veiled sarcasm had he been dealing with a man of his own kidney.
A demonstration of force on the part of Germany was necessary to induce the Sultan of Zanzibar to adopt the same humble attitude as the British Government; and a formidable German squadron appeared before the Sultan's palace on the 7th August, 1885, and presented an ultimatum, on which the Sultan bowed to the inevitable and stoically watched himself depleted of his possessions on the mainland, though he retained a considerable portion of the coastline.
Zanzibar Island, indeed, itself fell under a German form of suzerainty from this date until 1890, when Germany resigned all claims over the island to Great Britain, in exchange for the cession of Heligoland.