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Jantzen & Thormählen was a German firm based on Hamburg that was established to exploit the resources of Cameroon. The firm's commercial and political influence was a major factor in the establishment of the colony of Kamerun in 1884. ==Coastal trade== Until the later part of the 19th century, most German trade with Africa passed through Hamburg. The Carl and Adolf Woermann Firm, established in 1837 by the Hamburg merchant Carl Woermann, entered the West African market in 1849 and came to dominate the trade of the region. Jantzen and Thormahlen were initially agents of Adolph Woermann's Woermann-Linie. Johannes Thormählen was the firm’s agent in Gabon, and Wilhelm Jantzen was the Woermann agent in Liberia. After they established their own firm in 1875, they maintained contact with Woermann. Woermann, Jantzen & Thormählen and other German firms controlled a network of trading posts in different parts of West Africa. About half the trade with Kamerun was German-controlled. The traders were mainly interested in selling goods including guns and liquor in return for palm products, and had no interest in permanent colonization. In fact, they preferred to operate informally and without interference from German civil servants, and opposed annexation. Many felt that African traders working on credit produced better results at lower cost than European agents, who were hard to recruit and were prone to sickness. The shift toward favoring permanent colonies was driven by two factors: a fall in the prices of African products created a demand to bypass the local African traders and establish direct routes to the interior; and once firms such as Jantzen & Thormählen had established bases and plantations they required military protection. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jantzen & Thormählen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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