In 1884, the German colonial politician Carl Peters founded the "Society for German Colonisation" and acquired through questionable "protection treaties" with the natives in Zanzibar the core area of later German East Africa. In 1891, the German empire took over the administration of the "protectorate" and Peters was installed as the Imperial commissioner of the Kilimanjaro district to 1893. Serious accusations of arbitrary cruelty against the natives resulted in his dismissal from state service in 1897.
Porträt Dr. Carl Peters mit Gewehr, black-and-white photograph, 1880, unknown photographer, Scherl Bilderdienst; source: German Federal Archive, Image 183-R30019, Wikimedia Commons, http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R30019,_Dr._Carl_Peters.jpg&filetimestamp=20081209214054, Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial - No Derivative Works 3.0 Germany License, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/de/.