Astrolabe Company
Encyclopedia
The Astrolabe Company (German: Astrolabe-Compagnie) was a German "colonial society" (Kolonialgesellschaft ) in Kaiser-Wilhelmsland
, which existed from 1891 to 1896. On 27 October 1891 it was founded with a capital of 2.4 million marks
. Involved were Hamburg
and Bremen
notables and the financiers.
The director of the company was the Geheimer Kommerzienrat (councillor) Adolph von Hansemann
. He also headed the New Guinea Company, from which the company first took over some tobacco plantations in Stephansort and Erima
. The following year, an additional tobacco plantation was founded in Jomba, and another in 1893 in Maraga. In that year, 108,600 pounds
of tobacco was exported to Europe. In addition to the tobacco growing and export, Astrolabe also shipped exotic woods and experimented with the cultivation of coconut palms, Liberian coffee and natural rubber. In 1896, the company ran tobacco and coffee plantations in Stephansort and tobacco plantations in Erima, Jomba, and Maraga.
After bad years in 1895 and 1896, the company merged again with the New Guinea Company in 1896.
In the vicinity of the Astrolabe Company stations, the evangelic Rhenish Missionary Society
was also active.
Kaiser-Wilhelmsland
Kaiser-Wilhelmsland was part of the German New Guinea, the South Pacific protectorate of the German Empire. Named in honor of Wilhelm II, who was the German Emperor and King of Prussia, it included the north-eastern part of the present day Papua New Guinea. From 1884 until 1918, the territory...
, which existed from 1891 to 1896. On 27 October 1891 it was founded with a capital of 2.4 million marks
German gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
. Involved were Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
notables and the financiers.
The director of the company was the Geheimer Kommerzienrat (councillor) Adolph von Hansemann
Adolph von Hansemann
Adolph von Hansemann was an Imperial German businessman and banker.- Life :Born in Aachen in 1826 to German banker and railroad entrepreneur David Hansemann, Adolph Hansemann developed an early interest in business administration. He left home for Hamburg in 1841...
. He also headed the New Guinea Company, from which the company first took over some tobacco plantations in Stephansort and Erima
Erima
Erima is a suburb of Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea....
. The following year, an additional tobacco plantation was founded in Jomba, and another in 1893 in Maraga. In that year, 108,600 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
of tobacco was exported to Europe. In addition to the tobacco growing and export, Astrolabe also shipped exotic woods and experimented with the cultivation of coconut palms, Liberian coffee and natural rubber. In 1896, the company ran tobacco and coffee plantations in Stephansort and tobacco plantations in Erima, Jomba, and Maraga.
After bad years in 1895 and 1896, the company merged again with the New Guinea Company in 1896.
In the vicinity of the Astrolabe Company stations, the evangelic Rhenish Missionary Society
Rhenish Missionary Society
The Rhenish Missionary Society was one of the largest missionary societies in Germany. Formed from smaller missions founded as far back as 1799, the Society was amalgamated on 23 September 1828, and its first missionaries were ordained and sent off to South Africa by the end of the year.The...
was also active.
Sources
- Deutschland und seine Kolonien im Jahre 1896, Amtlicher Bericht über die erste deutsche Kolonial-Ausstellung. (Germany and its colonies in 1896, official report about the first German colonial exhibition.) Editor "Arbeitsausschuss der Deutschen Kolonial-Ausstellung", Berlin 1897, publisher Dietrich Reimer (Ernst Vohsen)