Colonial Era

German Empire

1871 AD – 1913 AD · peak 1914 AD

Proclaimed in 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War, the German Empire was a federal state led by the Prussian Hohenzollern dynasty. Chancellor Otto von Bismarck oversaw its rise as the leading industrial and military power in continental Europe. The empire pursued aggressive colonial expansion and naval armament until the abdication of Wilhelm II and its collapse at the end of World War I in 1918.

Capital: Berlin