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Franz Adolf Lüderitz

German merchant

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Franz Adolf Lüderitz was a German merchant who established the first German settlement in South West Africa (now Namibia) at Angra Pequena in 1883, which he renamed Lüderitzbucht. He persuaded the German government to place the territory under its protection, leading to the establishment of German South West Africa as a German colony in 1884. Lüderitz's trading operations and subsequent acquisition of land marked the beginning of German colonial presence in the region. Diamonds were discovered in the area in 1908, transforming Lüderitz into a mining town. The colony was later taken over by the German government and eventually became Namibia after World War I.12

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