Karl Peters (1856-1918) was a German colonial official and explorer who founded the German East Africa Company and played a major role in the colonization of East Africa. He also became notorious for his brutal treatment of local populations and his role in the so-called "Maji Maji Rebellion," a widespread popular uprising against German colonial rule in Tanzania. Peters was eventually forced to resign from the German East Africa Company in 1891 due to financial and political troubles, and he died in obscurity in 1918.
