 Only when Lord Derby, British Secretary of State for the Colonies ordered the Cape Colony administration to take possession of the South West African coast did Bismarck agree to declare German "Schutzgebiete" (protection areas); the term 'colonies' was not used for diplomatic reasons.On 7 August 1884, German South West Africa was officially declared by hoisting the German flag in Lüderitzbucht.From then on, Lüderitz commissioned several expeditions into the vast hinterland.