 Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert von Spee was born in Copenhagen , Denmark , on 22 June 1861 , though he was raised in the Rhineland in Germany , where his family had an estate . He joined the Kaiserliche Marine ( Imperial Navy ) in 1878 and initially served in the main German naval base at Kiel . He was commissioned an officer at the rank of Leutnant zur See ( Lieutenant at Sea ) , and was assigned to the gunboat SMS Möwe , which was sent to western Africa . During this voyage , the Germans signed treaties with local rulers in Togo and Cameroon , creating the colonies of Togoland and Kamerun , respectively . In 1887 , Spee was transferred to Kamerun where he commanded the port at Duala . He contracted rheumatic fever while there , and had to be sent back to Germany to recover , though he occasionally suffered from rheumatism for the rest of his life . After returning to Germany in 1889 , he married his wife , Margareta Baroness von der Osten @-@ Sacken . With her he had two sons – Otto , born on 10 July 1890 , Heinrich , born on 24 April 1893 – and one daughter , Huberta , born on 11 July 1894 . 
