In:
Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer, PERSEE Program, Vol. 60, No. 219 ( 1973), p. 172-195
Abstract:
In 1879 five Duala chiefs were trying to get a British government for their town. Contrary to what one might think, such a pétition was no part of an imperialist design. True, there was a British consul at Fernando Po (since the middle of the 19th century), and Baptist missionaries had been at work among the Duala since 1845. The consuls had got the Duala to sign commercial treaties, and they even had been meddh'ng with Duala affairs. Their direct impact, however, was quite limited. Nevertheless, the pétition of 1879, as well as the others that were to follow, was a bye-effect of the European presence in Cameroons River. From the 16th century on, Europeans had corne to Cameroons River to buy slaves. During the first part of the 19th century the slave trade came to an end, and legitimate commerce took its place. The Duala beoame brokers for palmoil and palmkernel, as they had been for slaves. This involvement in commerce led to important social and political change in Duala society. The Duala lineage-system was altered, and the social status quo was upset. External trade furthered the rise of an élite of big merchant-chiefs whose wealth and political position were largely due to their contact with European traders. But together with hiérarchisation went a tendancy to further fragmentation of Duala society, which became the more intense as trade increased. An important stage was reached when the slave trade gave way to legitimate commerce. To the rivalry among chiefs was added the confrontation between these chiefs and those of their dependants who either had found ways and means to trade directly with the Europeans, and get prestige goods without recurring to traditional allocation, or who at least were challenging the merchant-chiefs' disproportionate ambitions. At length, the political situation deteriorated to such a point that the Duala chiefs felt urged to ask the Europeans for assistance, hoping a European government would restore the peace and guarantee their outstanding political and social position.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0300-9513
DOI:
10.3406/outre.1973.1672
Language:
French
Publisher:
PERSEE Program
Publication Date:
1973
SSG:
8
SSG:
8,2
SSG:
6,23
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