Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers: The Duala and their Hinterland, c.1600–c.1960

Ralph A. Austen; Jonathan Derrick

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511497261

The Duala people entered the international scene as merchant-brokers for precolonial trade in ivory, slaves and palm products. Under colonial rule they used the advantages gained from earlier riverain trade to develop cocoa plantations and provide their children with exceptional levels of European education. At the same time they came into early conflict with both German and French regimes and played a leading - if ultimately unsuccessful - role in anti-colonial politics. In tracing these changing economic and political roles, this book also examines the growing consciousness of the Duala as an ethnic group and uses their history to shed light on the history of 'middleman' communities in surrounding regions of West and Central Africa. The authors draw upon a wide range of written and oral sources, including indigenous accounts of the past conflicting with their own findings but illuminate local conceptions of social hierarchy and their relationship to spiritual beliefs.

"With a sure hand, the authors analyze Duala trading history with reference to the historiography of the more important trading communities of southeastern Nigeria. Their coverage of economic, political, social, and cultural changes will be of interest to scholars of a number of disciplines." David Northup, Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"...let us be grateful for their thorough history of the Duala which will not be superceded soon." Jan Vansina, American Historical Review

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Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers

The Duala and their Hinterland, c.1600–c.1960

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-vi

Contents
pp vii-vii

List of tables
pp viii-viii

Preface
pp ix-x

List of abbreviations
pp xi-xi

Map
pp xii-xii

1 - Introduction
pp 1-4

2 - From fishermen to middlemen: the Duala inland and on the coast in the formative period, c. 1600–1830
pp 5-47

3 - Hegemony without control: the Duala, Europeans and the Littoral hinterland in the era of legitimate/free trade, c. 1830–1884
pp 48-92

4 - Mythic transformation and historical continuity: Duala middlemen and German colonial rule, 1884–1914
pp 93-137

5 - Middlemen as ethnic elite: the Duala under French mandate rule, 1914–1941
pp 138-175

6 - Between colonialism and radical nationalism: middlemen in the era of decolonization, c. 1941–c. 1960
pp 176-191

Notes
pp 192-234

Bibliography
pp 235-249

Index
pp 250-252

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES
pp 253-254

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Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers

The Duala and their Hinterland, c.1600–c.1960

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