DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       True Left
  HTML https://trueleft.createaforum.com
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       *****************************************************
   DIR Return to: Colonial Era
       *****************************************************
       #Post#: 14396--------------------------------------------------
       Cameroon
       By: 90sRetroFan Date: June 29, 2022, 9:19 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
  HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamerun
       [quote]Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from
       1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.
       Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with
       western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern
       parts of Chad and far eastern parts of Nigeria.
       ...
       The Cameroon territory was under the informal control of the
       British Empire throughout the years preceding 1884, with
       substantial British trading operations as well.[5]
       Eventually, these companies would begin agitating for royal
       protection. By 1884, Adolph Woermann, as spokesman for all West
       African companies, petitioned the imperial foreign office for
       "protection" by the German Empire.[4]
       ...
       The most notable of the German governors, and the man who would
       come to define the German legacy in Cameroon, would be Jesko Von
       Puttkammer, who governed from 1895-1906 (and for a few shorter
       times before).[11] It was Puttkammer who began the German
       behaviors that lend them a reputation of brutality and harshness
       as colonizers. During his time, he oversaw a number of military
       campaigns against local peoples like the Bali, forcing those who
       rebuffed German attempts at a "treaty" that supposedly justified
       German expansion.[12] Oftentimes, he would not act directly
       against these people, instead relying on empowering other rival
       local powers and establishing them as "protected by Germany" and
       arming them.[11] These groups would then use their newfound
       power and armaments to conquer dissenting peoples, without the
       Germans themselves actually ever getting involved.
       When the Germans did become involved, however, it was brutal,
       often going out of their way to punish those who surrendered to
       them if their leader still refused, and taking a tithe of people
       from conquered peoples as essentially slaves, though they did
       not call them such.[12]
       This leads into the second prominent feature of Puttkamer's
       governorship, his expansion and support for the plantations.
       This became a problem, as the plantations had more fields than
       they did workers, so there was a labor shortage. To address
       this, Puttkamer instituted the "man tithes" mentioned above, in
       addition to just taking people whenever they conquered new
       territories or had to put down a rebellion.[11] These people
       would then be made to do harsh forced labor, with extremely high
       rates of death.[11] Extreme forms of discipline were practiced
       too, including the cutting of hands, genitals, gouging of eyes
       and decapitations. Severed limbs were often collected and shown
       to local authorities as proof of death.[12]
       These practices, which continued even after Puttkammer retired
       from his position, would define the German colonial legacy.[13]
       ...
       At the outbreak of World War I, French, Belgian and British
       troops invaded the German colony in 1914 and fully occupied it
       during the Kamerun campaign.[16] Following Germany's defeat, the
       Treaty of Versailles divided the territory into two League of
       Nations mandates (Class B) under the administration of Great
       Britain and France.[16][/quote]
  HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Cameroon
       [quote]French racism became prevalent throughout the colony
       rather quickly, and anti-French sentiment followed and would be
       strengthened in the late 1940s.
       ...
       The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), an anti-colonialist
       party created in 1948 and which struggled for unification of
       both Cameroons and for independence was outlawed in 1955. A
       colonial war then started and lasted for at least seven years,
       with the French Fourth Republic leading a harsh repression of
       the anti-colonialist movement.[/quote]
  HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Cameroon
       [quote]In British Cameroon, European immigrants were subject to
       the laws of their home country while natives of Cameroon were
       held to customary law which was typically overseen by British
       administrators.[5]
       ...
       As French Cameroon gained independence, “British Cameroon was
       still under the administration of Nigeria.".[9] French Cameroun
       became independent, as Cameroun or Cameroon, on January 1, 1960,
       and Nigeria was scheduled for independence later that same year,
       which raised the question of what to do with the British
       territory. As colonizers of Nigeria, the British desired for the
       two to be united.[10] After some discussion (which had been
       going on since 1959), a UN-administered plebiscite was agreed to
       and held on 11 February 1961. The Muslim-majority Northern area
       opted for union with Nigeria, and the Southern area voted to
       join Cameroon.[11][/quote]
       NEVER FORGIVE. NEVER FORGET.
       *****************************************************