History - European and Colonial Contact

by Alphonsus Forngang Ndenge

German Explorer Attacks Mankon

The confederation dissolved inJanuary 1891 following an attack brought against Mankon by Eugen Zintgraff, the German explorer and trader. At that time the Germans were competing with theEnglish and the French for the control of Cameroon, which was turning out tobe an ideal ground for plantations. Thanks to his experience as an explorer, Zintgraff became a protagonist of the German penetration into Cameroon.

In 1887 he presented a project tothe German government with the objective of creating a series of commercialestablishments within the country, particularly on the high plateaux on theother side of MountCameroon. He thought thata road could be built which would develop trade between inland Cameroon andthe coast. The cost of the operation was very high and the German gov­ernmentonly gave Zintgraff the authorization to build one trading post at Barombi, notfar from the MungoRiver.

Later on, in 1889, Zintgraff set upanother trading post at Bali, where he had a “bloodpact” with Fon Galega, who also promised him labour and soldiers when needed.Zintgraff’s decision to conquer Mankon and Bafut, both considered by theGermans as “two large enemy tribes”, was based upon his conviction that bycontrol­ling these two powerful chiefdoms the entire Bamenda region would fallunder Ger­man colonial control. This would mean access to very cheap manuallabour and pri­mary resources, to the benefit of German industry and commerce.

In January 1891, with five Germanoffi­cers and about five thousand soldiers recruited from the Bali, Bakongwaand Meta’ tribes, Zintgraff attacked theMankon people.

The latter had received informationabout the Ger­man’s plan and had taken appropriate counter­measures. Fon AngwafoII had ordered the women, children and elders to evacuate the village and tostay several kilometres away. Soldiers in hiding were to occupy strate­gicpoints in a semi-circle around the village. When Zintgraff’s troops entered thecapital of Mankon, they found it empty and thought that the inhabitants hadflown in fear or as a sign of surrender.

Whilst concentrating on destroyingand burning everything, including the royal palace, the sacred house, (atsum)and the market, a massive and unexpected counter-attack wiped them out.Four of the five European officers were killed in the bat­tle. Zintgraff, himselfbadly hurt, had to flee: his life was saved by fon Saingi of Babungowith whom he took refuge.

Emissaries of Angwafo II, the fon of Mankon, went tolook for Zintgraff in Babungo. Standing in front of his palace, Saingi gavethem a message for Angwafo II. In the name of the friendship that united thetwo sovereigns, Saingi asked the fon of Mankon to spare the life of theman who had sought refuge with him. Fon Angwafo II chose to honour theplea made by fon Saingi.

The Mankon people then tried to re­-establishamicable relations with their neighbours following the dissolution of theconfederation. To avoid the massacre of the entire population in case of war, thearea was rebuilt following a spread out pattern. Inhabitants rebuilt theirhouses on their own land, far from each other; this is how most of the areas wenow see in Mankon were established. The royal city was destroyed, but itsoriginal site is still the traditional capital and cultural centre of theMankon peo­ple today.

German, French and English Colonisation

The Germans had established theirpro­tectorate over Cameroonin July 1884. Defeated in the First World War, they lost all their colonies,which in the Versailles Peace Conference of 1919 were placed under the mandateof the League of Nations, with Cameroonunder British and French man­date.

The country was divided into two sec­tors:the east, under French administration, and the west under the British. Thispart included the South where Mankon lies, administered as an area of eastern Nigeria, whilst the north was considered as aregion of northern Nigeria.

Due to the division of the country,numerous Cameroonians from the French sector took refuge in Mankon to escapethe forced labour imposed by the French colonial administration. The succes­sorto Angwafo II, Fon Ndefru III,who ruled during the British colonial period from 1919 to 1959,resisted efforts to repatriate these refugees, arguing that, by being in hiskingdom, they were under his protection.

In 1922 the indirect system of admin­istrationwas established. The British admin­istration in SouthCameroon decided to use the existing traditional politicalinstitutions, therefore admitting their efficiency and developing arelationship of co-operation with the traditional chiefs.

The fons were named thechiefs of the customary tribunals, the Native Administra­tion Courts, whichdealt with civil affairs, whereas the Magistrates’ Courts ruled over criminalaffairs. The part of Cameroonunder French mandate was proclaimed the Republic of Cameroonin 1960. In a plebiscite on 1 January 1961, the other part, under the British,voted in favour of joining the Republicof Cameroon.