1. Coercion and Violence in German Labor Conscription in Cameroon, 1880s-1914
- Author:
- Henry Kam Kah and Emmanuel E. Kengo
- Publication Date:
- 12-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Institution:
- Brazilian Journal of African Studies
- Abstract:
- Cameroon is officially bilingual with English and French used in public administration and in busines. It is multi-ethnic and multi-lingual consisting of over 250 ethnic polities that mek it aptly described as "a babble of tongues". Its location straddles the Central and West African sub-regions. The ecological zones of the country include the Sahel, Savanna and forest. through this, the coungry has been nicknamed "Africa in miniature" (Fanso 2017, 9). The country has a triple colonial heritage. It was first annexed in July 1884 by Germany. After the german defeat in World War I, the country, like other German colonies, was seized from Germany and eventually partitioned into two unequal halves by Britain and France after a botchd condominium. The economic foundation of the territory during the colonial period was laid by the Germans. Labour played a cutting-edge role in the German economic enterprise in Cameroon. The conscription and treatment of labour in the country and other German colonies was barbaric and dehumanising to say the least. This paper discusses this poor labour treatment and the ramifications on the population and in the redefinition of German labour policy in the territory.
- Topic:
- History, Labor Issues, Economy, Colonialism, Exploitation, and Conscription
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Cameroon