Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers
The Duala and their Hinterland, c.1600-c.1960
1st Edition
Published on 21. December 2004
978-0-511-05936-0 (ISBN)
Description
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.
Reviews / Votes
"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Journal of Interdisciplinary History "...let us be grateful for their thorough history of the Duala which will not be superceded soon."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 ReviewMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 15 Tables, unspecified; 15 Plates, unspecified; 1 Maps; 1 Halftones, black and white; 1 Line drawings, black and white
File size
1,72 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-511-05936-0 (9780511059360)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Ralph A. Austen | Jonathan Derrick
Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers
The Duala and their Hinterland, c.1600-c.1960
Book
01/1999
Cambridge University Press
€129.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Content
1. Introduction; 2. From fishermen to middlemen: the Duala inland and on the coast in the formative period, c.1600-1830; 3. Hegemony without control: the Duala, Europeans and the littoral hinterland in the era of legitimate/free trade c.1830-84; 4. Mythic transformation and historical continuity: Duala middlemen and German colonial rule, 1884-1914; 5. Middlemen as ethnic elite: the Duala under Grench mandate rule, 1914-41; 6. Between colonialism and radical nationalism: middlemen in the era of decolonization, c.1941-c.1960.
