Paradoxical Colony and Confiscated Independence
France, through its head of state President Emmanuel Macron has finally acknowledged the responsibility of France in the destruction of the Kamerun’s nationalist organizations, the murders of thousands of civilians, the creation of concentration camps, and the hand-picking of servile leaders to rule the Cameroons up to these days. Our beloved country is still paying a heavy price for that confiscated independence… Now that France has finally accepted responsibility after more than six decades of denials, WHAT NEXT????
Introduction
At the end of the 18th century, the French Revolution sent tremors across Europe. The overthrow of the monarchy, and the declaration of Human Rights and the affirmation of principle such as “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” changed the political atmosphere in 19th century Europe. the Industrial Revolution triggered the emergence of powerful nationalist movements. Guiseppe Garibaldi almost single-handedly initiated the unification of Italy in 1860. In 1871, Kaiser Otto von Bismarck brought all Germany into a single nation-state. Intra-European rivalry and the search for new markets generated the formation of strong colonial societies, advocating for expansion overseas. It is that global context that European nations put in place strategies to reduce risk of confrontations in their colonial expansion.
Zooming back to the end of the 19th century, the Berlin Conference (1884-1885) sets the rules of engagement for the partition of Africa landmass and initiated the “scramble for Africa”. Gustav Nachtigal was sent by the Prussian regime of Kaiser Bismarck at the estuary of the Wouri River to claim what will become the German colony of Kamerun. In the aftermath of WWI, Germany lost all its colonial empire, appropriated by other nations, British, French, South Africa…Kamerun became a territory under Mandate of the League of Nations, run by British and French up to the end of WWII, and then under the United Nations trusteeship….
In strict legal terms then, Cameroon had a special status that allowed its representatives to petition and attend the UN general assembly. The leading nationalist political Party, – UPC -Union des populations du Cameroon – was banned by the French colonial authorities at the eve of the crucial election in the country history, and its leaders systematically assassinated. Instead, France hand-picked accommodating leaders, triggering an insurrection and long-lasting counter-insurrection. The formal political independence on January 1st, 1960 inaugurated a Francafrique mode of governance that is still in place today.
The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885
The Berlin Conference that took place in 1884-1885 assembled 14 nations: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway (unified from 1814-1905), Turkey, and the United States of America (fig. 1). It is this meeting that major European powers negotiated and formalized the strategies to claim and appropriate territories in Africa.
The conference took a number of crucial decisions to streamline the processes of what ended up being called “the Scramble for Africa”. Among the major decisions there was: (1) the neutrality of the Congo River basin guaranteeing freedom of navigation to all nations in Central Africa; (2) freedom of navigation in the Niger River in West Africa; and (3) the establishment of a protocol to recognize new European colonies all over the continent. Although European colonization of Africa had already started in the 1880s, the Berlin Conference that lasted from November 15, 1884 to February 26, 1885 considerably accelerated the events.
The Berlin Conference 1884-1885
The Scramble for Africa 1880-1914
Multiple reconnaissance missions – also called Travels and discoveries – sponsored by Christian Missons, Colonial societies, and governments were organized by European nations to assess and evaluate the continent potentials (fig. 2). These adventurers “discovered” the Niger River, the source of the Nile, the Kilimanjaro, and even Native Africans.
From 1880 to the beginning of World War I in 1914, the whole continent with the exception of Ethiopia in East Africa and Liberia in West Africa was dismantled and shared between 6 European Nations, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain United Kingdom Crafting a totally new political map with new boundaries.
King Leopold of Belgium owned the huge Congo as his private property.
France took control of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in North Africa; Benin, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauretania, Niger, and Upper Volta in West Africa; Chad, CentrAfrique, Gabon and Congo and Central Africa, Djibouti in Northeast Africa, and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
Italy colonized Libya in North Africa, and Erythrea and Somalia in East Africa.
Portugal acquired Guinea-Bissau in West Africa, Angola in Central Africa, and Mozambique in East Africa.
Spain gained control of Ceuta and Mellila, Western Sahara, and Equatorial Guinea. While German appropriated Togo in West Africa, Kamerun in Central Africa, Tanganyika in East Afrika, and Southwest Afrika.
The United Kingdom appropriate Gold Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone in West Africa; Egypt, Sudan, Kenya and Uganda in East-Northeast Africa, and Northern and Southern Rhodesia, Malawi, and South Africa in Southern Africa.
German Appropriation of Kamerun
The explorer and medical Doctor Dr. Gustav Nahctigal, is of paramount interest in the case of German appropriation of Kamerun. Born on February 23, 1835 at Eichstedt in Brandenbourg, G. Nachtigal was commissioned in 1869 by William Ist, King of Prussia to explore Central Saharan regions down to Bornu and the Chad basin. He returned via Cairo 6 years later in November 1875 and published his 3 volumes “Sahara und Sudan” in 1879-81. In 1884, he was secretly sent by Bismarck to sign agreements that resulted in the creation of German protectorates in Togo and Kamerun.
A Treaty of Protection with Chiefs of Cameroon Coast was signed on June 12, 1884.
“We the undersigned independent Kings and Chiefs of the country called “Cameroons” situated on the Cameroons-River, between the River Bimbia on the North Side, the River Qua Qua on the South side and up to 4 degrees 10″North lat., have in a meeting held today in the German Factory on King Aqua’s Beach, voluntarily concluded as follows:
We give this day our rights of sovereignty, the Legislation and Management of this Country entirely up to Eduard Schmidt acting for the firm C. Woermann, and Mr Johannes Voss acting for Mssrs Jantzen and Thormälen, both in Hamburg, and for many years trading in this river.
We have conveyed our rights of sovereignty, the legislation and management of our Country to the firms mentioned above under the following conditions:
1. Third-party rights remain inviolate.
2. All friendship and commercial treaties previously concluded with other foreign government shall remain in force.
3. Land cultivated by us now, and the places the towns are built on, shall be the property of the present owners and their successors.
4. The Coumie [tax paid by factories] shall be paid annually as it has been paid to the Kings and Chiefs previously.
5. During the first period of the establishment of an administration here, our country’s customs shall be respected.
Cameroons, July 12, 1884
25 signatures including the following:
German side Duala Side
Ed. Schmidt King Aqua
Joh. Voss King Bell
Ed. Woermann (witness) David Meetom
O. Busch (witness) John Angua
Manga Aqua
Jim Joss
Big Jim Aqua
Davis Joss
(Source: Knoll, A. J. and H. J. Hiery, eds. 2010 The German Colonial Experience: Selected documents on German rule in Africa, China, and the Pacific.Lanham; University Press of America.
As has been the case for virtually all the treaties signed between European
powers and African native rulers, the terms were vague concealing colonial intentions. For example, the native parties agreed to “…give this day our rights of sovereignty, the Legislation and Management of this Country entirely up to Eduard Schmidt acting for the firm C. Woermann, and Mr Johannes Voss acting for Mssrs. Jantzen and Thormälen, both in Hamburg, and for many years trading in this river.” It is however not clear what the reference to “this Country” is supposed to mean… It certainly refers to what will be called later “Kamerun Stadt” [ Duala], but not the country later named Kamerun. In addition, the “country’s sovereignty was given to trading compagnies, Jantzen and Thormählen and Woermann, not Germany in the first place
Realizing that they have been cheated, some local native rulers declined to sign the treaty and initiated armed resistance against German rule in December 10-22, 1884. Relying on “Divide and Rule”, German troops defeated Duala resistance, but tensions increased significantly through the years with the implementation of German land expropriation policies. Renewed resistance was launched from 1910 to 1914 by King Rudolf Duala Manga Bell who was arrested and executed on August 8, 1914. In fact, the German colonial period in Kamerun lasted only from 1884 to 1916, when it was divided between Britain and France as spoils of WWI.
League of the Nations Mandate and United Nations Trust territory
During World War I, Kamerun was occupied by British, French and Belgian troops, and later became a League of Nations mandate to Great Britain and France after the Versailles Treaty in 1922. The French part of the mandate was known as Cameroun and the British territory was administered as two areas, Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. The League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. The mandate territories were reclassified as United Nations trust territories, administered through the United Nations Trusteeship Council. The object of trusteeship was to prepare the lands for eventual independence.
The confiscated Independence: British/French Cameroon (1948-1961)
Because of its status as a UN trust territory, Kamerun witnessed an early emergence of strong “sovereignist” movement that demanded the strict implementation of the trust terms, a blue-print for independence from the French authorities. From the French Colonial perspectives, Kamerun was simply another colony even if it was labelled as United Nations Trust Territory, with the obligation of an annual report to the UN General Assembly. The stage was set for permanent crises.
In Crisis Phase I (April 10, 1948 – December 17, 1956), Cameroon nationalists led by Ruben Um Nyobé, Dr. Félix-Roland Moumié, Ernest Ouandié, and Abel Kingué established the Union of Cameroonian Peoples (Union des Populations du Cameroon – UPC) in Douala on April 10, 1948. The UPC advocated the unification of British Cameroon and French Cameroon, and advocated the independence of Cameroon under the terms of the United Nations (UN) Charter.
The French government issued a decree banning the UPC on July 13, 1955. On August 2, 1956, the French government agreed to allow the UPC to participate in legislative elections scheduled for December 23, 1956.
In Conflict Phase (December 18, 1956-October 1, 1961), the members of the UPC rebelled against the French government beginning on December 18, 1956. Legislative elections were held in French Cameroon on December 23, 1956, and the Cameroon Union (Union Camerounaise – UC formed and supported by France) won 30 out of 70 seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Cameroonian Party of Democrats (Parti des Démocrates Camerounais – PDC) won 20 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
The French government deployed additional troops to French Cameroon on January 5, 1958 and launched anti-insurrection operations. Some 2,000 individuals were killed in political violence in the Sanaga maritime region between December 1956 and January 1957.
UPC Leadership
Ruben Um Nyobé, leader of the UPC, was killed by government police near Boumyebel on September 13, 1958. Some 2,000 UPC rebels surrendered to French troops between September 14 and December 31, 1958. Some 75 civilians and 370 UPC rebels were killed in political violence between September 5, 1957 and October 31, 1958. All the UPC historic leaders, but Abel Kingue, were assassinated by the French
Confiscated Independence, Secret Agreements, Neo-colonialism and Structural Adjustment
Cameroon under a France picked political leadership gained its independence on January 1st,1960 but the country’s hands were tied by now published secret post-independence agreements listed below, still in place today. The terms of these agreements outlined below put the country in a straight-jacket.
Secret Agreements and Neo-colonialism
- Colonial Debt – Former colonies were required to repay France for the « benefits » of colonization, effectively reimbursing their colonizers.
- Control of Financial Reserves – France automatically seized and managed the national financial reserves of its ex-colonies.
- First Rights to Resources – Any raw or natural resource discovered had to be offered to France before any other country.
- Preference in Contracts – French companies were given priority in public contracts and tenders.
- Military Dependency – France held exclusive rights to supply arms and train military personnel.
- Military Intervention – France retained the right to deploy troops and intervene militarily to protect its interests.
- Annual Reporting – Former colonies had to send France a yearly financial report and reserve account.
- No Independent Alliances – They were forbidden from forming military alliances without France’s approval.
- Mandatory Support in Wars – Colonies were obliged to side with France in any war or global conflict and fight for France were necessary.
Structural Adjustment Programs
Beside the Neo-colonial regime set in place, the IMF-World Bank structural adjustment programs of the 1980’s amplified the loss of sovereignty and initiated a downward social and political spiral.
- Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) are arrangements in which loans from the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank are made available to countries on the condition that recipients enact certain economic policies.
- The economic conditions imposed by SAPs are aimed to make the recipient country competitive and to reduce economic dependence.
- Common conditions including devaluing currency, cutting public spending, and privatizing industry.
- SAPs have been criticized for imposing hardship on poorer nations and their citizens.
The latest 2025 IMF Report on Cameroon
IMF Reaches Staff-Level Agreement with Cameroon on the Third Review of Resilience and Sustainability Facility and Eighth Reviews of Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility
July 7, 2025.
Now What to do?
Accepting responsibility has legal consequences and things cannot stop there at that simple recognition. Cameroonians have to create associations of Parents of victims of French Army repression and counter-insurrection; hire powerful Cameroon lawyers to file court-case for reparations based on international laws. First, France ruled Kamerun as if it was its colony; it was not. France had the legal responsibility to nurture Kamerun future independent and sovereign leadership. In fact, they did the opposite of their trusteeship obligation. Kamerunian historians can assist the civil society and the lawyers in building the case for reparation, collect testimony from eye-witnesses still alive… That can be the prelude of the future case against colonialism and for reparations to be organized on grand scale in the near future. We cannot simply let go half a millennium of oppression, domination, exploitation of our continent and its people, that helped building European wealth and prosperity.
Conclusion
In strict international law terms, Kamerun has been a German colony for 32 years, from 1884 to 1916. By the time the Germans were dispossessed of their colonies all over the world, there were still pockets of resistance against their occupation. France and the United Kingdom were granted League of the Nations Mandate and United Nations Trusteeship to prepare for the emancipation of Kamerun territories. The initial German Kamerun territory shrunk in the process. Kamerun, under French rule experienced colonial brutality in its political emancipation process. The French colonial regime picked its own political leaders, installed a benevolent neo-colonial system that still dominates Cameroon to this day. Structural adjustments programs added to mix finally deprive the country of its sovereignty, setting a debt-trap and long-term dependency. We need a Revolution…
Augustin F. C. Holl,
Beijing, September 8, 2025