Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers
The Duala and their Hinterland, c.1600–c.1960
Jonathan Derrick author Ralph A Austen author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:21st Jan '99
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£30.99(9780521566643)
A book about Duala 'middlemen', intermediaries between Europeans and their own hinterland over three centuries.
This book is about 'middlemen': Africans who functioned as intermediaries between Europeans and their own hinterland for over 300 years. Based on written and oral sources, it follows the Duala, a critical community, from precolonial history to the end of colonialism, covering both German and French colonial role.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.
"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"...let us be grateful for their thorough history of the Duala which will not be superceded soon."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 Review
ISBN: 9780521562287
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 16mm
Weight: 540g
268 pages