The German Colonial Administration and the Traditional Political Powers Duala and Bamoun. Analysis of the Political History of Cameroon

Scientific Essay from the year 2022 in the subject History - Africa, , language: English, abstract: From 1884 to 1916, the traditional political powers Bamoun and Douala were subjected to the influence of the German colonial administration. This has been demonstrated by the profound restructuring of their political, economic and socio-cultural organizations. In this perspective, we went further by demonstrating that the German colonial administration has also undergone significant changes due to their exchanges with Sultan NJOYA and the Duala chiefs. We also took an interest in this socio-political phenomenon under the theme: « The German colonial administration and the traditional political powers Duala and Bamoun : Analysis of the political history of Cameroon ». The interest of our work demands that the degree of mutual influence between the German colonial administrators and the traditional political powers Duala and Bamoun be shown gradually. This work proposes to analyze the dynamics and the logics of implantation and domination that the German colonial administration had on these two traditional political entities. Moreover, the German colonial administration had to adapt to the local realities of the traditional political powers Duala and Bamoun. To illustrate this work, the use of a double methodological approach was imperative : the historical approach will allow us to trace the German colonial period in Cameroon, but also through diachrony and synchrony, to appreciate the influence that German colonization had on the traditional societies Duala and Bamoun. The comparative approach will aim to highlight how the German settlers came into contact with the traditional chiefdoms raised, and how the latter participated positively or negatively in the expansion of this conquest. Second, it will allow us to ask ourselves where is the relevance of such openness for the transformation and evolution of these traditional societies over time. Finally, whether all the actors of this colonial period could be highlighted and their exact roles. It is on this basis that our work was built in two parts. The first part is titled : « The domination of the German colonial administration over the traditional political powers Duala and Bamoun » and the second part is titled : ¿The relative influence of traditional political powers Duala and Bamoun on the German colonial administration.¿