| Primary
Source |
| Imperialism |
Colonial Policy | [P|S|M] |
Deutscher
Kolonial-Atlas mit Jahrbuch, edited by the German Colonial Society, 1905
|
Retrospect on Kamerun's Development in 1904
(p. 9)
Kamerun has seen a local revolt in 1904, which, according to the latest
reports, seems to have ended. On January 17th 1904 the district chief of
Ossidinge, Count von Puckler, has been murdered by the Bascho men, as well as
merchant Kuster by the indigenous people of the (p. 10) Grossfluss
(1) area. In the rebellious area, martial law has been
declared and a punishing expedition sent out, which has pacified the area. The
rebellious tribes have placed the quotas of workers, given to them as
punishment, at our disposal.
At the beginning of 1904 a second expedition had been sent out against
individual Ndsimu chiefs in southern Kamerun, which, 100 men strong, under
leadership of Lieutenant Scheunemann, fulfilled their task in a few
weeks, and which simultaneously forced a few tribes related to the Ndsimu or
adjacent to them to recognize German sovereignty. In this partially unexplored
region, rich in Caoutchouk, the seat of administration was moved from the
border further into the interior, on the upper Dscha. At the beginning of
August, Lt. Scheunemann, in order to organize the move, returned into the
Ngoko area with the necessary number of selected men.
On September 16th Major Thierry, resident in the Garua District, had been
killed near Mubi by an arrow. To the report on his death the comment was added
that politically the situation had been calm. This was later confirmed.
Otherwise peace has ruled in Kamerun, and numerous peaceful undertakings have
partially been completed. At first the German-British border expedition
lead by Major Glauning is mentioned, which was active between Yola and
Lake Chad. Its results have not been published yet. The results of the Niger-Benue=Lake
Chad expedition, which has been active in the same area, have been
published; its leader Fritz Bauer reports in a publication edited by Dietrich
Reimer.
Negotiations with France are underway regarding the results of the surveying
works of the South Kamerun border expeditoon, lead by Major Engelhardt, which
at the end of 1903 had reached Duala via Kribi, Jaunde and Bertua.
Governor von Puttkamer, who had been on vacation in Germany since late
summer 1904, had undertaken a journey into the Lake Chad area from end 1903 to
early in 1904. He believes that the main value of this area lies in ist
innumerable herds of cattle, often 1,000 heads strong or more, and in horse
breeding, especially at Madagali and Marua.
The census undertaken on January 1st 1904 established 710 whites, 40
more than in the previous year, among them 638 adult men, 52 more than in
theprevious year. On the other hand, the number of asult women decresed by 5
to 53, the number of children by 7 to 19. Of the white population, 612 (i.e.
51 more than in the previous year) are Germans. The number of merchants and
traders has increased by 36 to 223. The second rank is filled by the planters,
103 in number. 93 government officials, 85 dependents of the Schutztruppe, 85
priests and missionaries follow. Of the 638 adult men, 53 are married, 34 live
with their women. Regarding the indigenous population, considerable shifts
take place, especially in the protectorate's south and southeast. In the Benue
district the Bakwiri have been count.
Agriculture : oil palm kernels, palm oil, rubber, cocoa and ivory
continue to be the land's most important products. Coffee and tobacco have
ceded to be among the country's export products in 1904. On the other hand,
the cultivation of the Kola nut seems to develop. In order to counteract the
overcropping of the caoutchouc resources, examinations have been undertaken
and new cultures are planned. The banana is planted in-between years when
cocoa is planted; the banana fruits provide cheap, wholesome nutrition for the
plantation workers. Except for a few areas located on the northeast of Mt.
Kamerun, where the cocoa has suffered, during the time of its debelopment,
from continuous downpour, in general the harvest was very good. Also, the
indigenous cultivation makes progress. The administration takes effort in
instructing the indigenous in these matters. Some stations in the interior
have made themselves independent of the costly import of food from the coast
by establishing farms for their soldiers and workers. Planted are bananas,
cocoa, makobo, cassada, also rice, maize and peanuts.
After his vacation, Dr. Strunk again has assumed the administration of
the botanical garden in Victoria. The garden has developed satisfactorily. In
the beginning of 1904 the establishment of a highland station was prepared, at
an altitude of c. 600 m on Mt. Kamerun. In the experimental garden Buea good
results have been achieved with tea. All stations in the interior, at
government suggestion, have begun to establish experimental gardens and fruit
plantations, where mainly mango, oranges and pineapples are grown. In
Victoria, school children are instructed in agriculture. In the area of cattle
breeding, also, small successes have been achieved. In Kamerun, even more than
before, cocoa takes the first place (Germany alone imported in 1903 raw cocoa
beans for 26 million Mark). The cocoa production is far insufficient (p.11) to
answer the German demand, as Germany in 1903 rose to the top of the cocoa
consuming countries. It has to be mentioned, that the quality of Kamerun cocoa
is first-rate.
Minerals : of value for the protectorate should be the oil field
discovered near Duala; their oil has been described by scientists as
excellent. The location of the oil field in immediate proximity to the
navigable Wuri is rather favourable. The Kamerun-Bergwerks-Aktiengesellschaft
(Kamerun Mining Corporation) has already formed a body to continue the
examination. At the
border to Nigeria large tin deposits have been found. Unfortunately it could
not yet be established if working the field is profitable.
Trade : in the Edea district the trade by Sanaga middlemen has been
forbidden, which has benefitted the immediate sales od the european merchant
houses to the indigenous. The factory's middlemen use the services of often
individual bushmen as sub-middlemen, by giving them larger amounts of barter
goods in oder to exchange them for products of the land. Often, these
sub-middlemen betray the middlemen and by doing so also the factories; often,
the middlemen themselves embezzle and try to cover their dishonesty by
accusations against the bushmen, serving them as buyers.
Further in the interior of the protectorate the trade is almost completely in
the hands of the Haussa. By and large it still has the form of barter trade.
The merchants strongly oppose the government's effort to promote the use of
money. Trade progresses further and further into the interior, which has
caused the alteration of caravan routes at a number of places.
Traffic routes : unfortunately, comfortable trade routes still lack on
the coast, despite the fact that the road network has been expanded and
improved. The extension of the road Sopo-Moliko-Meanja-Johann Albrechtshöhe
and of another road Duala-Mundame-Johann Albrechtshöhe has been begun. On the
road Victoria-Kriegsschiffhafen the ramshackle wooden bridges have been
replaced by modern concrete bridges. Further, the construction of a passable
road through the deep and wide Deido canyon has been begun. The main road from
Bonako continues about 6 km beyond the canyon. In the southern district, in
early 1904 the drawing and construction of the main road Kribi-Bipindi has
been begun; its completion is to be expected soon. Likewise, Lolodorf and
Ebolwoa have been connected by a passable road. The port administration at
Duala has surveyed the Kamerun River from its mouth to the point at Hickory
Top.
The lowering of telegram fees are of great importance to the Kamerun
protectorate. The fee, which amounted to 6.70 M per word since July 1st 1902,
has been reduced to 5.30 M on July 1st 1904. Telegraph service has been
extended into the interior until Jabassi, the main place for palm kernels, in
the Bassa region. The establishment of new postal agencies and of necessary
connections are in preparation in Kamerun. Presently connected by telephone
are the places Victoria, Buea, Duala and Edea.
Schooling : the government schools in Duala and Victoria registered such a
resonance on the side of the indigenous, that the original plan to close down
the school in Duala, at the German Colonial Society's warning, was scrapped.
In both schools the number of classes has been increased. At certain places,
on their own initiative chiefs have established schools, headed by former
students of government schools.
Colonial Literature of 1904. (main titles)
Bauer Fritz, Die
deutsche Niger-Benue-Tsadsee-Expedition 1902-1903. (The
German Niger-Benue-Lake Chad Expedition 1902-1903), Berlin 1904. Dietrich
Reimer (Ernst Vohsen). Geb. 4 M.
Beiträge zur
Geologie von Kamerun von Dr. Ernst Esch. Dr. F. Solger, Dr. H. Oppenheim, Prof
Dr. O. Jaechel. (Contributions to the Geology of Kamerun by Dr. Ernst Esch.
Dr. F. Solger, Dr. H. Oppenheim, Prof Dr. O. Jaechel), Stuttgart 1904. E.
Schweitzerhart (E. Nägele). paperback 81 M.
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Source: Deutscher Kolonial-Atlas mit Jahrbuch (Atlas German Colonies
with Yearbook), edited by the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft (German
Colonial Society). Berlin 1905, p.9ff. |
GM
(digitalisation) and AG
(translation)
posted on the web for psm-data;
many thanks to
Staatsbibliothek
zu Berlin / Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Kartenabteilung
Dokument in deutscher
Sprache
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