Bafut Wars

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The Bafut Wars were a series of wars in the late 19th and early 20th centuries between the troops of the Fon (monarch) of Bafut and the German- backed troops of the neighboring monarchies and troops of the German Empire .

The wars immediately led to the victory over the Bafut Empire and the Fon of Bafut was then forced into exile. They ultimately made the Bafut empire part of the German protected area of Cameroon .

Events

In 1889, the German explorer Eugen Zintgraff reached the city of Bafut after visiting Bali Nyonga and establishing the Baliburg station . Bali was a neighboring empire and rival of the Bafut empire. A violation of the etiquette by Eugen Zintgraff against the Fon of Bafut, Abumbi I , was regarded as a deliberately hostile act. The Fon of Bali Nyonga was suspected of being the instigator. Nevertheless, Zintgraff received the promise to receive guides for his onward journey towards Banyo . However, since the German expedition feared an ambush, Zintgraff took a detour through the jungle and avoided the Bafut.

Battle of Mankon

Soldiers from Bali under the command of the German officer Franz Karl Hutter , around 1891

In 1891 German-led troops from Bali Nyonga attacked Mankon - an ally of Bafut. The attack was in retaliation for the deaths of two messengers from Eugene Zintgraff who had been sent to Bafut to ask for ivory . The Bali provided the Germans with around 5,000 soldiers. There was also Zintgraff's expedition and accompanying Europeans. Mankon was attacked by the combat troops on January 31, 1891. At first it was possible to push back the Bafut. The main town of Bafut, Badang , was also captured and burned down. Around 10,000 soldiers from Bafut, Mankon and the surrounding area attacked the attacking troops on their return journey and inflicted heavy losses on them. Four Germans were killed: Lieutenant von Spangenberg, expedition master Huwe, and Messrs Thiede and Rehber. In addition, 170 men of the Zintgraff expedition and numerous Balis fell. The Germans and their African allies withdrew to Baliburg. On the Bafut side, the fight cost the lives of around 500 soldiers. This battle went down in history as the Battle of Mankon . Even then, it was considered to be the most persistent battle that the Germans had fought in West Africa up to that point .

Further course

From 1901 to 1907 the German Schutztruppe , which was initially under the commandant Curt von Pavel , raided Bafut several times in 1901, 1904–1905 and 1907. Von Pavel conquered the village complex of Bafut in a seven-day campaign. The attacks eventually led to the exile of the Fons of Bafut, Abumbi I, in Douala for a year. He was reinstated during the German colonial period because no suitable successor could be found for him.

memory

The military headquarters of Abumbi I at Mankaha in Bafut during the Bafut Wars now contains a war memorial for the Bafut people. The guest house (which was the residence of the Fon, which was built by the Germans ) at the current Palace of the Fon is now a museum. The museum also houses a special section on the Battle of Mankon , with the skulls of four German soldiers, their weapons and ammunition.

See also

literature