King Bell
King Bell ( actually: Ndumb'a Lobe or Ndumbé Lobé ) († December 27, 1897 in Douala ) was king of the Duala people in Cameroon during the German colonial period . He was one of the signatories of the protection treaty , which formed the basis for the possession of Cameroon by the German Empire .
After the German nation-state had emerged in 1870/71, German researchers and, above all, entrepreneurs penetrated Africa with ever greater determination. Cameroon was particularly attractive to Hamburg's merchants . At that time trade between the coastal peoples and those of the hinterland flourished there. The main beneficiaries were the Duala , especially their king, King Bell. Its trading area extended essentially along the Abo . Hugo Zöller wrote about King Bell's wealth:
- How large the sums are can be seen from the fact that during my stay in Cameroon King Bell had piled up goods for 60-80,000 marks in the central river basin and offered 11 elephant teeth with a total value of 7 to 8,000 marks for sale on one day .
The German companies in the Douala area had to pay the so-called Kumi (actually: Coomie ), a kind of tax, to King Bell . The Carl Woermann company had to surrender 80 kru (goods worth 1,000 marks) for its factories alone .
The German delegation under Gustav Nachtigal managed to get King Bell ready on July 11th and 12th, 1884 , to sign the protection treaty that King Akwa and he had formulated together with the German ambassadors. The protection contract read as follows:
- We, the undersigned, independent kings and chiefs of the country of Cameroon on the Cameroon River, which is bounded in the north by the river Bimbia, in the south by the river Quaqua and extends up to 4 ° 10 'north latitude, have a meeting today in the German trading post at King Akwas Beach of his own free will decided what follows:
- As of today we are completely relinquishing our sovereign rights , legislation and administration of our country to Messrs. Eduard Schmidt and Jantzen & Thormählen in Hamburg, who have been trading on this river for many years.
- We have transferred our sovereignty, legislation and administration to the aforementioned companies with the following proviso:
- 1. The rights of third parties should not be infringed.
- 2. All friendship and trade treaties previously concluded with other powers should remain in force.
- 3. The land now cultivated by us and the land on which cities are built should remain the property of the current owners and their legal successors.
- 4. The kumi should be paid annually to the kings and chiefs as before.
- 5. For the first time after the establishment of the new administration, our national customs should be respected.
- signed King Akwa, King Bell, as witnesses: Eduard Woermann, O.Busch; Cameroon, July 12, 1884
The flag was raised in Douala on July 14th . The German companies paid 27,000 marks to King Bell for the signing of the contract, making him one of the wealthiest Africans of his time.
The German Colonial Lexicon of 1920 wrote about King Bell:
- In contrast to King Akwa, King B. was not averse to European civilization, his son was brought up in Europe, but in 1884 eyewitnesses saw him still worshiping cannibalism . He is portrayed as a man of natural dignity, of decent disposition.
In Germany, King Bell was a victim of racist views throughout his life . There was a mocking verse about him :
- King Akwa and King Bell
- Recently said: "Very well",
- Free for six pints of rum
- Us all her royalty.
Web links
- Execution of Cameroonian resistance fighters , NZZ August 4, 2014
literature
- Eli Marcus, Wilhelm Pollack, F. Westhoff: King Bell or the Münsteraner in Africa. Low German carnival game. Munster 1886.
- Jesko von Puttkamer: Governor years in Cameroon. Stilke, Berlin 1912, p. 142 f.
- Wilfried Westphal: History of the German colonies. Bertelsmann, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-570-03450-X .
- Stefanie Michels: Duala in the Empire. (Brochure, e-book) GRIN Verlag, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-638-16096-3 .
- Gisela Graichen, Horst Founder: German colonies. Dream and trauma. Ullstein, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-548-36940-5 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | King Bell |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ndumb'a Lobe (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | King of the Douala people in Cameroon |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 18th century or 19th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 27, 1897 |
| Place of death | Douala |