Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers: The Duala and their Hinterland, c.1600 c.1960 (African Studies, Series Number 96)

Austen, Ralph A., Derrick, Jonathan

ISBN 10: 0521562287 / ISBN 13: 9780521562287

Published by Cambridge University Press, 1999

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers: The Duala and their Hinterland, c.1600 c.1960 (African Studies, Series Number 96)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521562287
• ISBN 13: 9780521562287
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Like New
• Book Type: book

About this title

Synopsis

This book is about the Duala "middlemen," who functioned as intermediaries between Europeans and their own hinterland for over three hundred years. Originally traders in ivory, slaves and palm products, they then became colonial-era cocoa planters, and finally took a leading role in anti-colonial politics. One of their lasting advantages was European education, which they used to develop ideas about their ethnicity and its historical basis. The authors criticize these local beliefs about the past but indicate what they reveal about power and identity in this region and elsewhere in Africa.

Review

"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"...let us be grateful for their thorough history of the Duala which will not be superceded soon."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