TOGOLAND AND KAMERUN
When the Germans entered the field of Colonial enterprise in 1884, the
European Powers chiefly concerned in Africa were Great Britain, France,
and Portugal--the latter's connection with the Dark Continent, indeed,
dating from the earliest days of its modern history.
Portuguese power had, however, been for some time in process of decay,
and her influence was on the wane.
The interests of France were centred in the north and north-west of the
continent, while Great Britain was supreme in the south.
The adventure of Leopold, King of the Belgians, on the Congo was still
a private venture in the hands of H. M. Stanley, and had not yet borne
fruit in the shape of the Congo Free State.
British and French had been actively engaged in operations for the
suppression of the slave trade, but the energies of the two countries
were at this time being devoted rather to the development of the
trading stations established on the Gold and Slave Coasts on the Gulf
of Guinea.
"Spheres of influence" were being leisurely demarcated by France and
Great Britain--the latter feeling so secure in her position that she
hardly treated seriously, in fact scouted, the notion of being rivalled
in her supremacy.
For some considerable time Germany had been making an effort to secure
a portion of the trade of the west coast, overcoming the difficulty of
introducing her cheap and inferior goods by giving them English and
French trademarks, quite in keeping with the best principles of German
trade.
Trading stations on the Gulf of Guinea were established by Germans, who
immediately, employing the obsequiousness which has enabled the German
to tread many an unaccustomed path, began to approach native chiefs for
concessions.
Nearly the whole territory, known respectively as the Grain Coast, Gold
Coast, Ivory Coast, and Slave Coast, was beneficially occupied by the
French and British; but parts had not been formally annexed between the
British Colony of the Gold Coast and French Dahomey. The French really
had a prior claim, but the natives were continually petitioning the
British Government to take them under their protection.
In French Dahomey itself Germans had established many trading stations,
and began to pay particular attention to a strip of the Slave Coast
between Lome Bay and Popo, including Porto Seguro.
Great Britain had not yet awakened to Germany's real intentions, and
all her policy was accompanied by procrastination and dilatoriness. The
repeated petitions of the natives for British protection were ignored
or put aside "for inquiry and consideration," pending which the natives
received no reply to their applications.
The lesson taught at Angra Pequena, where the whole of the south-west
coast from the Orange River to Portuguese Angola was lost to Great
Britain in spite of the strenuous efforts of the Colonial statesmen,
was ignored; though it must be conceded that there was an influential
section in England strongly opposed to further increasing Great
Britain's responsibilities oversea and thus hampering the Colonial and
Foreign Offices.
In the month of June, 1884, an emissary of the German Government, Dr
Nachtigal, was dispatched to the west coast of Africa, ostensibly as
a Trade Commissioner, to inquire into and report upon the progress of
German commerce.
Bismarck having decided on his policy of "Trade Colonies" under
Imperial protection, pursued it vigorously and with his usual diplomacy.
He immediately acquainted the British Foreign Office with the fact of
the mission, but took the opportunity of hoodwinking Lord Granville
as to its object--if he did not actually disclaim any intention
of territorial acquisition. Dr Nachtigal proceeded to the French
settlements on the Ivory Coast, and interviewed the German traders
there in preparation for his _coup_; thence he made for the thirty-two
mile strip south of Lome, now known as Togoland, and on the 5th July
the German flag was hoisted and the territory declared annexed by
Germany.
The natives accepted the position quietly, having been impressed with
the greatness of Germany by plentiful gifts of firearms and spirits.
While the coastline of Togoland is only 32 miles in length, the area
which the Germans claimed as their "sphere of influence" widens to
three or four times that width in the interior.
In accordance with the amazing German native policy, the next step to
annexation was terrorism--the mailed fist under the glove of peaceful
trade, and the natives were "taught a sharp lesson."
Germany's action in declaring a Protectorate over Togoland met with
protests from the British and French Governments, and protracted
negotiations ensued and continued for some considerable time; in fact
it was not until 1897 that the boundary line between Togoland and
French Dahomey was settled by a Franco-German agreement. The western
boundary was defined by the Anglo-German agreements of 1890 and 1899.
On the south of the Gulf of Guinea, stretching from Old Calabar to the
French Congo, lies Kamerun (known also as the Cameroons) off which is
the Spanish Island of Fernando Po.
In 1842 the French occupied the Gaboon and gradually brought under
subjection the country between the coast and the Congo; while a British
mission was established at Victoria in Kamerun in 1858.
The country had for many years been explored and opened up by British
explorers and traders, and the British flag had, in fact, been hoisted.
The territory had, however, never been formally taken possession of,
although the Dualla native kings had for years petitioned the British
Government to be taken under their protection. At the end of 1883
our Foreign Office decided to accede to the natives' request, and to
establish a Protectorate over Kamerun.
Going about the business, however, in the usual dilatory fashion, it
was some six months before instructions were issued to Mr Hewett,
British Consul, to proceed to Kamerun and declare the territory
annexed, subject to the willingness of the Dualla kings to make
concessions.
German traders had strongly established themselves in the territory and
had won over a considerable number of the natives by the usual means of
bribery and unlimited gin.
Mr Hewett proceeded to Kamerun to find that Dr Nachtigal had
forestalled him.
Immediately after having hoisted the German flag over Togoland, Dr
Nachtigal at Kamerun commenced negotiations with the Duallas; and when
the British Representative arrived the German flag had been floating
for several days over the mainland opposite Fernando Po.
Germany's intentions were only now regarded as serious in England,
and by Mr Hewett, who immediately left Kamerun and proceeded to make
treaties along the coast, thereby being instrumental in securing the
delta of the Niger, or that, too, might have been lost to England.
The acquisition of Togoland and Kamerun by Germany was looked on as
a triumph of diplomacy for Bismarck, who was reproached, it seems
unreasonably and peevishly, by Lord Granville for not having disclosed
the real object for which Dr Nachtigal had been sent out. It is
remarkable, however, that in view of Germany's action in South West
Africa, which was even then the subject of correspondence, the true
purpose of the mission was not divined.
TOGOLAND
Togoland enjoys the distinction of being the smallest and at the same
time the most prosperous of the German Colonies. The Colony is 33,700
square miles in extent, with a coastline of only thirty-two miles,
reaching from Lome, on the border of the British Colony of the Gold
Coast, to Grand Popo on the boundary of French Dahomey.
The French Colonies of Upper Senegal and Niger are the northern
boundary; while it is bounded on the east by French Dahomey and by the
British Gold Coast on the west.
The climate is tropical, and like the rest of the Guinea coast the
coast-belt is hot, humid and malaria-stricken, such as is generally met
with in low-lying forest country or on the coast at sea-level anywhere
in the Tropics.
Lying behind the coast-belt are stretches of dense forest containing
palms, rubber vines, and considerable quantities of timber of good
quality. Arising farther inland are high and extensive plateaux, many
of the elevated parts being free from malaria and capable of yielding
quantities of natural products. The richness of its natural resources
indeed made Togoland almost immediately after annexation financially
independent.
There is a German population in Togoland of 1,537, nearly all of whom
are officials and soldiers; and of the 131 so-called settlers, the
majority are plantation managers and overseers.
The native population amounts to 3,500,000, and they are divided into
numerous tribes, embracing many degrees of _kultur_ from raw cannibals
to comparatively civilised states.
The administration is in the hands of an Imperial Governor, surrounded
by a swarm of officials and a local council of unofficial members, who
are, as a rule, the representatives of merchant houses.
Immediately on acquiring Togoland, the Germans commenced sending
trading expeditions into the interior, and extending their "sphere
of influence" inland. A central trading station (Bismarcksburg) was
established, and a trade centre was created for each tribe. Two hundred
and twenty miles of railway have been built in three lines, all
starting from Lome--one 80 miles in length to Palime and another 120
miles to Atakpanie.
Lack of proper transport facilities has retarded the development of the
Colony, as owing to the lack of transport animals nearly the whole of
the carrying of produce is done by natives.
The prosperity of the Colony is entirely due to the exploitation of
the natives; in fact the economic life of the country depends upon the
natives' industry. Nearly the whole of the agriculture is in the hands
of natives, some of whom have plantations of their own. Only 250,000
acres are in the hands of Europeans, and less than a quarter of these
are cultivated.
The hardships inflicted on the native, however, are forgotten by the
German trader in his excessive eagerness to get as much as he can out
of him; and this has resulted in some rubber-collecting districts in
depopulation and a consequent falling off in the production.
The principal exports of Togoland are india-rubber, palm-oil and
kernels, cotton and cocoa. Tobacco is also being tried with favourable
results.
Rubber forms nearly one-half of the total exports, and is nearly all
wild rubber collected by natives from the forest vines--an expensive
form of production, as the vines are destroyed in the process.
Palm-oil and palm kernels (largely used in the manufacture of nut
butter or margarine) forms another important item. The nuts are
collected mainly from the palms originally introduced by the Portuguese
and now found in forests for many miles from the coast.
In 1911 the export of palm kernels amounted to 13,000 tons, but fell to
7,000 tons in 1913 owing to a scarcity of native labour.
The natives of Togoland are said to have cultivated cotton in almost
every part of the country from time immemorial, and an average of about
500 tons is exported annually.
The Germans, realising the importance of this article, did all they
could to extend the cultivation of cotton. The cultivation is entirely
in the hands of natives, but an agricultural school was started for
them by the Government to train them in better methods of growing
cotton, and they were supplied with ploughs and other agricultural
implements as well as seed, free of cost.
A certain amount of cocoa is grown on native plantations, 335 tons
being shipped during 1913. The natives have also taken kindly to a new
crop in the shape of maize, the export of which rose from 103 tons in
1911 to 2,500 in 1913.
Although the conformation of the country is very similar to British
Nigeria and other parts of the coasts where gold, tin, and other
minerals have been discovered and worked, the Germans have not embarked
upon the enterprise of having the country prospected for minerals--a
probable cause being that prospecting entails expenditure of money, and
to the German this is the negative purpose of a Trade Colony!
Besides being a source of wealth in trade, Togoland was in reality of
great strategical value, being connected by cable with Germany and
with Dualla in the Kamerun; while Kamina was connected by a powerful
wireless installation with Dar-es-Salaam in German East Africa and with
Windhoek, the capital of German South West Africa.
On 26th August, 1914, Togoland was occupied by the Gold Coast Regiment
of the West African Frontier Force, assisted by a French force from
Dahomey.
The Germans destroyed the wireless station at Kamina and asked for
terms, but eventually surrendered unconditionally.
KAMERUN
Kamerun, on the Gulf of Guinea, south of Togoland, and bounded on the
north by British Nigeria and on the south by the French Gaboon (Rio
Campo), comprises 291,000 square miles, including 100,000 square miles
ceded to Germany out of French Equatorial Africa as the price of the
Moroccan Settlement, under the Franco-German agreement of 1911.
The physical features are very similar to Togoland, but much of the
interior is mountainous--the foothills and fertile slopes being covered
with dense vegetation.
There is the usual German population of officials and merchants--1,871
in number; and a native population of 2,500,000.
While not so prosperous as Togoland, Kamerun has nevertheless been
developed on the usual German plan of officialism; but the natives have
not proved so tractable. It is possible that the Dualla tribes still
feel the disappointment at having their petitions for protection by
Great Britain ignored; one German writer, indeed, speaks of the Dualla
natives as a hindrance to progress.
Kamerun was administered by an Imperial Governor, a Chancellor and two
secretaries, with a local council of three merchants. Professor Bönn
pointed out that there are ample signs of the growing strength of
the administration, and gives as an instance that there is a yearly
increase in the number of native criminals brought to justice. The
ever-increasing returns of the hut tax, too, which in the Kamerun
has nearly doubled in the last four years, is pointed to as proof of
increased administrative efficiency.
Kamerun stretches into the interior to Lake Tchad, in the direction of
which a railway has been built for 400 miles.
The trade of the Colony in 1912 amounted to £1,629,895 imports and
£1,102,803 exports, the latter being the usual tropical products.
Cotton is known to have been grown and cultivated round about Lake
Tchad for centuries, and agricultural experimental stations have been
established in the lake districts. As in Togoland, the agriculture is
all in native hands.
Kamerun has been held back by transport difficulties which it was hoped
to overcome by building railways, and railway projects were propagated
energetically which it was hoped to carry into effect shortly.
The usual means of transport, as in other parts of the coast, is
by native carrier; and the villages are therefore grouped within a
reasonable distance of the main trade routes, paths which the chiefs
and people are responsible for keeping in order.
Palm-oil and copra are, as in the other West African Colonies, the
chief articles of export; and palm kernels are daily coming more
and more into use in Europe as a substitute for butter, and for the
manufacture of cattle-food, etc. Two-thirds of the copra exported from
Kamerun, amounting to £300,000 worth in 1912, went to Germany and
one-third to England.
In the Colony itself five oil works have been established, but owing to
lack of transport it is calculated that three-fourths of the yield of
the oil palm trees is left to rot on the ground unused.
The forests of Kamerun hold an immense quantity of trees bearing timber
of excellent quality, and this to the value of £35,000 was exported in
1912.
Round the Kamerun mountains exist large tracts under cultivation of
cocoa, of which 4,550 tons, valued at £212,500, were exported in 1912.
The natives have been urged to extend this industry, and travelling
instructors were appointed by the Government to train them in the best
methods of cultivation. More and more fresh as well as dried bananas,
too, have been exported from Kamerun, and this trade offers a promising
field of enterprise.
Ten per cent of the exports of the Colony go to England, while nearly
15 per cent of the imports are of British origin.
The native policy is in the Kamerun worse, if possible, than in
Togoland, and the natives have been systematically sweated. While the
revenue is principally obtained from customs dues and a general _ad
valorem_ duty on imported goods (with preference in favour of Germany
of course), a poll tax is levied upon natives, together with a toll
upon those using Government roads. There is every reason to believe
that the Dualla natives will hail with delight deliverance from the
German yoke.
The British West African Frontier Force on 25th August, 1914, crossed
the Anglo-German frontier from Nigeria, and after considerable
opposition and suffering appreciable losses, advanced on Dualla.
H.M.S. _Cumberland_ and _Dwarf_ had, while these events were taking
place on land, reconnoitred the mouth of the Kamerun River and the
approaches to Dualla, at the same time capturing a number of German
merchant liners.
On 24th September French troops from Libreville attacked Ukoko in
Corisco Bay, attended by the French warship _Surprise_. The French and
British forces combined on 27th September in an attack on the towns of
Dualla and Bonaberi, following upon a bombardment by the British ships;
and the towns surrendered unconditionally to the allied force, after
destroying the wireless station.
Although some 1,500 prisoners were taken, a large portion of the
garrisons, some 2,000 (whites) in number, managed to escape to
concentrate in the interior. Of the prisoners 500 were handed over to
the French and the remainder, owing to the difficulty of feeding them,
sent to England.