The relationship between France and Cameroon is marked by a complex history, characterized by colonial rule, violent conflict, and the eventual struggle for independence. This article delves into the key events and figures that shaped this relationship, highlighting the lasting impact on both nations.
The Roots of Conflict: French Colonial Rule
The area of present-day Cameroon came under German sovereignty during the "Scramble for Africa" at the end of the 19th century. During World War I, the German protectorate was occupied by British and French troops, and later mandated to each country by the League of Nations in 1922. The British mandate was known as British Cameroons and the French mandate as French Cameroon (French: Cameroun).
Following World War II each of the mandate territories was made a United Nations Trust Territory.
French Cameroon was created from the eastern part of the former German colony of Cameroon (German: Deutsche Kolonie Kamerun). Its status, from 1919, was that of a ‘mandated territory’ of the League of Nations (LON), later becoming a ‘trust territory’ under the United Nations (UN).
After World War I, French Cameroon was not integrated to French Equatorial Africa (AEF) but made into a "Commissariat de la République autonome" under French mandate.
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France enacted an assimilationist policy with the aim of having German presence forgotten, by teaching French on all of the territory and imposing French law, while pursuing the "indigenous politics", which consisted of keeping control of the judiciary system and of the police, while tolerating traditional law issues.
France took care to make disappear all remains of German presence and aimed at eradicating any trace of Germanophilia. In 1940, French Cameroon rallied to Free France. After World War II, French Cameroon was made a United Nations Trust Territory and unified into the French Union.
From the beginning of the 1940s, colonial authorities encouraged a policy of agricultural diversification into monocultural crops: coffee in the west, cotton in the North and cocoa in the south. Construction of roads allowed for greater exploitation of wood.
In 1946, a Representative Assembly of French Cameroon (ARCAM) was constituted. Paul Ajoulat and Alexandre Douala Manga Bell were elected deputies of the French National Assembly.
Some private and public schools were opened, while the best students were sent to Dakar (Senegal) or France to study in college. The colonial administration also built electricity and water infrastructures in large cities.
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The Rise of Nationalism and the UPC
The burgeoning nationalist movement was met with the challenge of a colonial administration that wanted to neutralize it.
For many Cameroonian nationalists, embroiling oneself in the war was not an immediate inclination. In fact, many attempted to cooperate and participate democratically in the French colonial political system. Many of these were Cameroonians who had fully assimilated French law, language, and customs and were called évolués. Likewise, candidats administratifs were candidates that were favored by the colonial administrations.
This practice was first introduced in Cameroon in 1945 when the colonial government was looking to create a class of proteges. Even members of the UPC tried to participate in the French political process at first. During legislative elections in June 1951, Ruben Um Nyobe presented himself to electors.
To hinder Um Nyobe's chances, the colonial administration waited until the last minute to accept Nyobe's candidacy. The administration also employed methods of voter suppression. Regions in which Nyobe's popularity was high, had few voting offices. This forced Nyobe's supporters to travel long distances just to cast their votes. Frustrated by election results and other injustices plaguing the country, Nyobe took to the international stage.
The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), an anti-colonialist party created in 1948 and which struggled for unification of both Cameroons and for independence was outlawed in 1955.
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In a letter that was written to the colonial high commission in 1954, Um Nyobe wrote:“For six years, the Union of Cameroonian People has resisted and will continue to resist violent hostility from French colonial authorities. One must write a book to cover the inventory of forces and structures of power that were used to combat our organization”
Um Nyobe's words allude to the tensions that existed between the nationalist movement and the colonial administration. Attempts to thwart the nationalist movement were not unique to Cameroon, but rather a natural extension of French colonial politics at the time.
In 1948, Ruben Um Nyobé became the head of the resistance movement, with a nationalist and revolutionary program. Nyobé's UPC was at first only the local section of the African Democratic Rally created in 1946. However, it refused to split, as did the African Democratic Rally, with the French Communist Party (PCF) in 1950.
The Cameroon War: A Brutal Conflict
The conflict began with riots against French colonial rule in 1955 before becoming an insurgency.
Slowly, the French began to focus their energies on quelling the UPC movement, by stifling its leaders and their supporters. On 22 May 1955, pro-independence riots broke out in Cameroon's major cities, Douala and Yaounde. These riots would continue on until 30 May 1955, when they were shut down by new French Colonial High Commissioner, Roland Pré.
The Cameroon War then escalated and lasted for at least seven years, with the French Fourth Republic leading a harsh repression of the anti-colonialist movement. The conflict found its roots in the opposition between the settlers and the Cameroonese trade-unionists in the cities.
Members of the USCC were arrested. In 1948, Ruben Um Nyobé became the head of the resistance movement, with a nationalist and revolutionary program.
On 18 December 1956, the UPC began boycotting legislative elections. They enacted a "zone de maintien de l’ordre" at Sanaga-Maritime to squash nationalist upheaval. This designation gave the French the authority to exert any military force on Cameroonians living in Sanaga-Maritime.
As tensions heightened, the French quickly tried to retain order in the area. They brought in a lieutenant colonel, Jean Lamberton, from French Indochine to lead these efforts. From 9 December 1957, through 1958, Lamberton enacted what was known was the Cameroon Pacification Zone (ZoPac). In this zone, locals were placed into camps and surveilled by the colonial army.
From 18 January 1957, to 25 May 1959, French authorities installed a similar martial zone in western regions of Cameroon. In January 1959, the Cameroonian Liberation Army began fighting for Cameroon to become an independent nation.
Both the rebels, Cameroonian military and the French military committed war crimes during the conflict.
Estimates about the number of victims of the war ranged around several tens of thousands of deaths, mainly after independence.
During the 1950s and ’60s, France waged a brutal colonial war in Cameroon while managing to keep it largely shielded from scrutiny. This organized amnesia has led to some surprising, or at least telling, episodes.
Despite the efforts of writer Mongo Beti, the war and the brutal methods employed by the French government has been overshadowed in France by the Algerian War.
Independence and Continued French Influence
French Cameroon became independent on 1 January 1960, becoming the Republic of Cameroon. In 1957-58, Pierre Messmer, a Gaullist and head of the haut-commissaire of Cameroon (executive branch of the French government) started a decolonisation process which went further than the 1956 loi-Defferre (Defferre Act).
Following independence in 1960, the first President of Cameroon, Ahmadou Ahidjo requested continued French military assistance to fight the UPC rebels.
After gaining independence in 1960, president Ahidjo signed a military assistance agreement with France. With French help, the Cameroonian army put down the widespread Bamileke revolts, including numerous atrocities such as massacres and destroying hundreds of villages. The military used of both heavy artillery and napalm to destroy villages.
In elections held soon after independence, Ahmadou Ahidjo was elected the first president of the Republic of Cameroon.
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After independence and freed from UN inquiries, France remained in command of the Cameroonian national army and police until 1965 making the war more lethal.
Neither the French nor the Cameroonian state has ever facilitated historical inquiry - in fact the opposite is true.
During a state visit to Yaoundé in 2015, François Hollande spoke of the “extremely tormented episodes” that had surrounded Cameroon’s independence.
Seven years later, on July 16, 2022, François Hollande’s successor, Emmanuel Macron, also visiting Yaoundé, likewise announced the beginning of a “fact-finding process” and promised to open the archives to a memorial commission, made up of French and Cameroonian researchers and artists.
French Cameroon became independent on 1 January 1960, becoming the Republic of Cameroon.
Following independence, Prime Minister Ahmadou Ahidjo requested French military assistance to combat the UPC rebellion. A constitution was approved in a referendum on February 21, 1960. Ghana, Guinea, and Liberia recognized the independence of Cameroon on February 25, 1960. Prime Minister Ahidjo lifted the ban on the UPC on February 25, 1960.
In a UN-supervised plebiscite in February 1961, the south decided to unite with the former French Cameroun, creating the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The north voted to join the Federation of Nigeria.
The Legacy of Conflict
Many people were killed in the conflict, mostly after independence during the civil war phase and in the Bamileke Region. Most estimates put the death toll in the range of tens of thousands, however other estimates reach hundreds of thousands. It has been described as a forgotten war because it occurred at the height of France's biggest colonial independence struggle, the Algerian War.
Some modern estimates are that hundreds of thousands or even one million people died in the conflict but according to Canadian historian Meredith Terretta, these are not considered credible. Most estimates place the death toll in the range of tens of thousands.
In 1964, the British embassy in Cameroon came up with an estimate of 61,300 to 76,300 civilian deaths in the conflict, 80% in the Bamileke Region.
France waged a "war" in Cameroon marked by "repressive violence" during and after the African country's decolonisation in the late 1950s, President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged in a letter on Tuesday.
Key Figures
- Ruben Um Nyobe: Leader of the UPC and a key figure in the Cameroonian nationalist movement.
- Ahmadou Ahidjo: The first president of the Republic of Cameroon, who maintained close ties with France after independence.
Casualties
Estimates regarding the number of casualties vary widely. Here's a summary of the different estimations available:
| Source | Estimated Death Toll |
|---|---|
| Most Estimates | Tens of Thousands |
| British Embassy (1964) | 61,300 to 76,300 civilian deaths (80% in Bamileke Region) |
| Other Estimates | Hundreds of Thousands |
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