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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Issue of Slavery in the Establishment of British Rule in Northern Cameroun to 1927
Author:Goodridge, Richard A.ISNI
Year:1994
Periodical:African Economic History
Volume:22
Pages:19-36
Language:English
Geographic terms:Nigeria
British Cameroons
Great Britain
Subjects:Fulani
colonialism
abolition of slavery
History and Exploration
Law, Human Rights and Violence
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3601666
Abstract:This paper examines Britain's antislavery campaign in the Adamawa region of Northern Cameroons (present-day Nigeria) during the period when British administration was being set up in the area (1919-1927). It suggests that a dialectical relationship existed between the failure of the antislavery campaign and the creation of an administrative structure, and that the role of the Fulbe was decisive in determining this relationship. The causes of the British failure lay largely with the British themselves. The adoption of a gradual approach, even though it was sanctioned by the League of Nations, meant that it was impossible to launch a major attack on slavery. The application of legislation abolishing slavery was subverted by the British, who subordinated the law to their administrative desiderata. The Fulbe were pillars of the local administration, and the British wrongly believed that this influential position was the predestined outcome of their moral ascendancy. However, the Fulbe district heads were all acknowledged slave raiders and slave masters. The deposition of Hamman Yaji from the post of district head of Madagali in 1927 marked the end of the era of the 'uncontrolled' district head, although many slavery issues identified in the 1920s continued into the 1930s. Notes, ref.
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