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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Ambiguous Spaces: The Struggle over African Identities and Urban Communities in Colonial Douala, 1914-1945
Author:Schler, LynnISNI
Year:2003
Periodical:The Journal of African History
Volume:44
Issue:1
Pages:51-72
Language:English
Geographic term:Cameroon
Subjects:immigrants
colonialism
neighbourhoods
History and Exploration
Urbanization and Migration
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/4100382
Abstract:This article examines the relationship between experiences and the physical and discursive constructions of space in colonial Douala (Cameroon). African immigrants and the colonial regime imagined Douala's immigrant quarter, New Bell, as an African space but the actual meaning of this classification was highly fluid over time. Colonial ineffectiveness in approaching New Bell was evidenced by half-hearted and flawed surveillance efforts including the failed use of identity cards, informants and pass laws. Residents maintained a sense of autonomy within the space of New Bell, and remained largely ignorant or apathetic toward colonial law within the quarter, ultimately enabling the community to thrive. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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