Important information
This post quotes records that reflect the colonial and legal context in which they were created. Original language is preserved here to accurately represent our records and to help us fully understand the past. Some records shown below describe acts of violence.
During the late 19th century in the ‘Scramble for Africa’, Germany colonised large regions of West Africa, including the Cameroons (today, known as Cameroon) and Togoland (known as Togo today).
However, in August 1914, German-controlled Togoland surrendered to British and French forces. The territory was then divided between the two nations in 1916. From 1923 the British section was administered from the Gold Coast (now Ghana).
In addition to this land, Germany surrendered Kamerun (in the region of today’s Republic of Cameroon) to the British and French in 1916. The British gained control over the section between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Chad on the border of Nigeria which was governed from Nigeria. The rest of the country was under French control.
This cataloguing project has listed records in series CO 649 and CO 724 for the years 1914 to 1926. Cataloguing these records will enable researchers to have better access to them, with nearly 2,000 more entries added to our catalogue, Discovery. As a result of this, researchers can gain a greater understanding of the scope of collections we hold on the First World War in West Africa, and on the consequences of the war in the region. To support this, this blog will outline how the two European nations agreed to separate the territories. We will also look at the British management of German property that was seized during the war.
Map showing German properties in the Cameroons. Catalogue reference:CO 649/26
League of Nations and the mandates in West Africa
After the First World War, the British and French possession of previously German-controlled territories was formalised. On 10 July 1919 the Supreme Allied Council asked Britain and France to come to an agreement on the future of Cameroon and Togo.
Despite long-term negotiations and lobbying by African leaders, their interests were not directly considered in settling the new boundaries of the colonies. The new borders were instead initially sketched out by the French diplomat Georges Picot in ‘a casual way with a blue pencil’ (FO 608/215).
As Britain had more interest in Nigeria, it was agreed that France could control larger parts of Cameroon and Togoland. Due to this, France gained the coast of Togo and approximately 60% of the former colony of Kamerun which they called Cameroun.
Meanwhile, Britain’s mandate covered areas that ran along the border with Nigeria which were less populated and prosperous. These were called the Northern and Southern Cameroons.
Ex-Enemy Properties in the British Sphere of the Cameroons.
The following Addenda and Corrigenda should be made in the PARTICULARS and CONDITIONS OF SALE.
IN THE PARTICULARS.
ALL LEASEHOLD LOTS. — For the purpose of simplifying the titles to leasehold lots and of rendering them more saleable on future occasions it is intended that the Vendor shall grant sub-leases of the properties instead of assigning existing terms. These sub-leases will be on the lines of the former leases, so far as the same are applicable, but the term will in each case be two days less than that shown in the Particulars of Sale. Throughout the Particulars of Sale reference to leases will include sub-leases.
The attention of prospective Purchasers is drawn to the exact terms of the options to purchase the full ownership of leasehold lots which are embodied in the new sub-leases as these vary considerably.
LOT 3. — The rent of the leasehold part of the property is £121 12s.
LOT 5. — A provision relating to “increment value” will be inserted in the conveyance of this lot to the draft of which intending purchasers are referred (see also Condition 10 (b) below).
LOT 31. — This property is subject to a variable rent in certain circumstances (see Condition 10 (d) below).
In addition to the option mentioned in the Particulars, there is an alternative option for the lessee to purchase the full ownership of lots which are less than 250 acres as soon as they have been taken into cultivation.
A document listing the ‘Particulars and Conditions of sale’ of property previously owned by Germans in the Cameroons. Catalogue reference: CO 649/26
The correspondence we hold regarding Togoland only contains four files ( Catalogue reference: CO 724/4/1), including proposals for the future administration. The details on the mandate for Togoland are also included in the Cameroon records. The UN archives have digitised the proposals, which can be accessed through their website.
Germans in West Africa
A large amount of this correspondence addresses the political and economic implications for the British in taking over the territory from Germany.
Based on rights outlined by the Treaty of Versailles, the British Government attempted to auction off 22 German plantations that were seized after the war, along with others the British chose to keep.
On behalf of the British Government, Burchells solicitors worked with Hampton and Sons Auctioneers for the auctions of landed estates, town and country residences, including these plantations. The auction was set for October 1922, and the plantations were valued at just over £1 million with a reserve of 89% of that value.
Photograph of German plantation in Cameroon. Catalogue reference: CO 1069/61
However, Hamptons declared that the auction was mostly unsuccessful. In the discussions over who was to blame for the failure to sell the plantation properties the Colonial Office blamed the Burchells solicitors. In their own defence, they argued that the market was poor and that this was the wrong time to sell.
The British authorities attempted to auction the property again in 1924, this time allowing German planters to participate. Eventually many of the properties were bought back by Germans, to the extent that one newspaper called it the ‘German Recolonization’. This meant that in British Cameroon many businesses, including plantations and railways, were still run by Germans until the Second World War.
An enemy population
There were more challenges for the British as they considered how to manage a German population within their West African territories. Following the surrender of German forces at the end of the First World War, thousands of German soldiers and Cameroonians fled to the Spanish territories in West Africa, particularly Guinea. Spain was neutral, in principle, however the relationship between the Spanish and British in West Africa was troubled.
The Spanish assisted German combatants in escaping from the British so that they could avoid becoming prisoners of war. For instance, around 6,000 German combatants and 400 civilians had fled to the island of Fernando Po (now Bioko) approximately 20 miles off the coast of Cameroon. The German population reportedly continued to train and arm themselves on this island, with claims that Germans were transporting ammunition there.
The British response to the collusion between Spain and Germany included an attack on Germans in neutral Spanish territory by British troops, an act which the British defended as an attempt to prevent weapon smuggling. In response to this, the Spanish Governor of Fernando Po, Angel Barrera, called for punishment for the five British African soldiers and the Naval Officer involved but this was only partially met.
which resulted in this unfortunate incident are clear charges against the said officer.
14. All that has been stated above in respect to this matter proves that 5 armed natives in the service of the Officer Commanding the Allied Forces at DIPIKAR entered Spanish territory, violating its neutrality, and treacherously, savagely, insulting superiority and with premeditation they committed murder upon the persons of two Europeans and 5 natives who accompanied them, mutilating the bodies of the dead and robbing them of their effects.
These crimes having been committed in Spanish territory, I consider, with all respect to Your Excellency’s opinion, that these individuals should be handed over to the Spanish Authorities, to be judged by them and punishment apportioned to the crime imposed...
Page from a copy of letter from Governor General Angel Barrera of Fernando Po to the General Officer Commanding the Allied Forces. Catalogue reference: CO 649/2/8.
By April 1917 most local German troops had been removed to mainland Spain. The Spanish vessels SS Cataluna and SS Cuidad de Cadiz were reported to have transported those who were interned to Cadiz in February 1917. The question of the repatriation of these German troops continued until 1918.
Further research
As is the case with many of our colonial records, it can be difficult to find evidence of African perspectives. Records held in London often focus on the issues most concerning to the British government which are typically financial, military or diplomatic. African experiences of colonial rule can often be uncovered, still with challenges, through the colonial records that remain on the African continent itself.
For example, the effects of changing colonial attitudes towards African land rights have been explored using records in the Nigerian National Archives and those in Cameroon. African strategies in responding to competition between Britain and Germany have also been explored using archival records in Cameroon.
Where territories have been redrawn under colonial and post-colonial regimes, archival records can be difficult to piece together because they are often held across multiple national boundaries. Even within the records at The National Archives, those interested in doing more research on the history of Togo or Cameroon would also need to explore the correspondence records related to Nigeria (catalogue reference: CO 583) and the Gold Coast (catalogue reference: CO 96).
Now that our relevant records are catalogued, however, we hope that researchers feel empowered in understanding how dispersed colonial records correspond to each other and how to explore their value.
Further reading
For more on the First World War in West Africa you can listen to this presentation from The National Archives from 2018 or read ‘West Africa’ by George N. Njung in The International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
For more on the wider impact of the First World War in the region you can read the following open access articles:
- Victor Bong Amazee, The British versus Pro-Germanism in the British Southern Cameroons, 1916-1922, The Transafrican Journal of History Vol 22 (1993).
- Rémi Dewière and Vincent Hiribarren “Our delight is for the amir of the English”: a Bornoan history of the First World War (North-Eastern Nigeria) in The First World War from Tripoli to Addis Abbaba (1911-1924) edited by Shiferaw Bekele, Dirar, U. C., Volterra, A., Zaccaria, M.
- Richard Goodridge, "In the Most Effective Manner"?: Britain and the Disposal of the Cameroons Plantations, 1914-1924, The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 29 No. 2 (1996)
- Peter Yearwood “In a Casual Way with a Blue Pencil”: British Policy and the Partition of Kamerun, 1914-1919 Canadian Journal of African Studies Vol 27., No 2 (1993).
