COERCION AND VIOLENCE IN GERMAN LABOR CONSCRIPTION IN CAMEROON, 1880s-1914

Abstract

We have investigated German preference of coercion and violence in recruitment of labour in Cameroon. Cameroon’s colonisation was facilitated by two German trading firms and economic motivations were central to this scheme. The establishment of several plantations triggered a gripping need for extra labour from the hinterlands for economic and administrative purposes. Its scarcity in the immediate vicinity occasioned supply from other areas and was facilitated by chiefs and labour recruiters. Chiefs signed labour contracts without consent from recruits. Some constructed or maintained roads and died in the process. This paper discusses these issues through a content analysis of accessible literature.