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| Title: | Slavery in the Bamum Kingdom in the 19th and 20th Centuries |
| Author: | Njoya, Aboubakar Njiasse |
| Year: | 1995 |
| Periodical: | Paideuma |
| Volume: | 41 |
| Pages: | 227-237 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Cameroon |
| Subjects: | social inequality Bamun slavery Bamun polity History and Exploration Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Ethnic and Race Relations Labor and Employment |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/40341703 |
| Abstract: | This paper examines slavery in the Bamum kingdom (Cameroon) in the 19th and 20th centuries. A section on the origin of the slaves in Bamum shows that the majority were war captives and their descendants, while persons born free could also be enslaved, amongst others, as a punishment for crimes committed or as a result of indebtedness. The Bamum never launched raids against neighbouring peoples for exclusively profitable purposes. As for their status, slaves were a working tool of their owner, but the condition of docile slaves improved progressively. With time, they could acquire a piece of land for their basic food needs. King Mbuombuo even ennobled slaves who had links with him in order to counterbalance the power of the nobility and hold his rivals at bay. The massive integration of slaves into the traditional aristocracy led to the demise of the kingdom and the seizure of throne by former slaves. Until the end of the last century, when Europeans colonized the Bamum State, slaves still vied for the throne with the legitimate heirs of the kingdom. Slavery was abolished in the beginning of the 20th century. Bibliogr., notes, ref. |
