Schutzvertrag mit den Häuptlingen der kamerunischen Küste (1884)

Am 12. Juli 1884 unterzeichneten die kamerunischen Douala Häuptlinge König Bell und König Akwa sowie weitere Douala-Prominente einen sogenannten Schutzvertrag mit Johannes Voss, einem Vertreter der Handelsfirma Jantzen und Thormählen, und Eduard Schmidt, der im Namen der Firma Woermann handelte. Dies war der effektive Beginn der formalen deutschen Kolonialherrschaft über nicht nur Douala, sondern auch über das Gebiet dessen, was Kamerun werden sollte.

Robbie Aitken (translated by Lilian Gergely)

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English

We the undersigned independent Kings and Chiefs of the country called “Cameroons” situated on the Cameroons-River, between the River Bimbia on the North Side, the River Qua Qua on the South side and up to 4 degrees 10″North lat., have in a meeting held today in the German Factory on King Aqua’s Beach, voluntarily concluded as follows:

We give this day our rights of sovereignty, the Legislation and Management of this Country entirely up to Eduard Schmidt acting for the firm C. Woermann, and Mr Johannes Voss acting for Mssrs Jantzen and Thormälen, both in Hamburg, and for many years trading in this river.

We have conveyed our rights of sovereignty, the legislation and management of this our Country to the firms mentioned above under the following conditions:

1. Third-party rights remain inviolate.

2. All friendship and commercial treaties previously concluded with other foreign government shall remain in force.

3. Land cultivated by us now, and the places the towns are built on, shall be the property of the present owners and their successors. 29

4. The Coumie [tax paid by factories] shall be paid annually as it has been paid to the Kings and Chiefs previously.

5. During the first period of the establishment of an administration here, our country’s customs shall be respected.

Cameroons, July 12, 1884

25 signatures including the following:
Ed. Schmidt
Joh. Voss
Ed. Woermann (witness)
O. Busch (witness)
King Aqua
King Bell
David Meetom
John Angua
Manga Aqua
Jim Joss
Big Jim Aqua
Davis Joss

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Quelle: Knoll, Arthur J. and Hermann J. Hiery (eds.), The German Colonial Experience: Select Documents on German Rule in Africa, China, and the Pacific (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2010), 42-43.

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