Bokoko: an experience of interethnic coexistence in Spanish Guinea during World War I (1916-1919)
Abstract
The neutrality adopted by Spain during the First World War was compromised in its colonial possessions in the Gulf of Guinea. The war in the German colony of Cameroon, neighboring the Spanish territory of Río Muni, caused a humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions. The German colonial army, along with its African troops (askaris), was followed by thousands of Cameroonian civilians made up of entire families (women, the elderly and children). The Spanish government moved the Germans and their African soldiers to the island of Fernando Poo, where they were established in several camps under a military organization. The space dedicated to Cameroonian civilians was named Bokoko. We explore this experience where different Cameroonian ethnic groups coexisted under the protection of Spanish neutrality. The link between them was their support for the Germans, voluntary or forced, which was vital to understanding the basis of indigenous support for colonial power.Downloads
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