Working Through a War: The Traders of John Holt & Co. in Cameroon During the First World War

Abstract

This paper will explore the experiences of John Holt & Co.’s European and African traders who were in German-controlled Cameroon when war broke out in August of 1914. Using company and government archives, the paper argues that local employees, who came from multiple European countries and from across the west coast of Africa, faced significant hardships but, through skill, experience, and self-interest, kept the company afloat at a time of crisis and transition. The paper begins with an investigation of how the German government in Cameroon made British employees prisoners of war and then, after the British conquest of Douala, German employees were subjected to the same treatment by occupying forces. The second part explores the breakdown of trading networks and the difficult situation of employees in the interior who suffered from a lack of security, the violence of invading armies, and the destruction of property. Despite the hardships, wartime conditions also created economic opportunities for some African employees, and part three explores their enlarged responsibilities during the war years. The final section examines the post-war era as the region transitioned from German to Anglo-French control, exploring some continuities with the pre-1914 period as well as the consolidation of some companies and an increasing expatriate dominance over the commodities trade.