Ndumbe (a Lobe) Bell (1839 - 1897)

Born 1839 in Douala [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died Dec 1897 at about age 58 in Kamerun

Biography

Ndumbe (a Lobe) Bell is Notable.

Ndumbe was a leader of the Duala people of what would become Cameroon. Known as an astute politician & businessman, he was a leader, belonging to the Bonanjo/Bell lineage, at the time of the German colonization of the region.^[1][2][3]

In 1840 through to 1855, he signed several agreements or treaties on behalf of his people with various visiting representatives of Great Britain. The agreements were also signed by 'King Acqui' (also spelt 'Acqua' or Akwa)

He was based in a settlement and trading post known as "Bell Town" on the east bank of the Wouri (Cameroon) River.

The agreements, as well as outlining peaceable trading conditions and appropriate punishments for breaches, indicated that slave trading would not take place and any would be reported to the nearest British naval vessel.^[4]

In the 1880's, he also wrote, along with other leaders, traders and missionaries requesting to become a British Protectorate, in the face dissension caused by increasing German and French activities. ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia Contributors. “Ndumbe Lobe Bell.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Mar. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndumbe_Lobe_Bell. Accessed 20 June 2023. ‌
2. ↑ Austen, Ralph A, and Jonathan Derrick. Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers. Cambridge University Press, 21 Jan. 1999.
3. ↑ Wikipedia Contributors. “List of Rulers of the Duala.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Nov. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_the_Duala. Accessed 20 June 2023. ‌
4. ↑ "Eye-Witnesses to the Annexation of Cameroon 1883-1887". S G Ardener. 1968, 86pp. Appendix B.
5. ↑ "Eye-Witnesses to the Annexation of Cameroon 1883-1887". S G Ardener. 1968, 86pp. Page 20

• Wikidata: Item Q13221196