A Priceless Commodity: The Politics of Salt Production and Commercialisation in the Cross River Basin of Cameroon, 1916-1961

Abstract

In the Cross River Basin of Cameroon like in other West African territories, the production and sale of salt in the precolonial era was a vibrant industry involving numer- ous people and trading communities. The exploitation and/or sale of precious salt in some areas was regulated by the village authorities. The British eventually assumed control of this region of Cameroon after the First World War, and instead of supporting this industry, they embarked upon importing salt from other colonial possessions and Europe. Even when World War II affected the supply of salt from these external sources, the British colonial government did not develop the local industry. By 1961, when British rule terminated, this indigenous industry had declined to the extent that the once flourishing brine springs were abandoned in the wild.