European Alcohol, History, and the State in Cameroon

Abstract

On 17 August 1884, the flag was raised at Bimbia in Kamerun and the territory was annexed as a German colony. Gustav Nachtigal, Consul General, distributed Schnaps in celebration and then billed the liquor to the German government: “Schnaps shared at the festive celebration was to be paid by Berlin” (Stoecker 1960, 69; Hueckirtg and Launer 1986, 62). This fleeting event is a commanding metaphor for the crucial role which bottled alcoholic beverages came to play under German imperialism in Cameroon; spirits, above all other trade goods, helped to secure Germany's annexation of Cameroon, its control over indigenous labor, and access to the country's interior. The occasion sets the stage for a continuous history linking bottled European alcohol to capital accumulation, elite power structures, and changing social relations in Cameroon. Today it is impossible to overlook the significance of bottled alcohol production and consumption in the Republic of Cameroon. Bars selling bottled beers mark rural commercial centers and proliferate on city streets. They are so pervasive that it is difficult to imagine city, town, or village without them, though this image is of relatively recent origin. Just as European alcohol played an important role in the penetration of West African trade, so too bottled European beers permeate many contemporary African economies as highly remunerative commercial activities serving both state and international interests.