[ THE GREEKS AND THE TRADE OF COCOA IN THE NYONG AND SANAGA REGION IN FRENCH COLONIAL CAMEROON (1920-1959) ]
Volume 16, Issue 2, July 2015, Pages 481–490
Michel Fabrice AKONO ABINA1 and Emmanuel ASSOLA2
1 Chargé de Recherche au Ministère de la Recherche Scientifique et de l'Innovation, Yaoundé, Cameroun
2 Attaché de Recherche au Ministère de la Recherche Scientifique et de l'Innovation, Yaoundé, Cameroun
Original language: French
Copyright © 2015 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The Greeks were the main cocoa traders in South-Cameroon during the colonial period. They arrived in small groups to be employed as prospectors, then commercial agents on behalf of the major treaty trade companies as the Paterson Zochonis (PZ), the Company of Haut Ogooué (SHO), the French West Africa company, R.W. King or John Holt, the small colony of Greek commercial agents of Cameroon has embarked on building a commercial destiny which the main beam remained the marketing of annuity products including cocoa. This article examines the role of the Greeks in the development of trade in agricultural products for export in Cameroon and more specifically in the chocolate products rich region of Nyong and Sanaga, located in the centre of the territory of Cameroon. The Greeks have, thanks to their proximity to the major colonial corporations, taken the measure of the opportunities offered by the market of the agricultural products for export in colonial Cameroon and more specifically in Yaoundé, administrative capital and main town of the region of Nyong and Sanaga. Then, they launched their commercial assault in the surrounding communities of: Sa' a, Akonolinga, Mbalmayo, Obala, etc. Among the most active traders, there were for example, Kritikos, Mikes, Demetropoulos, Gaetanos, Trianfilides, Pollakis, Papadopoulos and Mavrommatis. Thus, in less than half a century, Greek traders have, from the cocoa trade, transformed many bush markets in the region in real centres of trade in the territory.
Author Keywords: Hellenic, Commercial, Administration, Colonial, Economy.
Volume 16, Issue 2, July 2015, Pages 481–490
Michel Fabrice AKONO ABINA1 and Emmanuel ASSOLA2
1 Chargé de Recherche au Ministère de la Recherche Scientifique et de l'Innovation, Yaoundé, Cameroun
2 Attaché de Recherche au Ministère de la Recherche Scientifique et de l'Innovation, Yaoundé, Cameroun
Original language: French
Copyright © 2015 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The Greeks were the main cocoa traders in South-Cameroon during the colonial period. They arrived in small groups to be employed as prospectors, then commercial agents on behalf of the major treaty trade companies as the Paterson Zochonis (PZ), the Company of Haut Ogooué (SHO), the French West Africa company, R.W. King or John Holt, the small colony of Greek commercial agents of Cameroon has embarked on building a commercial destiny which the main beam remained the marketing of annuity products including cocoa. This article examines the role of the Greeks in the development of trade in agricultural products for export in Cameroon and more specifically in the chocolate products rich region of Nyong and Sanaga, located in the centre of the territory of Cameroon. The Greeks have, thanks to their proximity to the major colonial corporations, taken the measure of the opportunities offered by the market of the agricultural products for export in colonial Cameroon and more specifically in Yaoundé, administrative capital and main town of the region of Nyong and Sanaga. Then, they launched their commercial assault in the surrounding communities of: Sa' a, Akonolinga, Mbalmayo, Obala, etc. Among the most active traders, there were for example, Kritikos, Mikes, Demetropoulos, Gaetanos, Trianfilides, Pollakis, Papadopoulos and Mavrommatis. Thus, in less than half a century, Greek traders have, from the cocoa trade, transformed many bush markets in the region in real centres of trade in the territory.
Author Keywords: Hellenic, Commercial, Administration, Colonial, Economy.
Abstract: (french)
Les Grecs ont été les principaux commerçants de cacao au Sud-Cameroun durant la période coloniale. Arrivés par petits groupes pour être employés comme prospecteurs, puis agents commerciaux pour le compte des grandes compagnies de commerce de traite comme la Paterson-Zochonis (PZ), la Société du Haut Ogooué (SHO), la Compagnie Française d'Afrique Occidentale (CFAO), la R.W. King ou la John Holt. La petite colonie d'agents commerciaux helléniques du Cameroun s'est attelée à construire un destin commercial dont la poutre principale demeurait la commercialisation des produits de rente et notamment le cacao. Le présent article analyse le rôle des Grecs dans le développement du commerce des produits agricoles d'exportation au Cameroun et plus précisément dans la riche région en produits cacaoté du Nyong et Sanaga, située au centre du territoire camerounais. Les Grecs ont, grâce à leur proximité avec les grands trusts coloniaux, pris la mesure des opportunités qu'offrait le marché des produits agricoles d'exportation au Cameroun coloniale et plus précisément à Yaoundé, capitale administrative et principale ville de la région du Nyong et Sanaga. Puis, ils ont lancé leur assaut commercial dans les localités environnantes de Sa'a, Akonolinga, Mbalmayo, Obala, etc. Parmi les commerçants les plus actifs, on comptait par exemple, Kritikos, Mikes, Demétropoulos, Gaetanos, Trianfilides, Pollakis, Papadopoulos et Mavrommatis. Ainsi, en moins d'un demi-siècle, les commerçants grecs ont, à partir du commerce du cacao, transformé de nombreux marchés de brousse de la région en de véritables pôles d'échanges du territoire.
Author Keywords: Hellénique, Commercial, Administration, Colonial, Economie.
How to Cite this Article
Michel Fabrice AKONO ABINA and Emmanuel ASSOLA, “LES GRECS ET LE COMMERCE DU CACAO DANS LA REGION DU NYONG ET SANAGA AU CAMEROUN COLONIAL FRANÇAIS (1920 - 1959),” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 481–490, July 2015.
