DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2017.v05i09.004

Pages: 1119-1125

Based largely on archival sources, this article attempts to demonstrate that, the Anglo-French boundary that divided Cameroon into two in 1916 was not solely an object of division. The border people made the best of their border position even though they were separated from their traditional markets, kith and kin and farm lands and suffered the disruption of community life. The paper argues that some smart Cameroonians exploited the boundary situation to better themselves. They got involved in contraband trade and smuggling, made use of different currencies and learned more than one indigenous or colonial language. The boundary therefore produced some of the most successful traders and bilingual or multilingual Cameroonians. Like elsewhere in Africa, the Anglo-French boundary in Cameroon was not entirely destructive.