{{Short description, Duala king George or Joss, born Doo a Makongo or Doo a Mukonga, was a

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

of the

Duala people The Duala (or :fr:Sawa (peuple), Sawa) are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group of Cameroon. They primarily inhabit the littoral and southwest region of Cameroon and form a portion of the Sawabantu languages, Sawabantu or "coastal people" of Cam ...

in the late 18th century. Doo a Makongo was the son of Makongo a Njo. He lived at

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

on the

Wouri estuary The Wouri estuary, or Cameroon estuary is a large tidal estuary in Cameroon where several rivers come together, emptying into the Bight of Biafra. Douala, the largest city in Cameroon, is at the mouth of the Wouri River where it enters the estuar ...

on the coast of

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. By 1788–1790, Doo was a powerful ruler in the area. During this time, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

was at its height, and Douala was the primary trading post in the region. Records of the British trading vessel ''Sarah'' in 1790 and records of an English trial in 1788 both give the name of the head trader in Douala as King George. These were likely names given Doo by the traders, who also bestowed on him the title of

(''kine'' in Duala). George possessed ''kalati'', trade books in which credit records were kept and the mark of a major trader in Duala eyes. He received both customs duties and a "dash" (bonus gift). Listed as lesser rulers in the region were Preshaw ( Priso a Doo) and Bell ( Bele a Doo). Nevertheless, these same British records indicate that a leader named Angua (probably

Kwane a Ngie Kwane a Ngie, known in British records as Angua or Quan, was a Duala ruler from the Bonambela sublineage who flourished from 1788 to 1790 in Douala, Cameroon. The British slave trade was at its height at this time, and, although a rival ruler f ...

) was actually more powerful. For example, the ''Sarahs records state that George sold only 40 slaves to Angua's 50, and his "dash" was much smaller. The succession of George's kingship remained an open question until his death. He disowned his eldest son, Priso a Doo, because of the boy's violent behaviour. In fact, George may have helped European traders capture Priso for murdering some of their compatriots. Bele a Doo was named heir, which was probably the impetus for Ngando a Kwa to declare his independence and set himself up as Bele's equal when Ewonde a Kwane of his own lineage died. Thus, George's death may have been indirectly responsible for the Duala people's split into the rival

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

and

Akwa lineage Akwa may refer to: People * Akwá, Fabrice Akwa (born 1977), Angolan footballer * Obed Akwa, Ghanaian soldier * People from Akwa Ibom, Nigeria * People from Akwa Akpa, Nigeria Places * Akwa, Douala, a district in Douala, Cameroon ** Stade Akwa, ...

s.Austen and Derrick 36.

Notes

References

*Austen, Ralph A., and Derrick, Jonathan (1999): ''Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers: The Duala and their Hinterland, c. 1600–c.1960''. Cambridge University Press. Cameroonian traditional rulers 18th-century monarchs in Africa