FREDERICK An African Reaction to World War the Bed of Cameroon Most histories of World War deal with the conflict in Europe and those accounts which treat its effects elsewhere in the world do so largely from the viewpoint of the Versailles peace settlement and its conse quences The focus of this essay is on World War Cameroon and its effects on single African society the Beti rain forest tribe of approxi mately 500000 people who live around Yaounde the inland capital Traditionally the Beti were hunting and growing society and Beti political organization was characterized by several thousand autar chic lineage groups each ruled by headman functioning independently of other Beti groups for most of their existence Control of these units passed patrilineally from father to oldest son typical compound included the headman his wives unmarried brothers slaves and male clients who attached themselves to the headman offering services as warriors or hunters in turn for assistance raising brideprice Such lineage unit might include 20 people but much smaller and considerably larger compounds were known.1 German contact with the Beti began in 1887 when two military explorers Kund and Tappenbeck completed the twenty-two days march inland to the hilly region around what would become the Jaunde post Jaunde was deformation of the word Ewondo the name of the Beti clan inhabiting the region Initially some Beti groups resisted the Germans chiefly through ambushing German caravans or retreating into the rain forest when work gang recruiters approached but by the turn of the century German control of the region was complete.2

An ethnography of the Beti is contained in the first two chapters of Eugene Frederick QUINN Changes in Beti Society unpublished Ph disserta tion Los Angeles Calif 1970 See also Pierre ALEXANDRE Jacques BINET Le groupe dit Pahouin Fang-Boulou-Beti) Paris 1958 Useful on the German period of history are Harry RUDIN Germans in the Cameroons Case Study in Modern Imperialism 88 f.-i()i v