The Rise and Fall of Mankon Confederacy, Bamenda-Cameroon, c.1800-1927

This book is an analysis of inter-kingdom relations at the helm of which was the Mankon Kingdom. It discusses internal and external factors that influenced the rise and fall of the Mankon Confederacy from circa 1800 to 1927. Established within the territorial confines of the Mankon kingdom, this union was an indigenous system of political organization in the Bamenda Grasslands of Cameroon. It brought together six kingdoms of the Ngemba ethnic group (Mankon, Mbatu, Chomba, Nsongwa, Mundum and Ndzong) and two from the Mbu and Bafut tribal groups (Mbu and Mambu respectively). Their objective was to reinforce defense against external threat from the Chamba ethnic group. As a union of autonomous kingdoms, the confederacy was a loose one. It was a successful union until the coming of Dr. Eugene Zintgraff and German imperialism that ignited its collapse. However, it left significant legacies to the people of the area. It will be of great interest to researchers of African history and indigenes of the Upper and Lower Ngemba kingdoms of the Bamenda Grasslands of Cameroon as it treats a very significant part of the history of the area.