SECURITY STRATEGIES AND MARKET-POLICING IN THE BAMENDA GRASSLANDS: 1864-1908 OF LONG DISTANCE TRADE

In the Bamenda Grasslands during the Pre-colonial and Colonial Periods, trade, especially long distance exchange, stood as a central activity that wired communities in the region. The anticipated gains and the general lure of the activity attracted several persons from different ethnic groups. The presence of many actors and the mobility it engendered, made conditions expedient for some security strategies and market-policing measures to be taken. This paper adopts a historical approach to track the mode and nature of mutations in security and market-policing measures that were employed to give the long distance trade an enabling operational environment. It argues that, the stakes surrounding long distance trade rendered the activity not only lucrative but risky. In such endangering circumstances, the traders as well as the traditional and colonial authorities had different security mechanisms in managing adversities and regulating the sector.