Rudolf Duala Manga Bell

Rudolf Duala Manga Bell
King
Rudolf Duala Manga Bell
Reign	2 September 1908 – 8 August 1914
Coronation	2 May 1910
Predecessor	Manga Ndumbe Bell
Born	1873 Douala, Kamerun
Died	8 August 1914(1914-08-08)
Wife	Emily Engome Dayas
Full name Rudolf Duala Manga Bell
Father	Manga Ndumbe Bell

Rudolf Duala Manga Bell (1873 - 8 August 1914) was a Duala king and resistance leader in the German colony of Kamerun (Cameroon). After being educated in both Kamerun and Europe, he succeeded his father Manga Ndumbe Bell on 2 September 1908, styling himself after European rulers, and generally supporting the colonial German authorities. He was quite wealthy and educated, although his father left him a substantial debt.

In 1910 the German Reichstag developed a plan by which the river in Duala would be moved inland to allow for wholly European riverside settlements. Manga Bell became the leader of pan-Duala resistance to the policy. He and the other chiefs at first pressured the administration through letters, petitions, and legal arguments, but these were ignored or rebutted. Manga Bell turned to other European governments for aid, and he sent representatives to the leaders of other Cameroonian peoples to suggest the overthrow of the German regime. Sultan Ibrahim Njoya of the Bamum people reported his actions to the authorities, and the Duala leader was arrested. After a summary trial, Manga Bell was hanged for high treason on 8 August 1914. His actions made him a martyr in Cameroonian eyes. Writers such as Mark W. DeLancey, Mark Dike DeLancey, and Helmuth Stoecker view his actions as an early example of Cameroonian nationalism.

Manga Bell was born in 1873 in Douala in the German colony of Kamerun. He was the eldest son of Manga Ndumbe Bell, king of the Bell lineage of the Duala people. Manga Bell was raised to appreciate both African and European ways of life. His Westernized uncle David Mandessi Bell had a great impact on him, and as a youth he attended school in both Douala and Germany. During the 1890s he attended the Gymnasium of Ulm, Germany, although no direct record of his time there survives. Manga Bell was made Ein-Jähriger, indicating that he held a certificate for education beyond the primary level but below the Abitur earned for completion of secondary studies. When the prince returned to Kamerun, he was one of the most highly educated men in the colony by Western standards. He made other periodic visits to Europe, such as when he travelled to Berlin, Germany, and Manchester, England, with his father in 1902. In Manchester, he met the mayor at town hall and was mentioned in the October edition of the African Times (where the editor doubted that he and his father were actual royalty). Manga Bell married Emily Engome Dayas, the daughter of an English trader and a Duala woman.