Military History
History
Kum'a Mbappe and the First Act of Resistance
In 1884, Kum'a Mbappe, King of Bonabéri, refused to sign a treaty with German colonial powers even as other Duala rulers capitulated. When the Germans hoisted their flag over Bonabéri, he famously rejected their authority in writing, setting off armed conflict that would last through December and establish a lineage of resistance in what would become Cameroon.
The Execution of Rudolf Douala Manga Bell: A Forgotten Reckoning
On August 8, 1914, the Paramount King of the Duala people and his collaborator were hanged by German colonial authorities for opposing the expropriation of Douala lands. The writer documents their legal resistance, the manufactured charges of treason, and the absence of any national commemoration of these deaths.
African Queens #5: Dihya
Kahina Dihya was a Berber warrior queen who led indigenous resistance to the Arab Islamic conquest of the Maghreb in the late seventh century. She achieved a stunning military victory against General Hassan Nu'Man in 698, but ultimately fell to his returning forces after a scorched-earth strategy fractured her coalition.
African Queens #5: Dihya
This essay traces the life and legacy of Kahina Dihya, a seventh-century Berber warrior queen who led indigenous resistance against Arab Islamic conquest in North Africa. From her celebrated victory at the Battle of the Camels in 698 to her death five years later, Dihya commanded the Berber tribes and challenged one of history's great imperial expansions.