Martin-Paul Samba
Encyclopedia
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
colonial period of Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
. M'Ebobo became a favourite of the German colonials during his upbringing in Kribi
Kribi
-Location:The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of Douala, the loargest city in Cameroon and the busiest seaport in the country...
, a coastal settlement in southern Cameroon. He was sent to Germany in 1891 to enter the German Military Academy; he was baptised Martin-Paul Samba while abroad. Upon graduation, Samba returned to Cameroon and accompanied German military expeditions across the colony.
Samba resigned his commission in 1902 and entered private business in Ebolowa
Ebolowa
Ebolowa is the capital of Cameroon's South Province. It has a population of 79,500 . It is a colonial town and a notable agricultural centre.- Overview :The main crop is cocoa...
. His admiration for the Germans eventually turned to hatred, and he began to plot an uprising
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
against them. He secretly contacted British and French forces to secure arms, but one such letter was intercepted. German forces arrested him and charged him with high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
. Samba was executed on 8 August 1914. Today, many Cameroonian historians view Samba as one of Cameroon's earliest heroes and nationalists..
His memory is commemorated by a statue in Ebolowa
Ebolowa
Ebolowa is the capital of Cameroon's South Province. It has a population of 79,500 . It is a colonial town and a notable agricultural centre.- Overview :The main crop is cocoa...
.
Childhood and German collaboration
Mebenga m'Ebobo was born circa 1875 in a village known as Metoutou-Engong, near EbolowaEbolowa
Ebolowa is the capital of Cameroon's South Province. It has a population of 79,500 . It is a colonial town and a notable agricultural centre.- Overview :The main crop is cocoa...
in what is today the South Province
South Province (Cameroon)
The South Region is located in the southwestern and south-central portion of the Republic of Cameroon...
of Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
. He was a member of the Yemeyema clan of the Bulu ethnic group. When m'Ebobo's was orphaned as an infant, his uncle, Oban Ebono, took the child into his care. In 1885, Ebono sent m'Ebobo to be raised by Banoho Issamba, a Batanga
Batanga
Batanga may refer to:* The Batanga people of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea;* The Batanga language, spoken by that people;* Grand Batanga, Cameroon* Batanga , a publication focusing on Latin American music...
man who had come to prominence as a trader in the coastal settlement of Kribi
Kribi
-Location:The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of Douala, the loargest city in Cameroon and the busiest seaport in the country...
. M'Ebobo spent the rest of his childhood there.
The young m'Ebobo became a favourite of the German colonials who lived in Kribi. He entered the service of German explorer Kurt von Morgan, whom he accompanied on expeditions beginning in 1889. Two years later, von Morgan paid to have m'Ebobo educated in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
M'Ebobo entered the German Military Academy, where he was given the name Samba. That November, he was baptised as Martin-Paul. Samba graduated in 1894 with the rank of captain.
Samba returned to Kamerun
Kamerun
German Cameroon was a West African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon.-History:-1800s:...
that same year. For the next seven years, he accompanied German expeditions under the command of Hans Dominik
Hans Dominik
Hans Dominik was a German colonial officer of the Schutztruppe . He was the long-time commander of the Jaunde military station in Kamerun.- Early life and career :...
to explore the Kamerun hinterland and subjugate native resistance. Samba participated in actions against the settlements of Bati
Bati
Bati may refer to:*Bati , traditional Fijian warriors** The Fiji national rugby league team* The town of Bati, Ethiopia.*Bati * Bathi District, a district of Takeo Province, Cambodia...
and Tibati
Tibati
Tibati is a town and commune in Djérem, Cameroon. The town and region are reigned by a local monarch, the Lamido.The most notable economic activity in the region is the fishery industry. The fish comes from the lake Mbakaou, a large dammed lake next to Tibati...
and against several Ngila and Limba
Limba people (Cameroon)
The Limba are an ethnic group of the Republic of Cameroon. They belong to the Sawa peoples, those of the Cameroonian coast.-History and geography:...
villages. Samba's own people came to view him as a turncoat. In 1902, he resigned his commission to become a businessman in Ebolowa.
Samba the rebel
Samba's views slowly changed regarding the Germans. He came to disdain the colonials' mistreatment of Bulu women and children. The 1911 appointment of Karl AtanganaCharles Atangana
Charles Atangana , also known by his birth name, Ntsama, and his German name, Karl, was the paramount chief of the Ewondo and Bane ethnic groups during much of the colonial period in Cameroon...
as paramount chief
Paramount chief
A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or country typically administered politically with a chief-based system. This definition is used occasionally in anthropological and archaeological theory to refer to the rulers of multiple...
of the Ewondo and Bane worried Samba, who felt that the Germans were favouring the Ewondo over the Bulu, giving the Ewondo the edge in the long rivalry between the ethnic groups. He began to entertain notions of being a great nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and of uniting all Kamerun under the leadership of the Bulu. Meanwhile, Samba became a chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
in the Bulu hierarchy in 1910.
In 1912, Samba began actively planning an uprising
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
. He entered correspondence with Rudolf Duala Manga Bell
Rudolf Duala Manga Bell
Rudolf Duala Manga Bell was a Duala king and resistance leader in the German colony of Kamerun. After being educated in both Kamerun and Europe, he succeeded his father, Manga Ndumbe Bell, on 2 September 1908. Manga Bell styled himself after European rulers, and he generally supported the colonial...
, a like-minded leader from the Duala
Duala people
The Duala are an ethnic group of Cameroon. They primarily inhabit the littoral region to the coast and form a portion of the Sawa, or Cameroonian coastal peoples...
ethnic group. The two decided to request aid from Germany's enemies, Samba to contact the French, and Manga Bell the British.
Meanwhile, Samba began training Bulu warriors in tactics to use against the German army. He gained the support of other southern Cameroonian leaders, including Madola of the Batanga and Edande Mbita. The rebels stockpiled weapons and munitions. Samba even requested weapons from the German themselves, ostensibly to ward off Ewondo unrest that had led to some uprisings north of Bululand.
A Bulu informant alerted the Germans of Samba's plans. By July 1914, the colonial forces were suspicious enough to search his home, where they found numerous receipts for arms purchases from British and French suppliers. At the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1914, Samba sent a letter to the French forces at Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
stating his intent to rebel and requesting aid against the Germans. Colonial forces intercepted the correspondence. Samba was arrested on 1 August 1914 and charged with high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
. His collaborators, Madola, Edande Mbita, and others, were also arrested when stockpiles of arms were found in their homes. The men were tried by military tribunal
Military tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
. All were found guilty. On 8 August 1914, Samba and his collaborators were executed by firing squad.