Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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1884
Contested treaty and colonial annexation
The treaty signed by company representatives and Duala leaders became the legal basis cited for German suzerainty over Kamerun. Duala leaders later complained that colonial authorities violated the treaty’s provisions and intent.
Coercive plantation labor
The firm’s plantation expansion was associated with coercive labor recruitment and severe working conditions. Historical accounts describe military assistance in obtaining workers, inadequate food, extremely long working days and corporal punishment.
Contested land acquisition
Land used for the company’s plantations was obtained through a mixture of informal occupation, payments to local chiefs and colonial designation and sale of land as crown property, contributing to disputes over ownership and authority.