After the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight last March which killed all 157 people on board, and five months after the Lion Air disaster which claimed 189 lives, Boeing boss Dennis Muilenburg has apologized to the families of the victims. Sadly it took the crash of Ethiopian Airlines, and families of the ETH crash suing them, as well as Chinese airline companies, for the CEO of Boeing to finally come out. He has insisted the company is “committed to safety for the long run“, in his first interview since the two 737 Max aircraft crashes. I remember how in the early days of the ETH crash, they tried to put the blame of this accident on the pilot because he was ‘young’ even though he had over 8,000 hours of flying experience, or the co-pilot, or a myriad of other reasons.
Yared Getachew, pilot of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 which crashed in March 2019
Speaking to CBS News yesterday, Boeing’s CEO gave another apology, following his video statement in April. After the April apology, the father of the Ethiopian Airlines flight pilot, Dr. Getachew Tessema, had said that it was too little too late, adding, “Why did they [Boeing] let them fly [after the Indonesia crash]? Because they were in competition. They want to sell more. Human life has no meaning in some societies.” The airline industry’s trade body IATA has said this week that Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft is unlikely to re-enter service before August.
I knew that the Catholic Church via the Pope had authorized slavery in the 1400s, but I didn’t know that they had authorized the eradication, subjugation, etc, of African people. Somehow I never connected the two.
The bull, Pope Nicholas V‘s decree, of 1452 was addressed to Afonso V and conceded Portugal’s right to attack, conquer and subjugate Saracens and pagans; this is also known as Dum Diversas. A papal bull is a document through which a pope of the Roman Catholic Church issues an important public decree, letters patent, or charter.
Pope Nicholas V
“We grant you [Kings of Spain and Portugal] by these present documents, with our Apostolic Authority, full and free permission to invade, search out, capture, and subjugate the Saracens and pagans and any other unbelievers and enemies of Christ wherever they may be, as well as their kingdoms, duchies, counties, principalities, and other property […] and to reduce their persons into perpetual servitude.”
These clearly refers to the lands along the coast of West Africa. By these decree, Pope Nicholas V conceded to the King of Portugal Afonso V and Prince Henry and all their successors, all their conquests of Africa, and reduction to perpetual servitude of all people deemed non-believers and enemies of Christ, and all their properties.
A significant subsequent concession given by Nicholas V in a brief issued to King Alfonso in 1454 extended the rights granted to existing territories to all those that might be taken in the future. Together with a second reference to some who have already been enslaved, this has been used to suggest that Nicholas sanctioned the purchase of black slaves from “the infidel”: “… many Guineamen and other negroes, taken by force, and some by barter of unprohibited articles, or by other lawful contract of purchase, have been … converted to the Catholic faith, and it is hoped, by the help of divine mercy, that if such progress be continued with them, either those peoples will be converted to the faith or at least the souls of many of them will be gained for Christ.”
This bull is currently conserved at the Institute of the National Archives of Torre do Tomba in Lisboa, Portugal, under the reference PT/TT/BUL/0007/29 and is fully translated to French in the book “le Péché du pape contre l’Afrique” (The Sin of the Pope against Africa) (éd. Al qalam, Paris, 2002) de Assani Fassassi, P. 10 – 21.
Please find below the Papal bull by Pope Nicholas V.
For this year’s Mother day, I decided to post Lesline’s rendition of “Sweet Mother” by Prince Nico Mbarga. As I told you in my past post, Mbarga’s ‘Sweet Mother‘ is the most loved and most popular African song of all times. Enjoy Lesline’s rendition of this African classic on The Voice Afrique Francophone season 1, and remember to love and pamper your mother this Sunday! Happy Mother’s day.
Below is the translation of a letter in which the Kings and Chiefs of Little Popo and Grigi in Togoland (actual Togo) are asking for their lands to be placed under the protection of the German Imperial Majesty the Kaiser, i.e. to be placed under German protection, or rather placing (not knowing the full extent) their lands under German protectorate. This was signed on March 5th of 1884. Remember that Little Popo is now known as Aného in Togo. Grigi might have been the town of Glidji.
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Map of Togoland in 1885
I. We, the signatories, Kings and chiefs of Little Popo and Grigi, express our gratitude to Your Majesty for having assisted us in upholding peace in our land.
II. There would be no threat and no uncertainty, if the British government would refrain from interference in the affairs of our lands, which it desires, while we desire her not to have it.
III. We ask Your Majesty to provide us with protection and to avoid such an annexion.
IV. We implore Your Majesty to come to our aid, as we have placed ourselves fully under your protection.
V. We humbly request to take quick action.
signed King Aiaushi Agbanor of Little Popo and Grigi, Caboceer Quadjovi, chief Pedro Quadjo and 11 other signatures
Today, I present to you the text of the treaty signed between King Mlapa– the King of Togo, or rather his representative Chief Plakko or Plakkou, and the Consul General Gustav Nachtigal thereby placing his land under German protectorate. This is the famous July 5th 1884 treaty which marks the beginning of the German protectorate in Togoland and the birth of this German colony in West Africa. As you read it, remember that Porto Seguro is now Agbodrafo and Bagida is Baguida in Togo. Note also that when it is said ‘King of Togo,’ Togo in this case refers to the area around Togoville, the village which gave its name to the entire country. As always, European colonizers used one main treaty in one area of the country (mostly coastal) to claim ownership over the rest of the country. The original in German can be found in Geschichte der deutschen kolonien by Horst Gründer, UTB (2018) p. 91-92
The Consul General for the German Reich, Dr. Gustav Nachtigal, in the name of His Majesty the Kaiser of Germany, and Mlapa, King of Togo, represented for himself, his heirs and his chiefs by Plakkou, carrier of King Mlapa’s stick, have come to the following agreement :
Article 1 King Mlapa, desiring to protect legitimate trade, which mostly is carried out by Germans, and to grant the German merchants full security for their lives and property, requests the protection of His Majesty the German Kaiser, so that he is enabled to uphold the independence of his territory, which stretches from Porto Seguro‘s eastern border to the western border of Lomé or Bey Beach. His Imperial Majesty grants such protection, with the reservation of legitimately acquired rights of third parties.
Article 2 King Mlapa will cede no part of his lands and sovereignty rights to any foreign country of person, and he will not sign any treaty with any foreign power without the previously given approval of His Imperial Majesty.
Lome, Togo: loading of cotton bales, early 1900s
Article 3 King Mlapa grants protection and free trade to all German subjects who live in his land, and promises never to grant merchants of other nations privileges, preferential treatment or protection beyond what is granted to the Germans. King Mlapa, without His Imperial Majesty’s approval, will refrain from collecting tariffs other than those presently collected, which are 1 Shilling for every ton of palm kernels 1 Shilling for every barrel of palm oil which are to be paid to the chief of the respective location.
Article 4 His Majesty the German Kaiser will respect all trade treaties previously signed by King Mlapa and others, and will in no way place burdens upon free trade in King Mlapa‘s land.
Map of Togoland in 1885
Article 5 His Majesty the German Kaiser will not interfere in the manner the tariff so far has been collected by King Mlapa and his chiefs
Article 6 The signatory parties reserve matters of mutual interest, not included in this treaty, for future agreements.
Article 7 This treaty takes force immediately, reserved ratification by the German government. In order to testify, we have signed in the presence of the witnesses which have signed
Witnesses
Painting of Togoland in 1908 (R. Hellgrewe)
J.J. Gacher, J.B. Ahpevon, interpreters H. Randad Josua Lenze Mandt, Lt. at sea Dr. Max Buchner Chief Plakko Chief Adey of Lomé or Bey Coodaycee Hadji, 2nd chief of Bey Okkoo Nukoo King Garsa of Bagida
1 Translator’s footnote : Here a text originally written in English, and printed in German translation in the RTA, has been re-translated into English. Thus it might differ slightly in diction from the original text.
This article is from Variety Reports. It is a step forward and I applaud the great work of Malenga Mulendema and Malcolm Wopea. I also hope that we Africans can and will fund our own animated series which will be broadcast around the world as well. For the full article, go to Variety Reports.
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Netflix is adding to its growing slate of African content with its first original animated series, “Mama K’s Team 4,” produced by South Africa’s award-winning Triggerfish Animation Studios and British kids’ and family entertainment production company CAKE.
The series follows four teenage girls living in a futuristic version of Lusaka, Zambia, who are recruited by a retired secret agent to save the world. It was created by Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema, who in 2015 was one of eight winners of the Triggerfish Story Lab, a pan-African talent search backed by the Cape Town-based animation studio and The Walt Disney Co. The series is designed by the Cameroonian artist Malcolm Wopea.
“In creating a superhero show set in Lusaka, I hope to introduce the world to four strong African girls who save the day in their own fun and crazy way,” Mulendema said. “Most importantly, I want to illustrate that anyone from anywhere can be a superhero.”
La charte de l’imperialisme telle publiee dans le journal “La Nouvelle Expression”
A while ago, I published the charter of Imperialism in French (La charte de l’impérialisme). Today, I would like to bring it to you in English for all to understand how dominated Africans have been, and how that domination continues to this day. As you read this, can you give example of where each one of these articles has been applied on the African continent nowadays?
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The present “charter” was drawn up in Washington during the “slave trade”, then quietly negotiated at the “Berlin conference in 1885” while the Western powers shared Africa; renegotiated secretly in Yalta at the time of division of the world in two blocks after the Second World War and during the creation of the “League of Nations”, the ancestor of the “UN”.
I. GENERAL PROVISION
Article 1: From the Motto: – Motto of imperialism: Governing the world and controlling the riches of the planet;Our policy is to divide and conquer, dominate, exploit and loot to fill our banks and make them the most powerful in the world.
Le partage de l’Afrique a la Conference de Berlin de 1884
Article 2: No third world country constitutes a sovereign and independent state.
Article 3: All power in Third World countries comes from us, who exert it through pressure on the leaders who are only our puppets.No organ of the Third World can attribute to it the exercise.
Article 4: All Third World countries are divisible and their borders displaceable according to our will.Respect for territorial integrity does not exist for the Third World.
Article 5: All dictators must put their fortunes in our banks for the security of our interests. This fortune will be used for donations andcredits granted by us as assistance and development aid to Third World countries.
II. THE POLITICAL REGIME
Nicolas Sarkozy, by Zapiro (source Grigrinews.com)
Article 6: Any power and government established by us is legal, legitimate and democratic. But any other power or government that does not emanate from us is illegal, illegitimate and dictatorial, regardless of its form and legitimacy.
Article 7: Any power that opposes any resistance to our injunctions loses its legality, legitimacy and credibility. He must disappear.
III. TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS
Article 8: We do not negotiate agreements and contracts with Third World countries, we impose what we want and they undergo our will.
Article 9: Any agreement with another country or negotiation without our approval is null and void.
IV. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
Article 10: Wherever there is interest, Third World countries have no rights, in the southern countriesour interests go before law and international law.
Article 11: Freedom of expression, freedom of association and human rights only make sense in the country where the leaders oppose our will.
Article 12: The peoples of the Third World have no opinion or right, they suffer our law and our law.
10,000FCFA (BEAC-1992)
Article 13: Third world countries have neither culture nor civilization without referring to Western civilization.
Article 14: We are not talking about genocide, massacre, or “war crimes” or “crimes against humanity” in countries where our interests are guaranteed. Even though the number of victims is very important.
V. PUBLIC FINANCES
Article 15: In Third World countries, no one has the right to put in their banks a ceiling of money fixed by us.When the fortune exceeds the ceiling, it is deposited in one of our banks so that profits return in the form of loans or economic development aid in cash or in kind.
Article 16: The countries whose leaders show total submission to us, our puppets and our valets will not be entitled to the aid mentioned above.
Article 17: Our assistance must be accompanied by strong recommendations to prevent and break the development of Third World countries.
Libya, the Prey of the West (2011)
VI. MILITARY TREATIES
Article 18: Our armies must be always stronger and more powerfulthan the armies of the Third World. The limitation and prohibition of weapons of mass destruction does not concern us, but the others.
Article 19: Our armies must help each other and unite in the war against the army of a weak country to show our supremacyand be feared by the countries of the Third World.
Article 20: Any military intervention aims to protect our interests and those of our valets.
Article 21: Any operation of evacuation of the nationals of the Western countries hides our real mission, that to protect our interests and those of our valets.
VII. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Article 22: The UN is our instrument, we must use it against our enemies and third world countries to protect our interests.
Article 23: Our goal is to destabilize and destroy the hostile regimes and to place our puppets under the protection of our military under cover of the mandates of the “UN” forces.
Article 24: “UN” resolutions are texts that give us the right and the means to strike, kill and destroy countries whose leaders and peoples refuse to submit to our injunctionsunder the cover of the resolutions of the Council Security Council.
Article 25: Our duty is to keep Africa and other countries of the world in the underdeveloped, the bet, the division, the wars, the chaos to dominate them, exploit them and plunderthemthrough the “Missions” of ” United Nations “.
Lumumba detained, December 1960
Article 26: Our golden rule is thephysical liquidation of Third World nationalist leadersand leaders.
Article 27: The laws, resolutions, courts and tribunals of the “United Nations” are our tools of pressure against the leadersand leaders of the countries that defend the interests of their peoples.
Article 28: Leaders of Western Powers can not be prosecuted, arrested or incarcerated by “UN” courts and tribunals, even if they commit “war crimes”, “genocide” or “crimes against humanity” .
“People in the United States [the West] still have a ‘Tarzan’ movie view of Africa. That’s because in the movies all you see are jungles and animals . . . We [too] watch television and listen to the radio and go to dances and fall in love.” Miriam Makeba
View of Douala from the airs: on the other side of the bridge (not shown) is Bonabéri, old Hickory Town
I never thought that bombing, grenades, and warships had been used in wars in Africa prior to the 20th century. Little did I know that it had been in use in the 19th century, during the European invasion of Africa that is known as the scramble for Africa. Today we will talk about the first bombings on Cameroonian soil which occurred on 22 December 1884, when Germans on warships SMS Bismarck and SMS Olgabombed Hickory Town (Bonabéri) in Cameroons Town (modern-day Douala). What might have caused these bombings by German forces on Cameroonian soil, long before the area was ever known as Kamerun?
Kum’a Mbappé, Bonaberi 1884 Liberte by Enoh Meyomesse
Well, when the 12 July 1884Germano – Duala Treaty was signed between the representatives of the Jantzen & Thormählen firm and some of the Douala kings, King Ndumbé Lobé Bell and King Akwa, it was not a unanimous choice among the locals. As a matter of fact, most of the population was against the treaty, and sided with Kum’a Mbappé also known as Lock Priso, King of Hickorytown. The other kings had signed treaties ceding their lands to the Germans without consulting with the others. Kum’a Mbappé refused to sign the treaty. On that fateful day, when the Germans raised their flag in Hickory Town, after raising it in Joss Town, Kum’a Mbappé reacted by writing to the German consul: “Pull that flag down. No man buy we. They want to give us plenty dash, we tell them no. Leave us free and not make us plenty trouble.” The Germans, of course, did not heed the warning, and Kum’a Mbappé ordered the flag to be taken down and the mast ripped apart, a German merchant was killed in the fightings that ensued.
Eduard Knorr, in 1884
Kum’a Mbappé and his people courageously resisted and defeated the German army. The Germans were outnumbered. After this defeat, German consul Max Buchner wrote to Germany to send troops with real armament, cannons, bombs, grenades, in order to level out Hickory Town and kill Kum’a Mbappé who was a thorn on his side.
Opposition to German rule followed the annexation of July 1884. Lock Priso still favored the British and staged a rebellion in December 1884. Around this same time, King Bell faced off against his own people, who were largely opposed to the German rule. Bell then found himself up against the other Duala chiefs in the Duala War, which was fought over the killing of a Bonabéri Duala and Bell’s alleged refusal to share his profits with the other sub-lineages. Germans played the competitors against one another – this is a classic technique used by Europeans: divide-and-conquer. They supported the weaker King Bell to counter the powerful KingAkwa.
SMS Olga during the shelling of Hickory Town on December 21, 1884
From December 20th – 22nd, Commander Eduard von Knorr sent by Berlin decided to intervene immediately, and sent ashore a landing party of some three hundred men from warships SMS Bismarck and SMS Olgato arrest the leaders of the anti-German tribes and destroy their villages. The troops from SMS Bismarck that went ashore and landed north of Hickorytown, while the men from SMS Olgawent ashore south of the village. The Germans fought their way into the town, forcing the local forces to retreat into the mangrove forest, where they could not easily be pursued. While this operation was underway, Knorr received word that other hostile locals had attacked the trading post operated by Jantzen & Thormählen in Joss Town and had captured the company’s local manager. Knorr sent SMS Olgaupriver to shell enemy positions, and on 22 December, the landing parties returned to their ships, having lost one man killed aboard SMS Olgaand eight men wounded between the two ships. German sailors descended on Bonabéri, and burnt the city down; the deluge of fire was endless and lasted several days. They also stole the princely bow or Tangué from Kum’a Mbappé’s ship, considered the symbol of the Belé-Belé people (people of Hickory-Town): the Tangué is a sort of a bow, carved and personalized, sort of a pennant that identifies a king among the people of these water tribes. The German consul Max Buchner wrote in his war diary,
Max Buchner
“Lock Priso’s palace is plundered, a colorful and striking image. We set it on fire. But I have asked all the houses to be inspected before to find ethnographic treasures. My main booty is a great wooden carved work, the princely bow (tangué) of Lock Priso, which will be sent to Munich.” [“Le palais de Lock Priso est mis à sac, une image colorée et saisissante. Nous y mettons le feu. Mais j’ai demandé avant d’inspecter toutes les maisons pour trouver des trésors ethnographiques. Mon butin principal est une grande œuvre sculptée en bois, la proue princière (tangué or tangu’a bolo, in Duala language) de Lock Priso, qui sera envoyée à Munich.”]
The bow, Tangué, of Kum’a Mbappé at the Ethnographic Museum of Munich (Wikipedia)
After several days of fighting, the German army won because of their superior arms, and also the help sent by other Duala kings. Negotiations went on, and a peace treaty (i.e. a treaty acknowledging defeat) was finalized on 13 January 1885, forcing Kum’a Mbappé to accept German rule in Hickory Town. This hero of Cameroonian resistance, passed away in 1916.
The symbol of the Belé-Belé people, the Tangué, was only returned over 100 years later, after tireless work from one Kum’a Mbappé’s grandsons, Prince and professor Kum’a Ndumbe III and others. To learn more, please read the book Kum’a Mbappé Bonabéri 1884 Liberté! by Enoh Meyomesse, and visit the website of this proud descendant of Kum’a Mbappé, Prince Kum’a Ndumbe III at AfricAvenir.
African Heritage 