Transcribed by Eric Rasmusen, erasmuse@indiana.edu, January 26, 2011 http://rasmusen.org/special/cameroon.g406.txt Below are two letters sent by African chiefs to the British prime minister asking him to take over their tribes. I cannot vouch for their authenticity, though the sources I saw on Google Books did give what seem to be precise citations to British diplomatic records. I have doubts because the first letter's style sounds fake and because there are two letters, quite different, saying the same thing. Possibly the first is a dramatized (that is, fake) paraphrase of the second. I welcome comment. ------------------------------ Atqua Town Cameroon River Dearest Madam, We your servants have join together and thoughts its better to write you a nice loving letter which will tell you about all our wishes. We wish to have your laws in our towns. We want to have every fashion altered, also we will do according to your Consul's word. plenty wars here in our country. Plenty murder and plenty idol worshippers. perhaps these lines of our writing will look to you as an idle tale. We have spoken to the English consul plenty times about having an English governmtmt here. We never have answer from you, so we wish to write you ourselves. When we heard about Calabar River, how they have all English laws in their towns, and how they have put away all their superstitions, oh, we shall be very glad to be like Calabar now. We are, etc. King Acqua Prince Dido Acqua Prince Black Prince Jo Garner King Acqua, etc. to Queen Victoria. 7 Aug 1879 PRo, 30/29/269 (FO 4824 no 1). \footnote{The scramble for Africa: white man's conquest of the dark continent from 1876 to 1912 Thomas Pakenham HarperCollins, 800 pages\url{http://books.google.com}} ---------------------------- \footnote{Empire, Michael W. Doyle p. 162. Cornell University Press, 1986 - Political Science - 407 pages \url{http://books.google.com}.} Dear W. Gladstone, We both your servants have met this afternoon to write you these few lines of writing trusting it may find you in a good state of life as it leaves us at present. As we heard here that you are the chief man in the House of Commons, so we write to tell you that we want to be under Her Majesty's control. We want our country to be governed by British Government. We are tired of governing this country ourselves, every dispute leads to war, and often to great loss of lives, so we think it is best thing to give up the country to you British men who no doubt will bring peace, civilization, and Christianity in the country. Do for mercy sake please lay our request before the Queen and to the rulers of the British Government. Do, Sir, for mercy sake, please to assist us in this important undertaking. We heard that you are a good Christian man, so we hope that you will do all you can in your power to see that our request is granted. We are quite willing to abolish all our heathen customs .... No doubt God will bless you for putting a light in our country. Please to send us an answer as quick as you can. King Bell and King Acqua of the Cameroons River, West Africa 6 November 1881 (1 November 1881, F.O. 403/tB, Part I, in the Public Record Oflicc, Kcw. Surrey (hereafter PRO). ---------------------------------------------------------