Human Telephone Lines”

Flag Post Mail Relay Runners in British Southern Cameroon (1916–1955) and the Establishment of a Modern Communications Network

Bibliographic Data

ID9341050
AuthorsWalter Gam Nkwi (0000-0001-7205-0056, University of Buea, corresponding author), M De Bruijn (0000-0002-0499-8758, African Studies Centre)
Year2014
Volume59
IssueS22
Pages211-235
Publication date2014-10-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Review of Social History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-8590 • E-ISSN: 1469-512X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0020859014000340
OpenAlexW2137121848
LanguageEN
References cited12

The flag post mail relay runners, a communications system established in Cameroon during British colonial rule, laid the foundations for the communications structure of this colonial state. They were a remnant of a pre-colonial communications system and, with the advancement of “modern” communications structures such as roads, telephone lines, and post houses, the flag post runner gradually disappeared. This article explores the role of the runners for the colonial administration in Cameroon and is based mostly on archival research. It describes the runners’ system and how it influenced the colonial communications landscape. In addition, the questions of how these runners were involved in the colonial state and what forms of resistance emerged among runners are analysed. Finally, the article discusses the degree to which the subsequent construction of roads, telegraphic communications, and postal networks reflected the role played by mail runners in the British colonial period up to the 1950s

Archaeology · Colonial period · Colonialism · Flag (linear algebra · Geography · Political science · Relay · State (computer science · Telecommunications · African history and culture studies · Computer Science · Engineering · History

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