The Reception of Colonial Rule in Kambariland, 1890s-1960

Right from the late 1890s, different colonial powers began to send their expeditions to Kambariland, aimed at dominating the Kambari economic affairs. In respect of their common mission, the European powers therefore, signed a considerable number of commercial treaties with the Kambari rulers within the area of eastern and western banks of Mashivo (River Niger, in Kambari language). Consequentially, the European contacts with the Kambari led to the imposition of colonial policies that later brought about some dramatic changes on the social, political and economic life of the Kambari. By the end of colonial rule in 1960, despite their attachment to their culture, some of the Kambari succumbed to the colonial rule and adopted the European ways of life. This paper has made an overview of the activities of the European powers in Kambariland, and it shows how the European conquest affected the political, economic and social life of the Kambari, particularly among the Akimba group of the Kambari people. Due to the scarcity of documented materials, oral information was systematically used in reconstructing the history of European contacts with the Kambari.