Priso a Doo, also known as Preshaw, Preese, and possibly Peter, was a Duala ruler who lived on the Wouri River of the

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

s in the late 18th century. His violent behaviour lost him his birthright and catalysed the split of the

Duala people The Duala (or Sawa) are a Bantu ethnic group of Cameroon. They primarily inhabit the littoral and southwest region of Cameroon and form a portion of the Sawabantu or "coastal people" of Cameroon. The Dualas readily welcomed German and French co ...

into rival

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

and Akwa sublineages.

European sources

European sources mention several

rulers A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

with names similar to Priso living on the

s coast; these may all refer to the same individual. British records from 1788 and 1790 list a Duala leader named Preshaw as a subordinate of another ruler known as King

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

. Records from the British brig ''Sarah'' from 1790 indicate that Preshaw received the third largest "dash" (gift) from them, behind George and Angua and ahead of a ruler named Bell.Austen and Derrick 38. The same records mention a Peter a doe, and a Peter's Town appears on a 1790 map by Captain Roger Latham. According to an 1826 journal by R. M. Jackson, a leader named Preese became violent toward Europeans in 1792. Jackson blames Preese for piracy in the Wouri estuary. A work by James W. Holman mentions piracy in the estuary but gives no names.

Duala oral history

Duala oral history adds further detail. Priso lived on the left bank of the Wouri in the town of Bonapriso. As the eldest son of Doo a Makongo (likely the King George in European records), Priso was the heir apparent to his father's position and wealth. However, he robbed and killed European merchants, so his father disowned him. His rapine grew so violent that his brother,

Bele a Doo Bele may refer to: * Bele language * Bale Robe, town and separate woreda in south-central Ethiopia * Bele (Wolaita), administrative centre of Kindo Koysha, woreda in Wolaita, Ethiopia * Bele, Saint-Louis-du-Sud, Haiti, a village in the Aquin a ...

(Bell from the European records) fled to the opposite bank of the Wouri River, where he founded the Bonaberi township. Priso's father and/or brother collaborated with the Europeans, which allowed the merchants to capture Priso.Austen and Derrick 36. One tale claims that after Priso had been caught, Bele populated Bonaberi with the captives Priso had taken. Another says that Priso and Bele fought at first but then teamed up against the Bakoko at Bonaberi. They then become rivals in trade, with Bele the eventual victor.Austen and Derrick 35. Duala oral tradition holds that Priso died in

Bimbia Bimbia was an independent state of the Isubu people of Cameroon. In 1884, it was annexed by the Germans and incorporated in the colony of Kamerun. It lies in Southwest Region, to the south of Mount Cameroon and to the west of the Wouri estuary ...

, possibly by violent means. A rival tradition places his death in Subu. Priso's role in Duala legend is that of a rebellious warrior who marks the transition from the relatively peaceful days of the Duala founders to the strife known during European trade and colonialism.Austen and Derrick 40. The Duala of the Bell sublineage have a song about him: "Priso a Doo, Here Comes Warfare". Priso's actions and the question of succession that resulted from his disinheritance emboldened

Ngando a Kwa Ngando may refer to: * Ngando people, Bantu subsistence farmers who live in eastern part of Équateur and the western part of Orientale province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Ngando language, a Bantu language in the Soko-Kele languages ...

to claim not only the rival Bonambela succession but also equal status to Bele a Doo, who succeeded Doo in lieu of Priso.

Notes

References

*Austen, Ralph A., and Derrick, Jonathan (1999): ''Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers: The Duala and their Hinterland, c. 1600–c.1960''. Cambridge University Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Priso A Doo Cameroonian rebels Cameroonian traditional rulers Cameroonian pirates 18th-century monarchs in Africa