Polish Republic in Cameroon (British Protectorate)

[Deleted member 109224]

Per Wikipedia

In 1882, almost a century after Poland was partitioned and lost its independence, Polish nobleman and officer of Russian Imperial Fleet, Stefan Szolc-Rogozińskiorganized an expedition to Cameroon. Officially that was an exploration expedition, but unofficially the expedition was looking for a place a Polish colony could be founded. He had no official support from the Russian Empire, nor from its puppet Congress Poland, but was backed by a number of influential Poles, including Boleslaw Prus, and Henryk Sienkiewicz. On 13 December 1882, accompanied by Leopold Janikowski and Klemens Tomczek, Rogoziński left French port of Le Havre, aboard a ship Lucja Malgorzata, with French and Polish flags. The expedition was a failure, and he returned to Europe, trying to collect more money for his project. Finally, after second expedition, Rogoziński found himself in Paris, where he died 1 December 1896.

Meanwhile, Cameroon was being taken over by Germany and Great Britain. In 1884 Rogoziński signed an agreement with a British representative, who was to provide protection to his settlement, but next year, at the Congress of Berlin, Great Britain ceded its Cameroon possessions to Germany (see Kamerun).

What if Britain opted to push for Cameroon and continued support for the Polish Republic in Africa?

Of what importance might Poles be in British West African colonial administration?

If the British have Cameroon, I wonder if they'd be tempted to push for a direct link from Nigeria/Cameroon to Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.

In exchange for a smaller (or no) Cameroon, what might Germany get? A bigger Togo? Perhaps Conakry, given that the British only ceded it to France in 1887.

If the Polish colonial scheme is successful, might it impact the thought process of the Zionists when the Uganda Proposal is made down the line?

 

[GauchoBadger]

Could the Polish settlers even adapt to Cameroon's climate? It's on average ten celsius degrees hotter than Poland.
Or are they going to be simply an administrative minority elite?
If WWI and Poland's independence process still happen while "Polish Cameroon" stays put as a British protectorate, things could get quite interesting, as an argument would be able to be made about Britain holding a piece of partitioned Poland.

 

[marcinL]

I am pretty sure that the Brits would screw over Poles once the latter are done with the hard and dirty job of establishing the footlhold in Cameroon, even if Russians and company don't protest loudly against such Polish enterprise.

 

[Deleted member 109224]

Could the Polish settlers even adapt to Cameroon's climate? It's on average ten celsius degrees hotter than Poland.

The areas around Douala, Mt Cameroon, in the West Region, and Northwest Region are pretty decent climate-wise.

Per wikipedia (on the West Region)

Climate
High elevations and moderate to high humidity give the West one of Cameroon's more pleasant climates. Temperatures average a cool 22˙, and rainfall is moderate. Except for the southeasternmost portions, the West experiences two major seasons in lieu of the traditional four: the year begins in a long, dry period of little rain, which runs until May, then the rains begin in May or June and last until October or November. Though the transition is gradual, the southeastern reaches of the province are part of the South Cameroon Plateau and thus have four seasons: the long dry season from December to March, the short rainy season from March to June, the short dry season from June to August, and the long rainy season from September to December.

The climate is equatorial of the Cameroon sub-variety in the northwestern third and equatorial of the Guinea type in the southeastern two-thirds. Rainfall, moderated by the mountains, averages 1,000-2,000 mm per year throughout, though it is highest at the area of the Bamendjing Reservoir.

Or are they going to be simply an administrative minority elite?
If WWI and Poland's independence process still happen while "Polish Cameroon" stays put as a British protectorate, things could get quite interesting, as an argument would be able to be made about Britain holding a piece of partitioned Poland.

I'd think the situation would be like Kenya, Rhodesia, or South Africa in terms of governance internally.

As for the legal status of the place, it would be a Polish Republic, but the Republic would be a British protectorate.

 

[Deleted member 109224]

Controlling for butterflies, here's a rough idea of of how things might look come 1914. I'm thinking the Poles settle the lands along the Cameroon line.

Here the Germans get Conakry in exchange for Britain (and its client) getting much of OTL Cameroon.

During the Agadir Crisis, given Germany not getting as much territory as OTL (Neukamerun lands being less), perhaps France will cede different lands. A bigger German Guinea? Maybe a German Wallis-Futuna to complement Samoa? German New Caledonia?


Kamerun had 3 million people in 1910 OTL. The lands the Poles are in TTL are about 40% of Cameroon's population, so let's say it's 1.2 million. If 2% of Congress Poland were to have relocated to New Poland, that's ~340,000 if we use the 1907 population figure. Combined Polish + Native population = 1.54 million, with the country being ~22% Poles. If it were 5% of Congress Poland, then it's ~40% Polish (2 million people).