Anglophone and francophone nationalisms in Cameroon

The Anglo-French partition of the German protectorate of Cameroon in 1916 created separate nationalist aspirations and movements in the two territories, but with shared aims of ending partition and establishing a united independent Cameroon. But when these goals were achieved, it soon became obvious that the cultural, social and political divides between the two linguistic groups were more fundamental and more difficult to bridge than the initial aspirations of the nationalists. When representatives of the two territories met in 1961 to draft a constitution for the newly reunified state, the ambitions of Anglophones and Francophones for the Cameroon of the future were diametrically different. The two linguistic groups remain distinct and uncompromising, with the people of each community firmly attached to their culture. Francophones have used their numerical supremacy and political leadership since reunification to deny Anglophones openings to effective leadership of the country. In spite of this, Anglophone nationalists, old and young, have continued to come out with novel ideas that can bring the two communities closer together and save Cameroon from the brink of disintegration.