BIMBIA IN THE TRANS-ATLANTIC TRADE, 1740-1870

E.S.D. Fomin and Henry Kah ( Summary of an introduction to the Bimbia port restoration Project)

The importance of Bimbia in the Atlantic history of the Age of Sail is seen in the rather belated role it played in the Atlantic trade of the period. Though Bimbia was known to Portuguese explorers as early as 1472 when they got to the neighboring Island of Fernando Po it did not become an important collecting point for slaves and other cargoes until the second half of 18^th century. It was instead Douala that rose rapidly when Rio del Rey, the first slave trding port along Cameroon Coast, fell around 1650. The emergence of Bimbia appeared to have been directly influenced by the changing fortunes of Rio del Rey and Douala in the trade. Though Bimbia became a major trading port much later, at the peak of its influence it covered the former commercial sphere of Rio del Rey including coastal and hinterland markets and routes. Rio-del-Rey, Bimbia, Douala and Grand Batanga ports on the Cameroon coast are yet to make their own contributions to this history. Many other factors make the study of Bimbia in Atlantic history exciting. For example the success of Isubu (Bimbia people) in the Atlantic trade in the midst of a very difficult physical environment and the total neglect of the port for over a hundred years despite significant architectural remains of trade structures in the area.