Trade as Catalyst for Interactions among the Ndop Plain Chiefdoms of the North West Region of Cameroon, 1975-2019.

This paper analyses the role played by trade in enhancing relations between the chiefdoms of Ndop plain between 1975 and 2019. Though the history of this region is marked by conflicts and surge for dominance and prominence, their involvement of inter-community trade became a leverage or catalyst for interactions between chiefdoms and foundations of peaceful coexistence. For the realization of this paper, data was drawn from oral, primary and secondary sources and the qualitative method of analyses used in analyzing data. Findings revealed that, trade items such as maize, beans, groundnuts, fish, arts and crafts, motivated interactions among the chiefdoms. Other major trade items which cemented relations were pottery and palm-wine. The paper concludes that these items became a blessing and the frosty relations which hitherto existed were minimized. Such a study comes in to change the narratives as previous studies on the area gives a bleak image as they depict inter-chiefdom skirmishes and tensions as the feature of the area. With this, it hoped that this study will go a long way to enforce the argument that, trade can be seen to be a factor of coexistence and not division and authorities and decision makers can count on the strength of these arguments to foster peace and unity not only in the area but beyond.