Royal Concubinage in Ngaoundere, Northern Cameroon, Ca. 1900-1960

Concubines, in spite of their large numbers in Islamic royal settings in Africa, represent a neglected topic of research within the field of African historical studies. The reasons for this are many, the most important being the limits of the conventional sources, the difficulties for researchers of gaining access to secluded palace interiors, and perhaps above all, the assumption that royal women were of little importance to the power of the rulers they served.