Britain initially did not want to annex Cameroon, since it thought it already had enough colonies in West Africa. Britain also considered Cameroon to have little in the way of resources and the land would be a burden on the British taxpayers to administer. Britain thought that annexation would lead to wars with interior tribes, especially if Britain was involved in suppressing slavery.

British annexation of Egypt had alienated France, and it did not want to let a small piece of African coastline get in the way of closer Anglo-French ties. Britain also did not think that any other nation really wanted Cameroon due to its relative poverty. Britain was more interested in developing trade and gold resources found in South Africa and Australia.

Britain would eventually get involved in annexing Cameroon—since Germany wanted it and Britain did not want to suffer any blow to its prestige. Missionaries also wanted Britain to annex Cameroon to ensure they could stay in the country. Many thought that Cameroon was a place where British subjects would want to settle due to its climate.