The first inhabitants of Cameroon were probably the Baka, also called Pygmies. They still inhabit the forests of the southern and eastern provinces. AD: the area covering southwestern present-day Cameroon and southeastern Nigeria is believed to have been the cradle of the Bantu-speaking peoples.
In the 5th century BC. In fact, according to archaeological evidence, the Carthaginians do not seem to have gone south of Essaouira. English sailors adopted this name by anglicizing it, hence the current name of Cameroon. After the Portuguese come the Dutch then the Germans.
After the contacts with the Europeans trade began, including the slave trade with very often the complicity of the tribal leaders of the coast, the introduction of Christianity and the progressive dismantling of the existing political organization like the Bamoun Kingdom. Under the pretext of protecting their commercial interests, the Germans established in their protectorate.
In order to ensure the economic development of the protectorate, the Germans embarked on important works: construction of roads and the first railway line, start of work on the port of Douala, construction of schools and hospitals and creation of large plantations cocoa, banana, coffee, rubber, oil palm, etc.
The price to be paid, however, is high for the natives, who are subjected to forced labor and corporal punishment. The Germans lose their colony due to their defeat during the Great War in the League of Nations entrusts the eastern part the largest to France, and the western zone two pockets bordering Nigeria to the United Kingdom.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the movement of the UPC Union of the populations of Cameroon , led by Ruben Um Nyobe, claimed independence and reunification before being banned and then heavily repressed by the French colonial power in the country Bassas and in Bamileke country.
The independence of the French zone was proclaimed on January 1, , and reunification took place the following year with the southern part of the British zone, the northern part having opted for union with Nigeria.
On May 20, , a referendum led to a unitary state and put an end to federalism. October 21, The African Democratic Rally RDA , movement for the independence of the Black Continent was born; the UPC becomes the Cameroonian section of this pan-African organization which brings together almost all of the founding fathers of African independence. After a new tribune at the UN in December , he asked France to organize a referendum on independence and reunification in January May 25, First great popular uprising suppressed by the colonial force.
June 23, Gaston Deferre Minister of Overseas by the framework law commonly called Deferre, gives semi autonomy to indigenous peoples. Deemed rather brutal and almost uncontrollable by the French colonist, he was replaced a few months later.
January 1, France proclaims the independence of Eastern Cameroon. January 1, Eastern Cameroon is declared sovereign and independent. As of New Years Day , Cameroon is the first country to open the long parade of African independence. Cameroon is then a country apart from all points of view.
German Protectorate July ; then, mandate of the League of Nations in July to France and England to administer Cameroon in two separate territories, and finally a country under the supervision of the United Nations June 26, February 11, At the instigation of Great Britain, British Cameroon had to choose its territory.
Great Britain imposes the choice on the latter, during a plebiscite, between independence within the framework of the Nigerian federation or independence within the framework of a union with the independent Republic of Cameroon. The results of the plebiscite split the pear in two, the northern part of British Cameroon is linked to Nigeria while the southern part joins French Cameroon which has become independent.
After this plebiscite, negotiations to find the appropriate constitution for the two Cameroon are started by Cameroonian politicians from both banks of the Moungo. February 12, The northern part of British Cameroon is linked to Nigeria. July 16 to 21, The Foumban Conference: the protagonists opt for the federation.
The choice of this option was based on a misunderstanding, however, because the leaders of the two delegations, Ahmadou Ahidjo and John Ngu Foncha, did not have the same vision of the federation.
October 1, The southern part of British Cameroon in turn achieved independence, officially joining the Republic of Cameroon; Thus was born the Federal Republic of Cameroon. However, the misunderstanding mentioned above was not resolved. They reached Douala through the Wouri River. With the arrival of Europeans, business and slave trade shifted from the Centre to the Coastal areas. Local Chiefs developed more powers by signing agreements with the Portuguese.
Business was also negotiated with traders from England, Holland, France and Germany. The Chiefs served as middlemen between the Europeans and local tribesmen that had something to sell. Mostly slaves and ivory were exported from Cameroon.
The Europeans sold clothes and metal-products. Cattle farmers migrated from Nigeria and forced the indigenous people further into the forest. The constant fight to manage the land led to the problem of refugees and made them vulnerable at the benefit of slave traders.
The first inhabitants of Limbe were freed slaves from Jamaica, Ghana and Liberia. Also, Africans who were converted to Christianity, settled in Victoria. The Europe nations had done this several years earlier, although illegal slave trade continued for many years. The first European business complex was founded by Alfred Saker, an English navy engineer.
He started building schools and churches in Douala at the bank of River Wouri. When slave trade finally ended, some changes were noticed at the level of trade, because focus was now on natural resources like palm oil, ivory and gold. The Europeans started moving further into the interior of the country. The Douala chiefs started losing their influence little by little.
After being informed about the opening of a British Representation in Lagos, King Manga Bell of Douala wrote to Queen Victoria of England, requesting that an official relationship be established with Douala. The British were present in Nigeria, East Africa and other places in the world. The British were reluctant in making Cameroon a British protectorate. As a result of their hesitation, the Germans were forced to take over the territory. In return for trade advantages the chiefs accepted a German protectorate.
The Europeans drew up new boundaries for the entire African continent. In doing that, they did not take into considering differences in cultures and languages of the people. His biggest task was to fight rebellious tribes in the country. With forced labour, he also started developing the colony with roads, schools and hospitals. The name of the main town changed from Kamerunstadt to Douala. The Germans encountered serious difficulties in imposing their authority on the colony.
Initially, the Germans left a greater part of the local administration in the hands of large commercial companies. Both Togoland and Cameroon were sandwiched between British and French colonies during the early weeks of the war and military activities started at their borders.
By early the British and French had taken control over both German colonies. The two allies divided Togo and Cameroon between themselves, and were administering the regions adjacent to their other colonies. In the Treaty of Versailles in , Germany renounced sovereignty over all her African colonies. The issue of who shall administer the territories was referred to the League of Nations. The mandate granted by the League of Nations in confirmed the division earlier established in Cameroon between Britain and France.
The British were to administer the smaller share, consisting of two tiny strips on the Eastern border of Nigeria. Schools, universities and hospitals had their funding cut, and public wages decreased while Cameroon — as part of the aid conditionality — was forced to restructure its political system to include multiple political parties and democratisation [lxxx]..
The reforms would negatively impact the quality of life of ordinary Cameroonians [lxxxi]. The 's was marked by internal strife and a secessionist movement in the Southern part of the country. A new party, the Social Democratic Front SDF , emerged on the political scene and held a rally with an estimated 20 participants [lxxxii]. Six people were shot by the police in the aftermath of the rally and their deaths would spark further anti-government sentiments [lxxxiii].
In the country experienced large-scale, violent protests against high fuel prices and a high cost of living. Cameroonians had for years experienced a decline in standards of living, and between and the global financial crisis and an astronomical rise in global food prices caused further suffering [lxxxv]. Some sources claim that as many as people were killed in the violence, and that most of them were young protesters [lxxxvi].
Most recently the northern borders and towns of the country has been plagued by a series of attacks by the Nigerian militant group calling themselves Boko Haram. Cameroonian forces have been making slow gains in driving back the group, which has inflicted devastating casualties on the population and has caused massive damage to infrastructure [lxxxvii]. Oxford: Berghahn Books. Page xviii. Page Krieger and Joseph Takougang. Westview Press. Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon 3rd ed.
Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press. Page 3. Cameroonian Grassfields Civilization. The Sultanate of Mandara to Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. Bloomington: Authorhouse LLC. Page 1. University of Virginia Press.
Page 4. Page 7. Page 8. Amin, Julius A. Ardener, Edwin. Austen, Ralph. Barkindo, Bawuro Mubi. Cameroon Profile: Timeline. Diduk, Susan. Fowler, Ian and David Zeitlyn. Oxford: Berghahn Books Geschiere, Peter. Milton H. Mshelia, Ayuba Y. Warnier, Jean-Pierre. Image source From the time of independence in right up until , the country was ruled by Ahmadou Ahidjo [vi]. Early History of Cameroon The country now called Cameroon was never a unified entity prior to European colonisation [ix].
In a natural gas leak caused the death of around inhabitants of the area Image source The Emergence of Centralised Kingdoms One of the earliest Kingdoms in Cameroon was founded by the Sao people in around CE and was located on the shores of Lake Chad [xix]. Image source The Mandara Kingdom would begin its decline when a group of Fulani people invaded the area in a Jihad [xxx] or holy war.
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