History

Pre-Colonial Period

Archaeological finds show that humankind has inhabited Cameroonian territory since the Neolithic. The longest continuous inhabitants are the Pygmy groups such as the Baka, and the Sao culture arose around Lake Chad c. AD 500 to give way to the Kanem-Bornu Empire. Kingdoms, fondoms and chiefdoms arose in the west, including those of the Bamileke, Bamum and Tikar.

Portuguese sailors reached the coast in 1472. They noted an abundance of prawns and crayfish in the Wouri River and named it Rio dos Camarões (Portuguese for River of Prawns), the phrase from which Cameroon is derived. Over the next few centuries, European interests regularised trade with the coastal peoples. Meanwhile, Christian missionaries established operations and gradually moved inland.

In the early 19th century, Modibo Adama led Fulani soldiers on a jihad in the north against the non-Muslim peoples (Kirdi) and those Muslims who still practiced aspects of paganism. Adama established the Adamawa Emirate, a vassal to the Sokoto Caliphate of Usman dan Fodio. Ethnic groups who fled the Fulani warriors displaced others, resulting in a major redistribution of population.

Colonial Period

In 1884, the German Empire claimed the territory as the colony of Kamerun. They moved inland, breaking trade monopolies held by coastal peoples such as the Duala and steadily expanded their control. The Germans established plantations in the forested south, especially along the coast, and made substantial investments in the colony's infrastructure, including the building of railways, roads, and hospitals. However, the indigenous peoples were reluctant to work on these projects, so the government instigated a harsh system of forced labour.

With the defeat of Germany in World War I, Kamerun became a League of Nations mandate territory and was split into French Cameroun and British Cameroons in 1919. Neukamerun (territories acquired by Germany in 1911), became part of French Equatorial Africa.

France improved the infrastructure of its territory with capital investments, skilled workers, and continued forced labour, and French Cameroun eventually surpassed its British counterpart in gross national product, education and health care services. Nevertheless, these developments were largely relegated to Douala, Foumban, Yaoundé, and Kribi, and the territory between them. The economy was carefully tied with that of France; raw materials sent to Europe were then sold back to the colony as finished goods.

Great Britain administered its territory from neighbouring Nigeria. Natives complained that this made them a neglected 'colony of a colony. Nigerian migrant workers flocked to Southern Cameroons, removing the need for forced labour but angering indigenous peoples. The plantations were returned to German administration until after World War II, when they were consolidated into the Cameroon Development Corporation. British administrators paid little attention to Northern Cameroons.

The League of Nations mandates were converted into United Nations Trusteeships in 1946. The question of independence became a pressing issue in French Cameroun, where political parties held different ideas on the timetable and goals of self-rule. The Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) was the most radical of these and advocated immediate independence and the adoption of a socialist economy. France outlawed the party on 13 July 1955, prompting a long guerrilla war and the assassination of its leader, Ruben Um Nyobé. France eventually granted increasing degrees of autonomy to the territory's governing bodies. In British Cameroons, the question was whether to reunify with French Cameroun or join Nigeria.

Post-Independence

On 1 January 1960, French Cameroun gained independence under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. On 1 October 1961, British Southern Cameroons reunified with them to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon, whilst Northern British Cameroons opted to join Nigeria instead. The continuing war with the UPC allowed Ahidjo to concentrate power in the presidency. The resistance was finally suppressed in 1971, but the declared state of emergency persisted. Ahidjo emphasised the importance of nationalism over tribalism, using fears of ethnic violence to consolidate his power further. Ahidjo's Cameroon National Union (CNU) became the sole political party on 1 September 1966. In 1972, the federal system of government was abolished in favour of a United Republic of Cameroon headed from Yaoundé.

Economically, Ahidjo pursued a policy of planned liberalism. Cash crops were an early priority, but the discovery of petroleum in the 1970s shifted focus to that sector. Oil money was used to create a national cash reserve, pay farmers and finance major development projects, with communications, education, transport and hydroelectric infrastructure all becoming expanded. Nevertheless, Ahidjo used posts at these new industries as rewards for his allies, many of whom had no development or business background, and so many failed.

Ahidjo stepped down on 4 November 1982, leaving power to his constitutional successor, Paul Biya. However, Ahidjo remained in control of the CNU, and a power struggle developed between the former and current presidents. When Ahidjo tried to assert the party's right to choose the president, Biya and his allies pressured him into resigning. At first, Biya allowed open elections for party offices and for the National Assembly. However, after a failed coup attempt and the Cameroonian Palace Guard Revolt on 6 April 1984, he moved toward the leadership style of his predecessor. Cameroon came to national attention on 21 August 1986 when Lake Nyos belched toxic fumes and killed between 1,700 and 2,000 people.

Biya's first major challenge was the economic crisis of the mid-1980s to late 1990s, the result of international economic conditions, drought, falling petroleum prices and years of corruption, mismanagement and cronyism. Cameroon turned to foreign aid, privatised industries and cut funds for education, government and healthcare. The growing dissatisfaction of Cameroon's Anglophones has since given Biya another challenge. Leaders from the formerly British portion of the country have called for greater autonomy, with some advocating complete secession as the Republic of Ambazonia.