Cameroon
Cameroon is a Central African nation on the Gulf of Guinea, bordered by Nigeria,
Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea,
and Gabon. It is nearly twice the size of Oregon. Mount Cameroon (13,350 ft;
4,069 m), near the coast, is the highest elevation in the country. The main
rivers are the Benue, Nyong, and Sanaga.
Government
After a 1972 plebiscite, a unitary republic was formed out of East and West
Cameroon to replace the former federal republic.
History
Bantu speakers were among the first groups to settle Cameroon, followed by the
Muslim Fulani in the 18th and 19th centuries. The land escaped colonial rule
until 1884, when treaties with tribal chiefs brought the area under German
domination. After World War I, the League of Nations gave the French a mandate
over 80% of the area, and the British 20% adjacent to Nigeria. After World War
II, when the country came under a UN trusteeship in 1946, self-government was
granted, and the Cameroon People's Union emerged as the dominant party by
campaigning for reunification of French and British Cameroon and for
independence. Accused of being under Communist control, the party waged a
campaign of revolutionary terror from 1955 to 1958, when it was crushed. In
British Cameroon, unification was also promoted by the leading party, the
Kamerun National Democratic Party, led by John Foncha.
Cameroon Becomes an Independent Republic
France set up Cameroon as an autonomous state in 1957, and the next year its
legislative assembly voted for independence by 1960. In 1959 a fully autonomous
government of Cameroon was formed under Ahmadou Ahidjo. Cameroon became an
independent republic on Jan. 1, 1960. In 1961 the southern part of the British
territory joined the new Federal Republic of Cameroon and the northern section
voted for unification with Nigeria. The president of Cameroon since
independence, Ahmadou Ahidjo was replaced in 1982 by the prime minister, Paul
Biya. Both administrations have been authoritarian.
With the expansion of oil, timber, and coffee exports, the economy has continued
to improve, although corruption is prevalent, and environmental degradation
remains a concern. In June 2000 the World Bank agreed to provide more than $200
million to build a $3.7 billion pipeline connecting the oil fields in
neighboring Chad with the Cameroon coast. In Aug. 2006 Nigeria turned over the
disputed oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon—Nigeria had been resisting the
World Court ruling since 2002.
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Location
Western Africa, bordering the Bight
of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria
Ethnic groups
Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial
Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%,
other African 13%, non-African less than 1%
Religions
indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian
40%, Muslim 20%
Independence
1 January 1960 (from
French-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday
Republic Day (National Day), 20 May
(1972)