Political History of Cameroon
Political History of Cameroon
- Emmanuel M. MbahEmmanuel M. MbahHistory, Africa, and African Diaspora Studies, College of Staten Island
Summary
First visited by the Portuguese in the 1500s, Cameroon was eventually colonized first by the Germans from 1884 to 1916 and later by the French and British until independence in 1960 and 1961. The division of the former German colony between the French and the British after Germany’s defeat during World War I laid the foundation for a complex postindependence history of Cameroon. This complexity, chaperoned by two presidents, has witnessed a trajectory that starts with a federation and continues with Cameroon becoming a republic that was increasingly challenged by separatists of the former British section. External challenges from a war with Nigeria over Bakassi as well as conflicts with Boko Haram have only made the process of nation-building more complexed.
Keywords
Subjects
- Central Africa
- Political History
- West Africa