Cameroon,
officially the Republic of Cameroon (French:
République du Cameroun), is a country in the west Central
Africa region. It is bordered by Nigeria to
the west; Chad to
the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east;
and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south.
Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight
of Bonny, part of the Gulf
of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is often referred to as
"Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity.
Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and
savannas. The highest point is Mount
Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé and Garoua. Cameroon is
home to over 200 different linguistic groups. The country is well known for its
native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for
its successful national football team. French and
English are the official languages.
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao
civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the
southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast
in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões (Shrimp River),
which became Cameroon in English. Fulani soldiers
founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th
century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established
powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German
colony in 1884 known as 'Kamerun".
After World War I, the territory was divided between France and Britain as League of Nations mandates. The Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC)
political party advocated independence, but was outlawed by France in the
1950s. It waged war on French and UPC militant forces until 1971. In 1960, the
French-administered part of Cameroon became independent as the Republic of
Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British
Cameroons merged with it in 1961 to form the Federal
Republic of Cameroon. The country was renamed the United
Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and the Republic of Cameroon in 1984.
Compared with other African countries, Cameroon enjoys
relatively high political and social stability. This has permitted the
development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber
industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as
subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the authoritarian president
since 1982, Paul Biya, and his Cameroon People's Democratic
Movement party. The English-speaking territories of Cameroon have
grown increasingly alienated from the government, and politicians from those
regions have called for greater decentralization and even secession (for
example: the Southern Cameroons National Council)
of the former British-governed territories.
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