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Cameroon is located in Central Africa. It borders Nigeria to the Northwest and Chad to the Northeast. The Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon are to the East and South of Cameroon. The Gulf of Guinea is along the Southwestern border of Cameroon. |
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The area of Cameroon is 183, 567 sq. mi (475,440sq km). |
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The 2002 estimate is 16,184,748. The average annual birth increase is 2.4 percent. Birth Rate is 35.7/1000 and infant mortality rate is 68.8/1000.(infoplease.com)1 |
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Unitary republic formed in 1972, replacing the former federal government.
Multiparty Presidential regime. In 1990, opposition parties were legalized.
The current president of Cameroon (since 1982) is Paul Biya.
Prime Minister since 1996 is Peter Musonge Mafani |
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On January 1, 1960, Cameroon became an independent republic. |
History of Colonization and Independence:
Cameroon has an interesting history because it was the only African
state to be colonized by three great powers. Cameroon was not colonized
until 1884 when it came under German control. The Germans made treaties
with the tribal chiefs and controlled Cameroon until the end of W.W.I.
Part of the losses that Germany suffered after World War I were its colonial
territories. The League of Nations gave 80 percent of Cameroon to the French
and 20 percent to the British (this area was bordering the British colony
of Nigeria). “The British sphere was divided into Northern and Southern
Cameroons [and] in political and administrative terms, the two British
sectors and the French sphere had little in common with each other”(Chem-Langhëë)2.
After the Second World War, in 1946, Cameroon was placed under a UN trusteeship.
The Cameroonian People’s Union (UPC) was formed and worked for independence
and the unification of British and French Cameroon. This party was crushed
in 1958, after accusations of being communist and had “waged a campaign
of revolutionary terror”(infoplease.com)3.
Cameroon became and autonomous state in 1957, and an autonomous government,
under Ahmadou Ahidjo was formed in 1959. In 1960, Cameroon became an independent
republic. The parts of British Cameroon then had a decision to make. In
1961, the south decided to rejoin with French Cameroon, while the north
joined the Federation of Nigeria. This division of land and peoples, a
result of League of Nations partition of Cameroon after World War I, has
caused border
and land disputes that still trouble the region today.4
Also, the differences between French and British styles of colonial rule
affected Cameroon at independence. Because the French tried to integrate
their colonies into the French system, and the British used a policy of
indirect rule, the two Cameroons were significantly different. French Cameroon
had better developed agriculture, higher education, gross national product
per capita, and levels of health care and infrastructure than did British
Cameroon.
A civil war did take place during the Cameroonian struggle for independence
when the French government tried to suppress the first nationalist party,
the UPC. The UPC, led by Felix-Roland Moumie and Reuben Um Nyobe, wanted
to form a socialist economy and thoroughly break with France (M.W.DeL)5.
But, as was mentioned above, the UPC was suppressed and after independence
was granted in 1960, Ahidjo became president. Under Ahidjo, the Cameroonians
maintained close ties with France.