Gabon
About Gabon
Gabon is a country in west central Africa. The country has coastline on the Gulf of Guinea and borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, north Cameroon and Republic of Congo to the east and south. Its capital city is Libreville.
First residents
It is unknown who the first inhabitants of Gabon were, but they have left traces of Stone Age tools. Around 1100 BC came pygmy preamble to Gabon. Over the next centuries, various Bantu tribes came to the area, their descendants still live in Gabon.
Discovery and the first colonists
The first Westerners who came to Gabon, was the Portuguese in 1472nd They established trading posts along the coast from where they sent slaves to their colonies on the other side of the Atlantic. Throughout the 16th and 17 century created Great Britain, France and Holland also trading posts along the coast and sent more slaves to their overseas colonies.
Gabon became a French protectorate in 1840, when Gabon chiefs signed treaties with France. This meant that Gabon escaped slave trade, in return, received France monopoly on trade from Gabon, including ivory, rare woods and with the arrival of Europeans also plantations, which were grown coffee and cotton.
This coincided with Gabon Around 1850 an influx of colonists, including were former slaves, which the French had been freed and sent to Gabon. Some of them founded Libreville, which today is the nation’s capital.
Independence
On 17 August 1960 was Gabon declared an independent republic with Leon Mba as its first president. He was president until his death in 1967.
Gambia & French Polynesia
