by
Delaney D.

NATIONAL FLAG OF CAMEROON:

LOCATION:

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CAMEROON

            The Germans colonized Cameroon. In 1884 the people of Cameroon were forced to sign  a treaty that would let the Germans rule them. The Germans had the Cameroonians work in the fields to harvest coffee and bananas and stuff like that. Violence broke out whenever they refused to work or trade with the local traders. The German rule lasted in Cameroon until 1916 so it lasted about 32 years. After Germany lost Cameroon in World War I it was divided so France got three fourths and the British got one fourth.

            I think the colonization helped the people, because Germany made little mission schools and they soon had a few teachers and pastors.  When the French took over part of Cameroon they helped to make a government for their half of Cameroon. Cameroon may not have liked being enslaved and having to produce coffee and stuff like that, but in the end I think it helped them. Since France helped them get started then when they were on their own, I think they had the courage to finish making their government work.

            Cameroon got its independence from Germany in 1914 because Germany lost World War 1. They got their independence only to be reclaimed by France and the British and split into fourths. The French got three fourths and the British got one fourth.  Cameroon was then named French Cameroon and British Cameroon.  French Cameroon got its independence in 1960 and British Cameroon got its independence in 1961. They got their independence by signing a treaty. Soon after they united to become the Federal Republic of  Cameroon.

            After independence, a man named Ahamado  Ahidjo ,who turned out to be a dictator, became the governor. He made many political parties, and when one was doing poorly or not following his rules, he had the leader of that party arrested and the whole party banned. Since Cameroon had no military, the French military was backing Ahamado all the way. Ahamado did help the government because they had to start from scratch and form the political boundaries.

 In 1986, some kind of toxic cloud came out of a volcanic lake killing almost 2,000 people from lack of oxygen. The Cameroonians accused the government for the issues that they were having. That pretty much made a war or revolution against the government. Problems that they have been happening recently are fighting with Nigeria, and the toxic cloud could come back at any moment and that would be bad, especially for their government.

            If Cameroon had never been colonized, I think that the people in the world today might have never discovered coffee. They might have found it eventually, but Cameroon was really big on coffee, because it is pretty much their best crop. They have really good land for it too.

I think if Cameroon had never been colonized in by the Germans, then it would probably become a part of Nigeria. Cameroon has one of the best governments in Africa, so they may have helped some other countries get theirs started as well. I think there would be constant war between some countries because they didn’t have a smooth running government. If all of this happened, the world would be a different place without Cameroon.

Works Cited

Flag and map courtesy of Microsoft Clipart Gallery.

Sheehan, Sean. Cameroon.

Lonely Planet. www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/cameroon.

Info Please www.infoplease.com.