Cameroon

The country today known as the Republic of Cameroon (République du Cameroun) gave rise to the Sao culture around the 6th century CE, and was later incorporated into the Kanem and Bornu Empires. As with many other West African nations, European explorers and merchants regularized trade along the coasts of what is now Cameroon from the 15th century onwards. The region was claimed by the German Empire in 1884 as the colony of Kamerun, which began a steady push inland for greater control over land and resources. Following the First World War, a League of Nations mandate split the territory in two, dividing administration between France and Great Britain in 1919. By the late 1940s, the question of independence emerged in both territories, with the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) party being outlawed by the French. A colonial war subsequently ensued, ending with France granting self-rule in 1956, and full indepencence on 1 January, 1960.