Fertile Crescent :
176-740: Europe : Africa : Siberia : The Epigravettian (Greek: epi "above, on top of", and Gravettian ) was one of the last archaeological industries and cultures of the European Upper Paleolithic . It emerged after the Last Glacial Maximum around ~21,000 cal. BP or 19,050 BC. It succeeds the Gravettian culture in Italy. Initially named Tardigravettian (Late Gravettian) in 1964 by Georges Laplace in reference to several lithic industries found in Italy, it
352-541: A German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun . After World War I , it was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates . France took 4/5 and the United Kingdom 1/5 of the territory and both ruled it under mandate until independence in 1960 and 1961 respectively. The Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) political party advocated independence but was outlawed by France in
528-512: A Persian prince from Shiraz arrived and acquired the island of Kilwa from the local inhabitants, before quarrel with the Bantu king led to the severing Kilwa's land bridge to the mainland. Settlements in northern Madagascar such as Mahilaka [ de ] , Irodo , and Iharana also engaged in the trade, attracting Arab immigration. Bantu migrated to Madagascar and the Comoros from
704-702: A Roman civil war , which ultimately led to its conquest by Rome in 30 BC. The Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire freed the Levantine city state of Palmyra who conquered Egypt , however their rule lasted only a few years before Egypt was reintegrated into the Roman Empire . In the midst of this, Kush regained total independence from Egypt, and they would persist as a major regional power until, having been weakened from internal rebellion amid worsening climatic conditions, invasions by both
880-568: A coup d'état in 522 brought Dhu Nuwas back to power who again began persecuting Christians . The Aksumites invaded again in 525, and with Byzantine aid conquered the kingdom, incorporating it as a vassal state after some minor internal conflict . In the late 6th century the Aksumites were driven out of Yemen by the Himyarite king with the aid of the Sassanids . Further north-west,
1056-590: A power vacuum in North Africa. The Zengid dynasty , nominally under Seljuk suzerainty , invaded on the pretext of defending Egypt from the Christians, and usurped the position of vizier in the caliphate. Following the assassination of the previous holder, the position of vizier passed onto Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (commonly referred to as Saladin). After a joint Zengid - Fatimid effort repelled
1232-644: A revival in pyramid-building . After a century of rule they were forcibly driven out of Egypt by the Assyrians as reprisal for the Kushites agitating peoples within the Assyrian Empire in an attempt to gain a foothold in the region. The Assyrians installed a puppet dynasty which later gained independence and once more unified Egypt , with Upper Egypt becoming a rich agricultural region whose produce Lower Egypt then sold and traded. In 525 BC Egypt
1408-489: A wet period in the Sahel opened areas for human habitation and exploitation which had not been habitable for the better part of a millennium. Based on large tumuli scattered across West Africa dating to this period, it has been proposed that there were several contemporaneous kingdoms which have unfortunately been lost to history. Some important polities likely founded in the early-to-middle 1st millennium who did make it into
1584-840: A conditional alliance to counter Damot , with Shewa at times forced to pay tribute to the pagans. In the 13th century the Ajuran clan established the Ajuran Sultanate on the eastern coast of the Horn and expanded, conquering the Tunni and vassalising Mogadishu , coming to dominate the Indian Ocean trade , while the Warsangali clan formed the Warsangali Sultanate on the Horn's north-eastern coast. The turn of
1760-690: A devastating ambush crippled their military leadership, and throughout the 12th century they gradually lost territory to the Christians. To the east, the Fatimids saw their empire start to collapse in 1061, beginning with the loss of the holy cities to the Sharifate of Mecca and exacerbated by rebellion in Cairo . The Seljuk Turks , who saw themselves as the guardian of the Abbasid Caliphate , capitalised and conquered much of their territories in
1936-454: A heavy tax. The Exarchate of Africa covered much of Ifriqiya and the eastern Maghreb , surrounded by numerous Berber kingdoms that followed Christianity heavily syncretised with traditional Berber religion . The interior was dominated by various groupings of tribal confederations, namely the nomadic Zenata , the Masmuda of Sanhaja in modern-day Morocco , and the other two Sanhaja in
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#17327872303612112-837: A joint letter to the UNHRC defending China 's treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. The Cameroon Armed Forces (French: Forces armées camerounaises , FAC) consists of the country's army ( Armée de Terre ), the country's navy ( Marine Nationale de la République (MNR), including naval infantry), the Cameroonian Air Force ( Armée de l'Air du Cameroun , AAC), and the Gendarmerie . Males and females who are 18 years of age up to 23 years of age and have graduated high school are eligible for military service. Those who join are obliged to complete four years of service. There
2288-437: A major activity in the numerous streams and lakes formed from the increased rains. Mande peoples have been credited with the independent development of agriculture about 4000–3000 BC. Evidence of the early smelting of metals – lead , copper , and bronze – dates from the fourth millennium BC. Egyptians smelted copper during the predynastic period , and bronze came into use after 3,000 BC at
2464-930: A member state of the African Union , the United Nations , the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the Commonwealth of Nations , the Non-Aligned Movement , and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . Originally, Cameroon was the exonym given by the Portuguese to the Wouri River , which they called Rio dos Camarões meaning 'river of shrimps ' or 'shrimp river', referring to
2640-578: A millennium, with Punt exchanging gold , aromatic resins , blackwood , ebony , ivory and wild animals. Towards the end of the ancient period, northern Ethiopia and Eritrea bore the Kingdom of D'mt beginning in 980 BC, whose people developed irrigation schemes, used ploughs , grew millet , and made iron tools and weapons . In modern-day Somalia and Djibouti there was the Macrobian Kingdom , with archaeological discoveries indicating
2816-670: A monopoly on Indian Ocean trade in the region. Aksum's rise had them rule over much of the regions from the Lake Tana to the valley of the Nile , and they further conquered parts of the ailing Kingdom of Kush , led campaigns against the Noba and Beja peoples, and expanded into South Arabia . This led the Persian prophet Mani to consider Aksum as one of the four great powers of the 3rd century alongside Persia , Rome , and China . In
2992-453: A national cash reserve, pay farmers, and finance major development projects; however, many initiatives failed when Ahidjo appointed unqualified allies to direct them. The national flag was changed on 20 May 1975 with the two stars removed and replaced with a large central star as a symbol of national unity. Ahidjo stepped down on 4 November 1982 and left power to his constitutional successor, Paul Biya . However, Ahidjo remained in control of
3168-502: A regimen of forced labour. This economic policy was much criticised by the other colonial powers. With the defeat of Germany in World War I , Kamerun became a League of Nations mandate territory and was split into French Cameroon ( French : Cameroun ) and British Cameroon in 1919. France integrated the economy of Cameroon with that of France and improved the infrastructure with capital investments and skilled workers, modifying
3344-650: A series of crucial victories and expanded rapidly, forcing the Byzantines to evacuate Syria. With Byzantine regional presence shattered, Egypt was quickly conquered by 642, with the Egyptian Copts odious of Byzantine rule generally putting up little resistance. The Muslims' attention then turned west to the Maghreb where the Exarchate of Africa had declared independence from Constantinople under Gregory
3520-568: A territorial dispute over the Bakassi peninsula were resolved. The talks involved President Paul Biya of Cameroon, then President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, and then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan , and resulted in Cameroonian control of the oil-rich peninsula. The northern portion of the territory was formally handed over to the Cameroonian government in August 2006, and the remainder of
3696-490: A treaty with one of the local kings to annex the region for the German emperor. The German Empire claimed the territory as the colony of Kamerun in 1884 and began a steady push inland; the natives resisted. Under the aegis of Germany, commercial companies were local administrations. These concessions used forced labour to run profitable banana, rubber, palm oil, and cocoa plantations. Even infrastructure projects relied on
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#17327872303613872-616: A withdrawal by both countries and denied the request by Cameroon for compensation due to Nigeria's long-term occupation. By 2004, Nigeria had failed to meet the deadline to hand over the peninsula. A UN-mediated summit in June 2006 facilitated an agreement for Nigeria to withdraw from the region and both leaders signed the Greentree Agreement . The withdrawal and handover of control was completed by August 2006. In July 2019, UN ambassadors of 37 countries, including Cameroon, signed
4048-466: Is Mount Cameroon in the Southwest Region . Cameroon's most populous cities are Douala on the Wouri River , its economic capital and main seaport; Yaoundé , its political capital; and Garoua . Limbé in the southwest has a natural seaport. Cameroon is well known for its native music styles, particularly Makossa , Njang, and Bikutsi , and its successful national football team . It is
4224-417: Is a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie . Its foreign policy closely follows that of its main ally, France (one of its former colonial rulers). Cameroon relies heavily on France for its defence, although military spending is high in comparison to other sectors of government. President Biya has engaged in a decades-long clash with the government of Nigeria over possession of
4400-457: Is a mixture of civil law , common law , and customary law . Although nominally independent, the judiciary falls under the authority of the executive's Ministry of Justice . The president appoints judges at all levels. The judiciary is officially divided into tribunals, the court of appeal , and the supreme court . The National Assembly elects the members of a nine-member High Court of Justice that judges high-ranking members of government in
4576-444: Is elected and creates policy, administers government agencies, commands the armed forces , negotiates and ratifies treaties, and declares a state of emergency. The president appoints government officials at all levels, from the prime minister (considered the official head of government), to the provincial governors and divisional officers. The president is selected by popular vote every seven years. There have been 2 presidents since
4752-528: Is estimated that Africa had up to 10,000 different states and autonomous groups having distinct languages and customs , with most following traditional religions . From the 7th century CE, Islam spread west amid the Arab conquest of North Africa , and by proselytization to the Horn of Africa. It later spread southwards to the Swahili coast assisted by Muslim dominance of the Indian Ocean trade , and from
4928-434: Is famous for rectangular slabs of ochre engraved with geometric designs. Using multiple dating techniques, the site was confirmed to be around 77,000 and 100–75,000 years old. Ostrich egg shell containers engraved with geometric designs dating to 60,000 years ago were found at Diepkloof , South Africa. Beads and other personal ornamentation have been found from Morocco which might be as much as 130,000 years old; as well,
5104-471: Is no conscription in Cameroon, but the government makes periodic calls for volunteers. Human rights organisations accuse police and military forces of mistreating and even torturing criminal suspects, ethnic minorities, homosexuals , and political activists. United Nations figures indicate that more than 21,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries, while 160,000 have been internally displaced by
5280-493: Is particularly true of the various cultures and dynasties of Ancient Egypt and of Nubia . From around 3500 BC, a coalition of Horus -worshipping nomes in the western Nile Delta conquered the Andjety -worshipping nomes of the east to form Lower Egypt , whilst Set -worshipping nomes in the south coalesced to form Upper Egypt . Egypt was first united when Narmer of Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt , giving rise to
5456-468: Is sometimes mythical and social, and truth generally viewed as relativist . Oral tradition can be exoteric or esoteric . It speaks to people according to their understanding, unveiling itself in accordance with their aptitudes, and is not always to be taken literally. The first known hominids evolved in Africa. According to paleontology , the early hominids' skull anatomy was similar to that of
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5632-665: The 11th dynasty conquered all of Egypt to form the Middle Kingdom in 2055 BC. The 12th dynasty oversaw advancements in irrigation and economic expansion in the Faiyum Oasis , as well as expansion into Lower Nubia at the expense of Kerma . In 1700 BC, Egypt fractured in two, ushering in the Second Intermediate Period . The Hyksos , a militaristic people from Palestine , capitalised on this fragmentation and conquered Lower Egypt, establishing
5808-580: The 15th dynasty of Egypt , whilst Kerma coordinated invasions deep into Egypt to reach its greatest extent, looting royal statues and monuments. A rival power base developed in Thebes with Ahmose I of the 18th dynasty eventually expelling the Hyksos from Egypt, forming the New Kingdom in 1550 BC. Utilising the military technology the Hyksos had brought, they conducted numerous campaigns to conquer
5984-631: The 1st and 2nd dynasties of Egypt whose efforts presumably consisted of conquest and consolidation, with unification completed by the 3rd dynasty to form the Old Kingdom of Egypt in 2686 BC. The Kingdom of Kerma emerged around this time to become the dominant force in Nubia, controlling an area as large as Egypt between the 1st and 4th cataracts of the Nile , with Egyptian records speaking of its rich and populous agricultural regions. The height of
6160-635: The Aghlabids controlling Ifriqiya under only nominal Abbasid rule and in 868 when the Tulunids wrestled the independence of Egypt for four decades before again coming under Abbasid control. Late in the 9th century, a revolt by East African slaves in the Abbasid's homeland of Iraq diverted its resources away from its other territories, devastating important ports in the Persian Gulf , and
6336-729: The Aksumites and the Noba caused their disintegration into Makuria , Alodia , and Nobatia in the 5th century AD. The Romans managed to hold on to Egypt for the rest of the ancient period. In the Horn of Africa there was the Land of Punt , a kingdom on the Red Sea , likely located in modern-day Eritrea or northern Somaliland . The Ancient Egyptians initially traded via middle-men with Punt until in 2350 BC when they established direct relations. They would become close trading partners for over
6512-542: The Bantu expansion swept from north-western Central Africa (modern day Cameroon ) across much of sub-Saharan Africa, laying the foundations for states in Central, Eastern, and Southern regions. In most African societies the oral word is revered, and as such they have generally recorded their history orally. This has led anthropologists to term them oral civilisations, contrasted with literate civilisations which pride
6688-782: The Barghawata of Masmuda , the Ifranid dynasty , and the Midrarid dynasty , both from the Zenata . The Idrisid dynasty would come to rule most of modern-day Morocco with the support of the Masmuda , whilst the growing Ibadi movement among the Zenata culminated in the Rustamid Imamate , centred on Tahert , modern-day Algeria . At the turn of the 9th century the Abbasids' sphere of influence would degrade further with
6864-693: The Cameroon range extends from Mount Cameroon on the coast—Cameroon's highest point at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft) —almost to Lake Chad at Cameroon's northern border at 13°05'N. This region has a mild climate, particularly on the Western High Plateau , although rainfall is high. Its soils are among Cameroon's most fertile, especially around volcanic Mount Cameroon. Volcanism here has created crater lakes . On 21 August 1986, one of these, Lake Nyos , belched carbon dioxide and killed between 1,700 and 2,000 people. This area has been delineated by
7040-580: The Comoros . This second wave possibly found the island of Madagascar sparsely populated by descendants of the first wave a few centuries earlier, with the Vazimba of the interior's highlands being revered and featuring prominently in Malagasy oral traditions . The wider region underwent a trade expansion from the 7th century, as the Swahili engaged in the flourishing Indian Ocean trade following
7216-698: The Ekoi civilisation rose circa 2nd century AD, and are most notable for constructing the Ikom monoliths and developing the Nsibidi script . The turn of the 7th century saw much of North Africa controlled by the Byzantine Empire . Christianity was the state religion of the empire, and Semitic and Coptic subjects in Roman Egypt faced persecution due to their 'heretical' Miaphysite churches, paying
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7392-410: The First Punic War began when Carthage came into conflict with the expansionary Roman Republic on the island of Sicily , leading to what has been described as the greatest naval war of antiquity, causing heavy casualties on both sides, but ending in Carthage's eventual defeat and loss of Sicily. The Second Punic War broke out when the Romans opportunistically took Sardinia and Corsica whilst
7568-448: The Ghana Empire to control the affluent trans-Saharan trade routes in the Western Sahara , forming the Almoravid empire before conquering Maghrawa and intervening in the reconquest of Iberia by the Christian powers on the side of the endangered Muslim taifas , which were produced from the fall of the remnant Umayyad Caliphate in Cordoba . The Almoravids incorporated the taifas into their empire, enjoying initial success, until
7744-404: The Hafsids of Masmuda in modern-day Tunisia , before finally being extinguished in 1269. Meanwhile, after defeating the Christians' Fifth Crusade in 1221, internal divisions involving Saladin's descendants appeared within the Ayyubid dynasty , crippling the empire's unity. In the face of Mongol expansion , the Ayyubids became increasingly reliant on Mamluk generals. At the end of
7920-426: The Jugurtha to the Romans. At the turn of the millennium they both would face the same fate as Carthage and be conquered by the Romans who established Mauretania and Numidia as provinces of their empire, whilst Musulamii , led by Tacfarinas , and Garamantes were eventually defeated in war in the 1st century AD however weren't conquered. In the 5th century AD the Vandals conquered north Africa precipitating
8096-432: The Khurasanid dynasty and Arab tribes ruling Ifriqiya , to be later displaced by the Norman Kingdom of Africa . In the late 10th and early 11th centuries the Fatimids would lose the Maghreb to the Hammadids in modern-day Algeria and the Maghrawa in modern-day Morocco , both from Zenata . In 1053 the Saharan Sanhaja , spurred on by puritanical Sunni Islam , conquered Sijilmasa and captured Aoudaghost from
8272-490: The Levant from the Canaanites , Amorites , Hittites , and Mitanni , and extinguish Kerma , incorporating Nubia into the empire, sending the Egyptian empire into its golden age. Internal struggles, drought and famine, and invasions by a confederation of seafaring peoples , contributed to the New Kingdom 's collapse in 1069 BC, ushering in the Third Intermediate Period which saw Egypt fractured into many pieces amid widespread turmoil. Egypt's disintegration liberated
8448-575: The Maghreb and Ifriqiya were mostly cut off from the cradle of civilisation in Egypt by the Libyan desert , exacerbated by Egyptian boats being tailored to the Nile and not coping well in the open Mediterranean Sea . This caused its societies to develop contiguous to those of Southern Europe , until Phoenician settlements came to dominate the most lucrative trading locations in the Gulf of Tunis , initially searching for sources of metal . Phoenician settlements subsequently grew into Ancient Carthage after gaining independence from Phoenicia in
8624-539: The Maghreb traversing the Sahara into the western Sahel and Sudan , catalysed by the Fula jihads in the 18th and 19th centuries. Systems of servitude and slavery were historically widespread and commonplace in parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient and medieval world . When the trans-Saharan , Red Sea , Indian Ocean and Atlantic slave trades began, many of the pre-existing local slave systems started supplying captives for slave markets outside Africa, creating various diasporas , especially in
8800-478: The Old Kingdom came under the 4th dynasty who constructed numerous great pyramids , however under the 6th dynasty of Egypt power began to decentralise to the nomarchs , culminating in anarchy exacerbated by drought and famine in 2200 BC, and the onset of the First Intermediate Period in which numerous nomarchs ruled simultaneously. Throughout this time, power bases were built and destroyed in Memphis , and in Heracleopolis , when Mentuhotep II of Thebes and
8976-419: The Old Testament . Meanwhile during the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries Islam spread through the Somali Peninsula , largely via da'wah . The Harla Kingdom of Hubat also converted to Islam circa 700. The Somalis were organised into various clans , and relations with Arabs led tradition to hold their lineages to Samaale , Daarood or Sheikh Ishaaq , traditionally descendants of Muhammad's cousins . To
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#17327872303619152-642: The Omo remains from Ethiopia ( c. 233,000 years ago ). Scientists have suggested that Homo sapiens may have arisen between 350,000 and 260,000 years ago through a merging of populations in East Africa and South Africa . Evidence of a variety of behaviors indicative of Behavioral modernity date to the African Middle Stone Age , associated with early Homo sapiens and their emergence. Abstract imagery, widened subsistence strategies, and other "modern" behaviors have been discovered from that period in Africa, especially South, North, and East Africa. The Blombos Cave site in South Africa, for example,
9328-447: The Republic of the Congo to the south. Its coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra , part of the Gulf of Guinea , and the Atlantic Ocean . Due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West Africa and Central Africa, it has been categorized as being in both camps. Cameroon's population of nearly 31 million people speak 250 native languages, in addition to the national tongues of English and French, or both. Early inhabitants of
9504-463: The Romans established the province of Africa , with Numidia assuming control of many of Carthage's African ports. Towards the end of the 2nd century BC Mauretania fought alongside Numidia's Jugurtha in the Jugurthine War against the Romans after he had usurped the Numidian throne from a Roman ally. Together they inflicted heavy casualties that quaked the Roman Senate , with the war only ending inconclusively when Mauretania's Bocchus I sold out
9680-488: The Sao civilisation flourished for over a millennium beginning in the 6th century BC, in territory that later became part of present-day Cameroon and Chad . Sao artifacts show that they were skilled workers in bronze , copper , and iron , with finds including bronze sculptures, terracotta statues of human and animal figures, coins, funerary urns, household utensils, jewellery, highly decorated pottery, and spears. Nearby, around Lake Ejagham in south-west Cameroon ,
9856-401: The Southern Cameroons National Council advocated complete secession as the Republic of Ambazonia . The 1992 Labour Code of Cameroon gives workers the freedom to belong to a trade union or not to belong to any trade union at all. It is the choice of a worker to join any trade union in their occupation since there is more than one trade union in each occupation. In June 2006, talks concerning
10032-462: The Syrian Wars with the Seleucid Empire , the Ptolemaic Kingdom lost its holdings outside Africa, but expanded its territory by conquering Cyrenaica from its respective tribes, and subjugated Kush . Beginning in the mid second century BC, dynastic strife and a series of foreign wars weakened the kingdom, and it became increasingly reliant on the Roman Republic . Under Cleopatra VII , who sought to restore Ptolemaic power, Egypt became entangled in
10208-453: The Zirids . From there they conquered up to modern-day Syria and Hejaz , securing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina . The Fatimids became absorbed by the eastern realms of their empire, and in 972, after encouragement from faqirs , the Zirids changed their allegiance to recognise the Abbasid Caliphate . In retaliation the Fatimids commissioned an invasion by nomadic Arab tribes to punish them, leading to their disintegration with
10384-690: The early Muslim conquests . Settlements further centralised and some major states included Gedi , Ungwana [de] , Pate , Malindi , Mombasa , and Tanga in the north, Unguja Ukuu on Zanzibar , Kaole , Dar es Salaam , Kilwa , Kiswere [ de ] , Monapo , Mozambique , and Angoche in the middle, and Quelimane , Sofala , Chibuene , and Inhambane in the south. Via mtumbwi [ uk ] , mtepe and later ngalawa they exported gold , iron , copper , ivory , slaves , pottery , cotton cloth , wood , grain , and rice , and imported silk , glassware , jewellery , Islamic pottery , and Chinese porcelain . Relations between
10560-413: The fall of Rome . Swathes of indigenous peoples would regain self-governance in the Mauro-Roman Kingdom and its numerous successor polities in the Maghreb, namely the kingdoms of Ouarsenis , Aurès , and Altava . The Vandals ruled Ifriqiya for a century until Byzantine reconquest in the early 6th century AD. The Byzantines and the Berber kingdoms fought minor inconsequential conflicts, such as in
10736-496: The gorilla and the chimpanzee , great apes that also evolved in Africa, but the hominids had adopted a bipedal locomotion which freed their hands. This gave them a crucial advantage, enabling them to live in both forested areas and on the open savanna at a time when Africa was drying up and the savanna was encroaching on forested areas. This would have occurred 10 to 5 million years ago, but these claims are controversial because biologists and genetics have humans appearing around
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#173278723036110912-433: The island's estuaries , with oral histories describing bloody clashes and earlier settlers often pushed along the coast or inland. An Arab geographer wrote in 1224 that the island consisted of a great many towns and kingdoms, with kings making war on each other. Assisted by climate change, the peoples gradually transformed the island from dense forest to grassland for cultivation and zebu pastoralism . Oral traditions of
11088-475: The wettest places on earth, part of the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests . The South Cameroon Plateau rises from the coastal plain to an average elevation of 650 metres (2,133 ft). Equatorial rainforest dominates this region, although its alternation between wet and dry seasons makes it less humid than the coast. This area is part of the Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregion . An irregular chain of mountains, hills, and plateaus known as
11264-452: The wider Red Sea trade and transported their cargo via beden , exporting myrrh , frankincense , spices , gum , incense , and ivory , with freedom from Roman interference causing Indians to give the cities a lucrative monopoly on cinnamon from ancient India . The Kingdom of Aksum grew from a principality into a major power on the trade route between Rome and India through conquering its unfortunately unknown neighbours, gaining
11440-800: The 11th millennium BP , pottery was independently invented in Africa, with the earliest pottery there dating to about 9,400 BC from central Mali. It soon spread throughout the southern Sahara and Sahel . In the steppes and savannahs of the Sahara and Sahel in Northern West Africa, the Nilo-Saharan speakers and Mandé peoples started to collect and domesticate wild millet, African rice and sorghum between 8000 and 6000 BC. Later, gourds , watermelons , castor beans , and cotton were also collected and domesticated. The people started capturing wild cattle and holding them in circular thorn hedges, resulting in domestication . They also started making pottery and built stone settlements (e.g., Tichitt , Oualata ). Fishing , using bone-tipped harpoons , became
11616-418: The 1950s, leading to the national liberation insurgency fought between French and UPC militant forces until early 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 federated with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The federation was abandoned in 1972. The country
11792-399: The 1st century AD, and formed various city states which traded via the Indian Ocean trade , constituting the Swahili civilisation . Madagascar was possibly first settled by Austronesians from 350 BC-550 AD, termed the Vazimba in Malagasy oral traditions, although there is considerable academic debate. The eastern Bantu group would eventually meet with the southern migrants from
11968-493: The 1st century AD, forming the Gokomere culture in the 5th century AD. The second thrust from the Great Lakes was eastward, also in the 1st century AD, expanding to Kenya , Tanzania , and the Swahili coast . Prior to this migration, the northern part of the Swahili coast was home to the elusive Azania , most likely a Southern Cushitic polity, extending southwards to modern-day Tanzania . The Bantu populations crowded out Azania , with Rhapta being its last stronghold by
12144-428: The 1st millennium BC iron working had reached Northwestern Africa , Egypt, and Nubia. Zangato and Holl document evidence of iron-smelting in the Central African Republic and Cameroon that may date back to 3,000 to 2,500 BC. Assyrians using iron weapons pushed Nubians out of Egypt in 670 BC, after which the use of iron became widespread in the Nile valley. The theory that iron spread to Sub-Saharan Africa via
12320-474: The 3rd millennium BC. Iron smelting developed in the area between Lake Chad and the African Great Lakes between 1,000 and 600 BC, and in West Africa around 2,000 BC, long before the technology reached Egypt. Before 500 BC, the Nok culture in the Jos Plateau was already smelting iron. Archaeological sites containing iron-smelting furnaces and slag have been excavated at sites in the Nsukka region of southeast Nigeria in Igboland : dating to 2,000 BC at
12496-494: The 4th century AD Aksum's king converted to Christianity and Aksum's population, who had followed syncretic mixes of local beliefs , slowly followed. In the early 6th century AD, Cosmas Indicopleustes later described his visit to the city of Aksum , mentioning rows of throne monuments, some made out of "excellent white marble" and "entirely...hewn out of a single block of stone" , with large inscriptions attributed to various kings, likely serving as victory monuments documenting
12672-805: The 4th millennium BC the Congo Basin was inhabited by the Bambenga , Bayaka , Bakoya , and Babongo in the west, the Bambuti in the east , and the Batwa who were widely scattered and also present in the Great Lakes region ; together they are grouped as Pygmies . On the later-named Swahili coast there were Cushitic -speaking peoples, and the Khoisan (a neologism for the Khoekhoe and San ) in
12848-681: The 6th century BC, and they would build an extensive empire , countering Greek influence in the Mediterranean , as well as a strict mercantile network reaching as far as west Asia and northern Europe , distributing an array of commodities from all over the ancient world along with locally produced goods, all secured by one of the largest and most powerful navies in the ancient Mediterranean . Carthage's political institutions received rare praise from both Greeks and Romans, with its constitution and aristocratic council providing stability, with birth and wealth paramount for election. In 264 BC
13024-587: The 6th century, the Kingdom of Aksum ruled over much of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea , with the Harla Kingdom to its east, while ancient Somali city-states such as Mosylon , Opone , Sarapion , Avalites , and Aromata on the Somali Peninsula continued to thrive off of the lucrative Indian Ocean trade and their preferential relations with India. Following the birth of Islam in
13200-608: The 740s the Berber Revolt rocked the caliphate and the Berbers took control over the Maghreb, whilst revolts in Ifriqiya were suppressed. The Abbasid dynasty came to power via revolution in 750 and attempted to reconfigure the caliphate to be multi-ethnic rather than Arab exclusive, however this wasn't enough to prevent gradual disintegration on its peripheries. Various short-lived native dynasties would form states such as
13376-549: The 7th century AD, Bantu spread to the Upemba Depression , forming the Upemba culture [ es ] . During the 1st millennium BC the Bantu spread further from the Great Lakes to Southern and East Africa. One early movement headed south to the upper Zambezi basin in the 2nd century BC. The Bantu then split westward to the savannahs of present-day Angola and eastward into Malawi , Zambia , and Zimbabwe in
13552-516: The 7th century saw the Swahili coast continue to be inhabited by the Swahili civilisation , whose economies were primarily based on agriculture , however they traded via the Indian Ocean trade and later developed local industries, with their iconic stone architecture . Forested river estuaries created natural harbours whilst the yearly monsoon winds assisted trade, and the Swahili civilisation consisted of hundreds of settlements and linked
13728-560: The 9th century expanded southwards. The history becomes murky, however tradition holds that Aksum's expansion brought it into conflict in 960 with the Jewish Kingdom of Beta Israel , led by queen Gudit and located in the Simien Mountains . Accordingly, Gudit defeated and killed Aksum's king , and burnt their churches. It's possible that Gudit was a pagan queen who led resistance to Aksum's southward expansion. To
13904-414: The 9th century, when zebu were first brought. From the 10th century Kilwa expanded its influence, coming to challenge the dominance of Somalian Mogadishu located to its north, however details of Kilwa's rise remain scarce. In the late 12th century Kilwa wrestled control of Sofala in the south, a key trading city linking to Great Zimbabwe in the interior and famous for its Zimbabwean gold, which
14080-703: The Americas . From 1870 to 1914, driven by the great force and hunger of the Second Industrial Revolution , European colonisation of Africa developed rapidly, as the major European powers partitioned the continent in the 1884 Berlin Conference , from one-tenth of the continent being under European imperial control to over nine-tenths in the Scramble for Africa . European colonialism had significant impacts on Africa's societies , and
14256-599: The Anglophone region as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia . The government responded with a military offensive, and the insurgency spread across the Northwest and Southwest regions. As of 2019 , fighting between separatist guerillas and government forces continues. During 2020, numerous terrorist attacks—many of them carried out without claims of credit—and government reprisals have led to bloodshed throughout
14432-666: The Atlantic Ocean. Tourist literature describes Cameroon as "Africa in miniature" because it exhibits all major climates and vegetation of the continent: coast, desert, mountains, rainforest, and savanna. The country's neighbours are Nigeria and the Atlantic Ocean to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea , Gabon and the Republic of
14608-660: The Berber that this conflict was not just against the Byzantines. The Arabs returned and defeated Kusaila and Altava in 690, and, after a set-back, expelled the Byzantines from North Africa. To the west, Kahina of the Kingdom of the Aurès declared opposition to the Arab invasion and repelled their armies, securing her position as the uncontested ruler of the Maghreb for five years. The Arabs received reinforcements and in 701 Kahina
14784-569: The Book ”) constituting the Dhimmi class were permitted to practice their religion and exempted from military service in exchange for a tax , which was improperly extended to include converts. Followers of traditional Berber religion , which were mostly those of tribal confederations in the interior, were violently oppressed and often given the ultimatum to convert to Islam or face death or enslavement. Converted natives were permitted to participate in
14960-742: The British Cameroons, the question was whether to reunify with French Cameroon or join Nigeria; the British ruled out the option of independence. On 1 January 1960, French Cameroun gained independence from France under President Ahmadou Ahidjo as the Republic of Cameroon. On 1 October 1961, the formerly British Southern Cameroons gained independence from the United Kingdom by vote of the UN General Assembly and merged into
15136-477: The CNU and tried to run the country from behind the scenes until Biya and his allies pressured him into resigning. Biya began his administration by moving toward a more democratic government, but a failed coup d'état nudged him toward the leadership style of his predecessor. In 1987, Dja Faunal Reserve , Cameroon's first world heritage site , was inscribed on the list by UNESCO . An economic crisis took effect in
15312-625: The Carthaginians were putting down a ferocious Libyan revolt , with Carthage initially experiencing considerable success following Hannibal 's infamous crossing of the alps into northern Italy . In a 14 year long campaign Hannibal's forces conquered much of mainland Italy , only being recalled after the Romans conducted a bold naval invasion of the Carthaginian homeland and then defeated him in climactic battle in 202 BC. Carthage
15488-698: The Cave of Hearths in South Africa has yielded a number of beads dating from significantly prior to 50,000 years ago, and shell beads dating to about 75,000 years ago have been found at Blombos Cave, South Africa. Around 65–50,000 years ago, the species' expansion out of Africa launched the colonization of the planet by modern human beings. By 10,000 BC, Homo sapiens had spread to most corners of Afro-Eurasia . Their dispersals are traced by linguistic, cultural and genetic evidence. Eurasian back-migrations, specifically West-Eurasian backflow , started in
15664-914: The Christians and after he had put down a revolt from the Fatimid army , Saladin eventually deposed the Fatimid caliph in 1171 and established the Ayyubid dynasty in its place, choosing to recognise the Abbasid Caliphate . From there the Ayyubids captured Cyrenaica , and went on a prolific campaign to conquer Arabia from the Zengids and the Yemeni Hamdanids , Palestine from the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem , and Syria and Upper Mesopotamia from other Seljuk successor states . To
15840-513: The Congo to the south. Cameroon is divided into five major geographic zones distinguished by dominant physical, climatic, and vegetative features. The coastal plain extends 15 to 150 kilometres (9 to 93 mi) inland from the Gulf of Guinea and has an average elevation of 90 metres (295 ft). Exceedingly hot and humid with a short dry season , this belt is densely forested and includes some of
16016-523: The Dahlak archipelago . Despite having ancient roots, the Red Sea slave trade expanded and flourished following the Muslim conquests with Bejas , Nubians , and Ethiopians exported to Hejaz . Aksum gradually lost their control of the Red Sea , and the expulsion of the Byzantines from the region isolated them, causing their society to become introspective, drawing inspiration from biblical traditions of
16192-690: The Gravettian in most of France and Spain. Several Epigravettian cultural centers have developed contemporaneously after 22,000 years BP in Europe. These range across southern, central and most of eastern Europe, including southwestern France, Italy, Southeast Europe , the Caucasus, Ukraine and Western Russia to the banks of the Volga River . Its lithic complex was first documented at numerous sites in Italy. Great geographical and local variability of
16368-670: The Great Lakes in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe and both groups continued southward, with eastern groups continuing to Mozambique and reaching Maputo in the 2nd century AD. Further to the south, settlements of Bantu peoples who were iron-using agriculturists and herdsmen were well established south of the Limpopo River by the 4th century AD, displacing and assimilating the Khoisan . By the Chari River south of Lake Chad
16544-614: The Horn's southeast coast the Tunni clan established the Tunni Sultanate , and the clans of Sarapion formed the Sultanate of Mogadishu . Traditionally, Gudit's dynasty reigned until 1137 when they were overthrown or conquered by Mara Takla Haymanot , with traditions differing on whether he was an Aksumite general or relative of Gudit, who established the Zagwe dynasty . In Ethiopia tradition holds that prior to his accession to
16720-590: The Kanem and its successor state, the Bornu Empire . Kingdoms, fondoms , and chiefdoms arose in the west. Portuguese sailors reached the coast in 1472. They noted an abundance of the ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus turneranus in the Wouri River and named it Rio dos Camarões ( Shrimp River ), which became Cameroon in English. Over the following few centuries, European interests regularised trade with
16896-544: The Muslims returned to the Maghreb to find the Byzantines had reinforced the Exarchate and allied with the Berber Kingdom of Altava under Kusaila , who was approached prior to battle and convinced to convert to Islam. Initially having become neutral, Kusaila objected to integration into the empire and in 683 destroyed the poorly supplied Arab army and conquered the newly-found Kairouan , causing an epiphany among
17072-664: The Nubian city of Meroe is no longer widely accepted, and some researchers believe that sub-Saharan Africans invented iron metallurgy independently. Metalworking in West Africa has been dated as early as 2,500 BC at Egaro west of the Termit in Niger, and iron working was practiced there by 1,500 BC. Iron smelting has been dated to 2,000 BC in southeast Nigeria . Central Africa provides possible evidence of iron working as early as
17248-688: The Patrician . The Muslims conquered Ifriqiya and in 647 defeated and killed Gregory and his army decisively in battle . The Berbers of the Maghreb proposed payment of annual tribute, which the Muslims, not wishing to annex the territory, accepted. After a brief civil war in the Muslim empire, the Rashidun were supplanted by the Umayyad dynasty in 661 and the capital moved from Medina to Damascus . With intentions to expand further in all directions,
17424-461: The Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The federal republic was composed of two federated states, East Cameroon and West Cameroon , each with their own legislatures, governments, and prime ministers. 1 October is now observed as Unification Day , a public holiday . Ahidjo used the ongoing war with the UPC to concentrate power in the presidency, continuing with this even after
17600-541: The Sahara in modern-day Algeria , who all mainly followed traditional Berber religion . In 618 the Sassanids conquered Egypt during the Byzantine-Sasanian War , however the province was reconquered three years later. The early 7th century saw the inception of Islam and the beginning of the Arab conquests intent on converting peoples to Islam and monotheism . The nascent Rashidun Caliphate won
17776-565: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein expressed deep concern about reports of violations and abuses in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. According to OCHA, more than 1.7 million people require humanitarian assistance in the northwest and southwest regions. OCHA also estimates that at least 628,000 people have been internally displaced by violence in
17952-512: The Wolaita-Mala dynasty established the Kingdom of Damot in the 13th century, locally known as the Kingdom of Wolaita , which followed a traditional religion . The history continues to be murky, however regional hegemony was contested between the Kingdom of Damot , the Zagwe , and the Sultanate of Shewa . Damot likely drew its economic power from gold production, which was exported to Zeila. The Zagwe and Shewa were forced into
18128-444: The administration of an elected Regional Council . Each region is headed by a presidentially appointed governor. These leaders are charged with implementing the will of the president, reporting on the general mood and conditions of the regions, administering the civil service, keeping the peace, and overseeing the heads of the smaller administrative units. Governors have broad powers: they may order propaganda in their area and call in
18304-524: The ailing Rustamid Imamate and fought a proxy war against the remnants of the Umayyad dynasty centred in Cordoba , resulting the eastern Maghreb coming under the control of the vassalized Zirid dynasty , who hailed from the Sanhaja . In 969 the Fatimids finally conquered Egypt against a weakened Abbasid Caliphate after decades of attempts, moving their capital to Cairo and deferring Ifriqiya to
18480-580: The army, gendarmes , and police. All local government officials are employees of the central government's Ministry of Territorial Administration, from which local governments also get most of their budgets. The regions are subdivided into 58 divisions (French départements ). These are headed by presidentially appointed divisional officers ( préfets ). The divisions are further split into sub-divisions ( arrondissements ), headed by assistant divisional officers ( sous-prefets ). The districts, administered by district heads ( chefs de district ), are
18656-1060: The borrowing and assimilation of ideas and institutions , while some developed through internal, largely isolated development. Some African empires and hegemonic kingdoms include Ghana , Mali, Songhai , Ife , Oyo , Bamana/Ségou , Asante , Massina , Sokoto , and the Toucouleur in West Africa; Ancient Egypt, Kush, Carthage, the Fatimids , Almoravids , Almohads , Ayyubids , and Mamluks in North Africa; Aksum , Ethiopia , Adal , Kitara , Kilwa , and Imerina in East Africa; Kanem-Bornu , Kongo , Mwene Muji , Luba , Lunda , and Utetera in Central Africa; and Mapungubwe , Zimbabwe , Mutapa , Rozvi , Maravi , Mthwakazi , and Zulu in Southern Africa. Some societies are heterarchical and egalitarian , while others remained organised into chiefdoms . At its peak it
18832-486: The case of Garmul , however largely coexisted. Further inland to the Byzantine Exarchate of Africa were the Sanhaja in modern-day Algeria , a broad grouping of three groupings of tribal confederations , one of which is the Masmuda grouping in modern-day Morocco , along with the nomadic Zenata ; their composite tribes would later go onto shape much of North African history . In the western Sahel
19008-430: The central highlands describe encountering an earlier population called the Vazimba , thought to have been the first settlers of Madagsacar, represented as primitive dwarfs. From the 13th century Muslim settlers arrived, integrating into the respective societies, and held high status owing to Islamic trading networks. The 7th to 13th centuries in West Africa were a period of relatively abundant rainfall that saw
19184-684: The coast, and the North-West ( Nord-Ouest ) and West ( Ouest ) regions are in the western grassfields. At 475,442 square kilometres (183,569 sq mi), Cameroon is the world's 53rd-largest country. The country is located in Central Africa , on the Bight of Bonny , part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Cameroon lies between latitudes 1° and 13°N , and longitudes 8° and 17°E . Cameroon controls 12 nautical miles of
19360-674: The coastal peoples, and Christian missionaries pushed inland. In 1896, Sultan Ibrahim Njoya created the Bamum script , or Shu Mom, for the Bamum language . It is taught in Cameroon today by the Bamum Scripts and Archives Project . Germany began to establish roots in Cameroon in 1868 when the Woermann Company of Hamburg built a warehouse. It was built on the estuary of the Wouri River. Later, Gustav Nachtigal made
19536-416: The colonial system of forced labour. The British administered their territory from neighbouring Nigeria . Natives complained that this made them a neglected "colony of a colony". Nigerian migrant workers flocked to Southern Cameroons, ending forced labour altogether but angering the local natives, who felt swamped. The League of Nations mandates were converted into United Nations Trusteeships in 1946, and
19712-423: The continent's south. The Bantu expansion constituted a major series of migrations of Bantu -speaking peoples from Central Africa to Eastern and Southern Africa and was substantial in the settling of the continent. Commencing in the 2nd millennium BC, the Bantu began to migrate from Cameroon to the Congo Basin , and eastward to the Great Lakes region to form the Urewe culture from the 5th century BC. In
19888-487: The continent, and, with a weakened Europe after the Second World War , waves of decolonisation took place. This culminated in the 1960 Year of Africa and the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 (the predecessor to the African Union ), with countries deciding to keep their colonial borders. Traditional power structures remained partly in place in many parts of Africa, and their roles, powers, and influence vary greatly. Many countries have undergone
20064-507: The continent. The community are still tasked with building the institutional frameworks, incorporating African epistemologies , establishing a continental periodisation, and representing an African perspective. In African societies, the historical process is largely a communal one, with eyewitness accounts, hearsay , reminiscences, and occasionally visions , dreams, and hallucinations crafted into narrative oral traditions which are performed and transmitted through generations. Time
20240-462: The country. Since 2016, more than 450,000 people have fled their homes. The conflict indirectly led to an upsurge in Boko Haram attacks, as the Cameroonian military largely withdrew from the north to focus on fighting the Ambazonian separatists. More than 30,000 people in northern Cameroon fled to Chad after ethnic clashes over access to water between Musgum fishermen and ethnic Arab Choa herders in December 2021. The President of Cameroon
20416-441: The creation of an Ambazonian state in the English-speaking territories escalated into open warfare . Large numbers of Cameroonians live as subsistence farmers . The country is often referred to as "Africa in miniature" for its geological, linguistic, and cultural diversity. Its natural features include beaches , deserts , mountains , rainforests , and savannas . Cameroon's highest point, at almost 4,100 metres (13,500 ft),
20592-435: The direction of the National Anti-Corruption Observatory . There are several high corruption risk areas in Cameroon, for instance, customs, public health sector and public procurement. However, the corruption has gotten worse, regardless of the existing anti-corruption bureaus, as Transparency International ranked Cameroon 152 on a list of 180 countries in 2018. President Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM)
20768-489: The early Holocene or already earlier in the Paleolithic period, sometimes between 30 and 15,000 years ago, followed by pre-Neolithic and Neolithic migration waves from the Middle East, mostly affecting Northern Africa, the Horn of Africa, and wider regions of the Sahel zone and East Africa. Affad 23 is an archaeological site located in the Affad region of southern Dongola Reach in northern Sudan , which hosts "the well-preserved remains of prehistoric camps (relics of
20944-402: The early 7th century, the north-central Harar Plateau was settled by early Muslims fleeing persecution , intermingling with the Somali who became some of the first non-Arabs to convert to Islam . Muslim-Aksumite relations were initially positive with Aksum giving refuge to early Muslims in 613, however relations soured after Aksum made incursions along the Arab coast and Muslims settled
21120-413: The east in the 9th and 10th centuries, the Somali clans such as the Dir and other groups formed states in the Harar Plateau , including Fatagar , Dawaro , Bale , Hadiya , Hargaya , Mora , Kwelgora , and Adal , with the latter centred on the port city of Zeila (previously Avalites ). They neighboured the Sultanate of Shewa to their south, who's dynasty hailed from the Meccan Banu Makhzum . On
21296-415: The east, however the Fatimids repelled them from encroaching on Egypt. Amid the Christians' First Crusade against the Seljuks , the Fatimids opportunistically took back Jerusalem , but then lost it again to the Christians in decisive defeat . The Fatimids ' authority collapsed due to intense internal struggle in political rivalries and religious divisions, amid Christian invasions of Egypt , creating
21472-459: The event they are charged with high treason or harming national security. Cameroon is viewed as rife with corruption at all levels of government. In 1997, Cameroon established anti-corruption bureaus in 29 ministries, but only 25% became operational, and in 2012, Transparency International placed Cameroon at number 144 on a list of 176 countries ranked from least to most corrupt. On 18 January 2006, Biya initiated an anti-corruption drive under
21648-460: The explosive growth of trade, particularly across the Sahara desert , and the flourishing of numerous important states. The introduction of the camel to the western Sahel was a watershed moment, allowing more merchandise to move more easily. These desert-side states are the first to appear in the written record, with Arab and Berber merchants from North Africa leaving descriptions of their power and wealth. Nevertheless, there remain massive gaps in
21824-435: The facies is present, however all sites are characterized by the predominance of microliths, such as backed blades, backed points, and bladelets with retouched end. The Epigravettian is the last stage of the Upper Paleolithic succeeded by Mesolithic cultures after 10,000 BP. In a genetic study published in Nature in May 2016, the remains of an Epigravettian male from Ripari Villabruna in Italy were examined. He carried
22000-417: The governing of the Muslim empire in order to quell the enormous administrative problems owing to the Arabs' lack of experience governing and rapid expansion. Unorthodox sects such as the Kharijite , Ibadi , Isma'ili , Nukkarite and Sufrite found fertile soil among many Berbers dissatisfied with the oppressive Umayyad regime , with religion being utilised as a political tool to foster organisation. In
22176-640: The government suppresses the freedoms of opposition groups by preventing demonstrations, disrupting meetings, and arresting opposition leaders and journalists. In particular, English-speaking people are discriminated against; protests often escalate into violent clashes and killings. In 2017, President Biya shut down the Internet in the English-speaking region for 94 days, at the cost of hampering five million people, including Silicon Mountain startups. Freedom House ranks Cameroon as "not free" in terms of political rights and civil liberties. The last parliamentary elections were held on 9 February 2020. Cameroon
22352-612: The historical record include Mema , Takrur , Silla , and Wagadu (commonly called the Ghana Empire). Soninke traditions mention four previous foundings of Wagadu , and hold that the final founding of Wagadu occurred after their first king did a deal with Bida , a serpent deity who was guarding a well, to sacrifice one maiden a year in exchange for assurance regarding plenty of rainfall and gold supply. Soninke tradition portrays early Ghana as warlike, with horse-mounted warriors key to increasing its territory and population, although details of their expansion are extremely scarce. At
22528-414: The historical record, and many details are speculative and/or based on much later traditions. Cameroon This is an accepted version of this page Cameroon , officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in Central Africa . It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea , Gabon , and
22704-433: The impression Africa had no recorded history. Pre-colonial Christian states include Ethiopia, Makuria , and Kongo. Widespread conversion to Christianity occurred under European rule in southern West Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa due to efficacious missions , with peoples syncretising Christianity with their local beliefs . The rise of nationalism facilitated struggles for independence in many parts of
22880-521: The independence of Cameroon. The National Assembly makes legislation. The body consists of 180 members who are elected for five-year terms and meet three times per year. Laws are passed on a majority vote. The 1996 constitution establishes a second house of parliament, the 100-seat Senate . The government recognises the authority of traditional chiefs, fons, and lamibe to govern at the local level and to resolve disputes as long as such rulings do not conflict with national law. Cameroon's legal system
23056-411: The last 70 thousand to 200 thousand years. The fossil record shows Homo sapiens (also known as "modern humans" or "anatomically modern humans") living in Africa by about 350,000–260,000 years ago. The earliest known Homo sapiens fossils include the Jebel Irhoud remains from Morocco ( c. 315,000 years ago ), the Florisbad Skull from South Africa ( c. 259,000 years ago ), and
23232-470: The latest in Egypt and Nubia. Nubia became a major source of copper as well as of gold . The use of gold and silver in Egypt dates back to the predynastic period. In the Aïr Mountains of present-day Niger people smelted copper independently of developments in the Nile valley between 3,000 and 2,500 BC. They used a process unique to the region, suggesting that the technology was not brought in from outside; it became more mature by about 1,500 BC. By
23408-405: The leadership of self-proclaimed caliph Abd al-Mu'min and, after gaining the support of the Zenata , swept through the Maghreb, conquering the Hammadids , the Hilalian Arab tribes , and the Norman Kingdom of Africa , before gradually conquering the Almoravid remnant in Al-Andalus , proclaiming the Almohad Caliphate and extending their rule from the western Sahara and Iberia to Ifriqiya by
23584-409: The mid-1980s to late 1990s as a result of international economic conditions, drought, falling petroleum prices, and years of corruption, mismanagement, and cronyism . Cameroon turned to foreign aid, cut government spending, and privatised industries. With the reintroduction of multi-party politics in December 1990, the former British Southern Cameroons pressure groups called for greater autonomy, and
23760-507: The more Egyptianized Kingdom of Kush in Nubia, and later in the 8th century BC the Kushite king Kashta would expand his power and influence by manoeuvring his daughter into a position of power in Upper Egypt , paving the way for his successor Piye to conquer Lower Egypt and form the Kushite Empire . The Kushites assimilated further into Egyptian society by reaffirming Ancient Egyptian religious traditions , and culture, while introducing some unique aspects of Kushite culture and overseeing
23936-409: The moulding of their respective societies and meant that prior to the accession of trans-Saharan trade routes , symbiotic trade relations developed in response to the opportunities afforded by north–south diversity in ecosystems, trading meats , copper , iron , salt , and gold . Various civilisations prospered in this period. From 4000 BC, the Tichitt culture in modern-day Mauritania and Mali
24112-454: The official languages of former French Cameroons and British Cameroons . Christianity is the majority religion in Cameroon , with significant minorities practising Islam and traditional faiths . It has experienced tensions from the English-speaking territories, where politicians have advocated for greater decentralisation and even complete separation or independence (as in the Southern Cameroons National Council ). In 2017, tensions over
24288-465: The oil-rich Bakassi peninsula. Cameroon and Nigeria share a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) border and have disputed the sovereignty of the Bakassi peninsula. In 1994 Cameroon petitioned the International Court of Justice to resolve the dispute. The two countries attempted to establish a cease-fire in 1996; however, fighting continued for years. In 2002, the ICJ ruled that the Anglo-German Agreement of 1913 gave sovereignty to Cameroon. The ruling called for
24464-447: The oldest open-air hut in the world) and diverse hunting and gathering loci some 50,000 years old". Around 16,000 BC, from the Red Sea Hills to the northern Ethiopian Highlands , nuts, grasses and tubers were being collected for food. By 13,000 to 11,000 BC, people began collecting wild grains. This spread to Western Asia , which domesticated its wild grains, wheat and barley . Between 10,000 and 8000 BC, Northeast Africa
24640-401: The paternal haplogroup R1b1 and the maternal haplogroup U5b . An Epigravettian from the Satsurblia Cave in Georgia , who was examined in a previous study, has been found to be carrying the paternal haplogroup J1 and the maternal haplogroup K3 . Analysis of Epigravettian producing individuals in Italy indicates that they not closely related to earlier Gravettian-producing inhabitants of
24816-466: The peninsula was left to Cameroon two years later, in 2008. The boundary change triggered a local separatist insurgency , as many Bakassians refused to accept Cameroonian rule. While most militants laid down their arms in November 2009, some carried on fighting for years. In February 2008, Cameroon experienced its worst violence in 15 years when a transport union strike in Douala escalated into violent protests in 31 municipal areas. In May 2014, in
24992-438: The peninsula, and instead belong to the Villabruna genetic cluster . This group is more closely related to ancient and modern peoples in the Middle East and the Caucasus than earlier European Cro-Magnons . Epigravettian peoples belonging to the Western Hunter Gatherer genetic cluster expanded across Western Europe at the end of the Pleistocene, largely replacing the producers of the Magdalenian culture that previously dominated
25168-427: The popular Fumo Liyongo . The islands of Pemba , Zanzibar , Lamu , Mafia and the Comoros were further settled by Shirazi and grew in importance due to their geographical positions for trade. By 1100, all regions of Madagascar were inhabited, although the total population remained small. Societies organised at the behest of hasina , which later evolved to embody kingship, and competed with one another over
25344-399: The possibility of other unknown sophisticated civilisations at this time. After D'mt's fall in the 5th century BC the Ethiopian Plateau came to be ruled by numerous smaller unknown kingdoms who experienced strong south Arabian influence , until the growth and expansion of Aksum in the 1st century BC. Along the Horn's coast there were many ancient Somali city-states which thrived off of
25520-413: The predominantly English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of the country have been campaigning for continued use of the English language in schools and courts. People were killed and hundreds were jailed as a result of these protests. In 2017, Biya's government blocked the regions' access to the Internet for three months. In September, separatists started a guerilla war for the independence of
25696-428: The question of independence became a pressing issue in French Cameroon. France outlawed the pro-independence political party, the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon ( French : Union des Populations du Cameroun , UPC), on 13 July 1955. This prompted a long guerrilla war waged by the UPC and the assassination of several of the party's leaders, including Ruben Um Nyobè , Félix-Roland Moumié and Ernest Ouandie . In
25872-461: The region. History of Africa#Paleolithic Archaic humans emerged out of Africa between 0.5 and 1.8 million years ago. This was followed by the emergence of modern humans ( Homo sapiens ) in East Africa around 300,000–250,000 years ago. In the 4th millenium BC written history arose in Ancient Egypt , and later in Nubia 's Kush , the Horn of Africa 's Dʿmt , and Ifrikiya 's Carthage . Between around 3000 BC and 1000 AD,
26048-431: The rise of settled communities occurred largely as a result of the domestication of millet and of sorghum . Archaeology points to sizable urban populations in West Africa beginning in the 4th millennium BC, which had crucially developed iron metallurgy by 1200 BC, in both smelting and forging for tools and weapons. Extensive east-west belts of deserts , grasslands , and forests from north to south were crucial in
26224-424: The site of Lejja (Eze-Uzomaka 2009) and to 750 BC and at the site of Opi (Holl 2009). The site of Gbabiri (in the Central African Republic) has also yielded evidence of iron metallurgy, from a reduction furnace and blacksmith workshop; with earliest dates of 896–773 BC and 907–796 BC respectively. The ancient history of North Africa is inextricably linked to that of the Ancient Near East and Europe . This
26400-464: The smallest administrative units. The three northernmost regions are the Far North ( Extrême Nord ), North ( Nord ), and Adamawa ( Adamaoua ). Directly south of them are the Centre ( Centre ) and East ( Est ). The South Province ( Sud ) lies on the Gulf of Guinea and the southern border. Cameroon's western region is split into four smaller regions: the Littoral ( Littoral ) and South-West ( Sud-Ouest ) regions are on
26576-434: The societies and kingdoms of the interior, such as those of the Zambezi basin and the Great Lakes , to the wider Indian Ocean trade . There is much debate around the chronology of the settlement of Madagascar , although most scholars agree that the island was further settled by Austronesian peoples from the 5th or 7th centuries AD who had proceeded through or around the Indian Ocean by outrigger boats , to also settle
26752-470: The states fluctuated and varied, with Mombasa , Pate , and Kilwa emerging as the strongest. This prosperity led some Arab and Persian merchants to settle and assimilate into the various societies, and from the 8th to the 14th century the region gradually Islamised due to the increased trading opportunities it brought, with some oral traditions having rulers of Arab or Persian descent . The Kilwa Chronicle , supposedly based on oral tradition , holds that
26928-519: The suppression of communal autonomy disrupted local customary practices and caused the irreversible transformation of Africa's socioeconomic systems . Colonies were maintained for the purpose of economic exploitation and extraction of natural resources . African history was initially written by outsiders ( Europeans and Arabs ), and in colonial times under the pretence of Western superiority supported by scientific racism . Oral sources were deprecated and dismissed by unfamiliar historians, giving them
27104-535: The suppression of the UPC in 1971. Ahidjo's political party, the Cameroon National Union (CNU), became the sole legal political party on 1 September 1966, and on 20 May 1972, a referendum was passed to abolish the federal system of government in favour of a United Republic of Cameroon, headed from Yaoundé . This day is now the country's National Day , a public holiday. Ahidjo pursued an economic policy of planned liberalism , prioritising cash crops and petroleum development. The government used oil money to create
27280-479: 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
27456-523: The then abundant Cameroon ghost shrimp . Today the country's name in Portuguese remains Camarões . Evidence from digs at Shum Laka in the Northwest Region shows human occupation in Cameroon dating back 30,000 years. The longest continuous inhabitants are groups such as the Baka ( Pygmies ). From there, Bantu migrations into eastern, southern and central Africa are believed to have occurred about 2,000 years ago. The Sao culture arose around Lake Chad , c. 500 CE , and gave way to
27632-399: The throne, Gebre Meskel Lalibela was guided by Christ on a tour of Jerusalem , and instructed to build a second Jerusalem in Ethiopia. Accordingly this led to the commissioning of eleven rock-hewn churches outside the capital in Roha, which was renamed Lalibela in his honour, and quickly became a holy city in Ethiopian Christianity . According to oral traditions, Motolomi Sato of
27808-447: The triumph and defeat of nationalistic fervour, and continue to face challenges such as internal conflict, neocolonialism , and climate change . African historiography became organized at the academic level in the mid-20th century, and saw a movement towards utilising the oral sources in a multidisciplinary approach. This culminated in UNESCO publishing the General History of Africa from 1981, edited by specialists from across
27984-444: The turn of the 13th century. Later, the Christians capitalised on internal conflict within the Almohads in 1225 and conquered Iberia by 1228, with the Emirate of Granada assuming control in the south. Following this, the embattled Almohads faced invasions from an Almoravid remnant in the Balearics and gradually lost territory to the Marinids in modern-day Morocco , the Zayyanids in modern-day Algeria , both of Zenata , and
28160-482: The two regions, while more than 87,000 have fled to Nigeria. Same-sex sexual acts are banned by section 347-1 of the penal code with a penalty of from 6 months up to 5 years imprisonment. Since December 2020, Human Rights Watch claimed that Islamist armed group Boko Haram has stepped up attacks and killed at least 80 civilians in towns and villages in the Far North region of Cameroon. The constitution divides Cameroon into 10 semi-autonomous regions, each under
28336-424: The violence, many reportedly hiding in forests. Prisons are overcrowded with little access to adequate food and medical facilities, and prisons run by traditional rulers in the north are charged with holding political opponents at the behest of the government. However, since the first decade of the 21st century, an increasing number of police and gendarmes have been prosecuted for improper conduct. On 25 July 2018,
28512-485: The wake of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping , presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon and Idriss Déby of Chad announced they were waging war on Boko Haram , and deployed troops to the Nigerian border. Boko Haram launched several attacks into Cameroon, killing 84 civilians in a December 2014 raid , but suffering a heavy defeat in a raid in January 2015 . Cameroon declared victory over Boko Haram on Cameroonian territory in September 2018. Since November 2016, protesters from
28688-403: The wars waged. The turn of the 6th century saw Aksum balanced against the Himyarite Kingdom in southwestern Arabia, as part of the wider Byzantine-Sassanian conflict . In 518, Aksum invaded Himyar against the persecution of the Christian community by Dhu Nuwas , the Jewish Himyarite king. Following the capture of Najran , the Aksumites implanted a puppet on the Himyarite throne, however
28864-477: The west from the 7th to 15th century, Arab tribes migrated into the Sudan , during which time the Beja Islamised and adopted Arab customs . In the 8th century, Beja nomads invaded Aksum 's northern territories and occupied the Eritrean Highlands , leading punitive raids into Aksum, with the Beja establishing various kingdoms . The Aksumite population migrated further inland into the Ethiopian Highlands , moving their capital from Aksum to Kubar , and later in
29040-407: The west, there was a new domestic threat to Almoravid rule; a religious movement headed by Ibn Tumart from the Masmuda tribal grouping, who was considered by his followers to be the true Mahdi . Initially fighting a guerilla war from the Atlas Mountains , they descended from the mountains in 1130 but were crushed in battle , with Ibn Tumart dying shortly after. The movement consolidated under
29216-433: The written word. Oral tradition often remained the preferred method of recordation in cases when a writing system was adapted or developed ; for example the oral recordation of the Kouroukan Fouga in the Mali Empire while having adapted the Arabic script to be used in scholarly pursuits . Many kingdoms and empires came and went in all regions of the continent . Most states were created through conquest or
29392-501: Was conquered by the expansive Achaemenids , however later regained independence in 404 BC until 343 BC when it was re-annexed by the Achaemenid Empire . Persian rule in Egypt ended with the defeat of the Achaemenids by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, marking the beginning of Hellenistic rule by the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. The Hellenistic rulers, seeking legitimacy from their Egyptian subjects, gradually Egyptianized and participated in Egyptian religious life . Following
29568-517: Was cultivating wheat and barley and raising sheep and cattle from Southwest Asia. A wet climatic phase in Africa turned the Ethiopian Highlands into a mountain forest. Omotic speakers domesticated enset around 6500–5500 BC. Around 7000 BC, the settlers of the Ethiopian highlands domesticated donkeys , and by 4000 BC domesticated donkeys had spread to Southwest Asia. Cushitic speakers, partially turning away from cattle herding, domesticated teff and finger millet between 5500 and 3500 BC. During
29744-477: Was eventually put down after decades of violence, resulting in between 300,000 and 2,500,000 dead. This gradual bubbling of disintegration of the caliphate boiled over when the Fatimid dynasty rose out of the Bavares tribal confederation and in 909 conquered the Aghlabids to gain control over all of Ifriqiya . Proclaiming Isma'ilism , they established a caliphate rivalling the Abbasids , who followed Sunni Islam . The nascent caliphate quickly conquered
29920-514: Was forced to give up their fleet, and the subsequent collapse of their empire would produce two further polities in the Maghreb; Numidia , a polity made up of two Numidian tribal federations until the Massylii conquered the Masaesyli , and assisted the Romans in the Second Punic War; Mauretania , a Mauri tribal kingdom , home of the legendary King Atlas ; and various tribes such as Garamantes , Musulamii , and Bavares . The Third Punic War would result in Carthage's total defeat in 146 BC and
30096-408: Was killed and the kingdom defeated. They completed their conquest of the rest of the Maghreb, with large swathes of Berbers embracing Islam, and the combined Arab and Berber armies would use this territory as a springboard into Iberia to expand the Muslim empire further. Large numbers of Berber and Coptic people willingly converted to Islam, and followers of Abrahamic religions (“ People of
30272-423: Was later renamed in order to better emphasize its independent character. Three subphases, the Early Epigravettian (20,000 to 16,000 BP), the Evolved Epigravettian (16,000 to 14,000 BP) and the Final Epigravettian (14,000 to 8,000 BP), have been established, that were further subdivided and reclassified. In this sense, the Epigravettian is simply the Gravettian after ~21,000 BP, when the Solutrean had replaced
30448-429: Was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and back to the Republic of Cameroon in 1984 by a presidential decree by President Paul Biya . Biya, the incumbent president, has led the country since 1982 following Ahidjo's resignation; he previously held office as prime minister from 1975 onward. Cameroon is governed as a unitary presidential republic . The official languages of Cameroon are French and English,
30624-416: Was substantial in the usurpation of Mogadishu 's hegemony, while also conquering Pemba and Zanzibar . Kilwa 's administration consisted of representatives who ranged from governing their assigned cities to fulfilling the role of ambassador in the more powerful ones. Meanwhile the Pate Chronicle [ fr ] has Pate conquering Shanga , Faza , and prosperous Manda , and was at one time led by
30800-411: Was the oldest known complexly organised society in West Africa, with a four tiered hierarchical social structure. Other civilisations include the Kintampo culture from 2500 BC in modern-day Ghana , the Nok culture from 1500 BC in modern-day Nigeria , the Daima culture around Lake Chad from 550 BC, and Djenné-Djenno from 250 BC in modern-day Mali . Towards the end of the 3rd century AD,
30976-443: Was the only legal political party until December 1990. Numerous regional political groups have since formed. The primary opposition is the Social Democratic Front (SDF), based largely in the Anglophone region of the country and headed by John Fru Ndi . Biya and his party have maintained control of the presidency and the National Assembly in national elections, which rivals contend were unfair. Human rights organisations allege that
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