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History of Cameroon
From antiquity to the modern era — the historical eras, key events, and narrative that shaped Cameroon.
Overview
The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were probably the Bakas (Pygmies). They still inhabit the forests of the south and east provinces. Bantu speakers originating in the Cameroonian highlands were among the first groups to move out before other invaders. During the late 1770s and early 1800s, the Fulani, a pastoral Islamic people of the western Sahel, conquered most of what is now northern Cameroon, subjugating or displacing its largely non-Muslim inhabitants.
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Historical Eras
The major periods of {country}’s history at a glance.
Pre-colonial Era
500 BCE – 1884
Cameroon's earliest inhabitants included the Baka (Pygmies) and later Bantu-speaking peoples who migrated from the highlands. Phoenician explorer Hanno encountered Mount Cameroon around 500 BCE. From the late 18th century, the Fulani launched Islamic jihads that reshaped northern Cameroon politically and religiously, while Portuguese and later Dutch and British traders established a coastal presence largely defined by the slave trade until its suppression in the mid-19th century.
German Kamerun
1884 – 1916
Germany established a protectorate over Cameroon in July 1884, with Gustav Nachtigal signing treaties with local chiefs, and the colony was formally demarcated under the 1885 Treaty of Berlin. The colonial administration built the first railway in 1907 and developed plantation agriculture, ruling with considerable brutality. German control ended during World War I when Anglo-French forces defeated the German garrison in 1916.
British & French Mandate
1916 – 1960
Following Germany's defeat, the League of Nations mandate of 1919 partitioned Kamerun between Britain and France, with France receiving the larger eastern territory administered from Yaoundé and Britain receiving a narrow western strip governed from Lagos. France invested in infrastructure and established a French-educated elite, while also suppressing political dissent. In 1955, the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) launched an armed uprising against French rule, a conflict that caused tens of thousands of deaths.
Independence & Federation
1960 – 1972
French Cameroon achieved independence on January 1, 1960, and in 1961 the southern portion of British Cameroon voted to join it, forming the Federal Republic of Cameroon under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. Ahidjo consolidated power by banning opposition parties in 1966 and relying on an extensive security apparatus to suppress the continuing UPC insurgency, capturing its last major leader in 1970. The federation represented a careful but unequal balance between the formerly French and British territories.
Unitary State & Ahidjo
1972 – 1982
A 1972 referendum replaced the federal structure with a centralized unitary state, renamed the Republic of Cameroon, cementing Ahidjo's authoritarian one-party rule under the Cameroon National Union. The period saw relative political stability and economic growth driven by newly discovered petroleum revenues and agricultural exports. Ahidjo unexpectedly resigned in 1982, constitutionally handing power to Prime Minister Paul Biya.
Biya Era
1982 – present
Paul Biya survived a loyalist coup attempt in 1984 and entrenched his rule under the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), winning successive elections of questionable credibility. Limited multiparty reforms were introduced in the 1990s under international pressure, but political power remained concentrated among a narrow ethnic oligarchy. From the late 2010s, a violent secessionist conflict in the Anglophone regions, known as the Ambazonia crisis, emerged as the country's gravest internal challenge.
Timeline Preview
The first 7 key events. View the full chronology on the timeline page.
500 BCE
Hanno sees Mount Cameroon
The explorer Hanno from Carthage in North Africa (Tunisia) is the first foreigner who reports seeing Mount Cameroon
150 BCE
Bantu Tribes Arrive
The first Bantu-tribes arrive
1472
Fernando Po
A Portuguese expedition lead by Fernando Po are the first Europeans to reach the coast of Cameroon. They reach Douala and then sails up the Wouri River. They name the river Rio dos Camarões, the Prawn River, thus naming the country.
1520
Slave Trade
Portuguese set up sugar plantations and begin slave trade
1600
Dutch take over slave trade
The Dutch take over slave trade from the Portuguese.
1700
British Missionaries Protest Slave Trade
British missionaries protest against the slave trade
1884
German Protectorate
Gustav Nachtigal signs a treaty with the Chiefs of Doula on behalf of the German Kaiser Wilhelm. In return for trade advantages the chiefs accept a German protectorate