History of Gabon

The first inhabitants of Gabon, Pygmy S then people bantous, are known only by legends. With the arrival of the Portuguese navigators, at the 15th century, one starts to have testimonys written on the coastal populations. During three centuries, the life of Gabon was rythmée by the draft of the slaves between tribes coastal and commercial European (Portuguese and Dutch, in particular). Then, at the 19th century, the France occupied the country gradually, starting from the Estuary of Gabon and the mouth of the Ogooué, thanks to the action of explorers such as Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza. Colony of AEF, Gabon obtained its independence in 1960. Since 1967, it is directed by the same president, Omar Bongo, which profits from the exploitation of the various natural resources of the country.

Former Africans

Drawings engraved on rock close to the Cape Lopez were dated of more than 8000 years. The first inhabitants of the Gabon are Pygmies emigrated of central Africa. They were pushed by it by the migrations bantoues which, in their turn, populated Gabon of at the 19th century. The History of the country before the arrival of Europeans is a panoply of accounts of hunting, fishing, of gathering but also of agriculture and war of the various ethnos groups. The Mpongwés and the Oroungous occupy the coasts while the Loumbous exploit salt and that the Akélés and the Nzebis are known to be bold hunters of elephants. The last arrived populations (at the 19th century), the Fang, nowadays constitute a third of the population of the country.

The work of the historian who wants to study old Gabon is not easy. It does not have written testimony and the oral traditions of the various people are not easy to interpret. Which is the share of reality and imagination in the myth? To when do go back the evoked facts? The Archéologie is not either of a great help insofar as the equatorial Climat and the nature of the grounds do not allow a good conservation of the human remainders and traces of their activities. Nevertheless, there remain probably discoveries to be made.

Slavery and draft

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to be accosted in Gabon, in 1472, on the edges of the Komo. The estuary of this river in the shape of overcoat, a coat of sailor, in Portuguese gabâo , gave its name to the Gabon. Lopez Gonzalvez, Fernan Vaz, Diego Cam recognized the shore of Gabon. With their continuation, several other European nations established counters on the coasts. Marketing activities developed to with it and also soon, as on the other African Western coasts, the Traite blacks but also trade of the Ivoire or wood of ebony. African associated the techniques of the white (rifle, writing) with sorcery. The first slaves captured by the Portuguese, at the beginning of the 16th century, were employed in the plantations of cane with sugar of Sao Tome before the trade towards America does not become dominating.

Because of the internal migrations in progress, the Gabon was at that time on the way of a demographic balancing which was disturbed by Europeans. The latter, to feed the Treats blacks, captured and bought slaves with coastal chiefs, which thus sat their prevalence on other ethnos groups of the interior of the country. It was one period ostentation for the coastal ethnos groups like Mpongwe and especially Oroungou which constituted a kingdom in the first decades of the 19th century. This trade will perdura, even after its prohibition, until the middle of the 19th century.

For this period, Europeans did not seek to occupy the country. They were satisfied to have counters making it possible their ships to wet in safety, to embark the slaves and the goods. When an European country installed a fort, it was more to protect itself from its competitors that to colonize the area. At the end of the 16th century, the Dutchmen supplanted the Portuguese. But they had a serious disagreement with the mpongwés chiefs of the Estuary who destroyed the fort that they had built in the island of Corisco (1601). In 1698, a new quarrel pushed the Dutchmen to destroy several mpongwés villages.

The Royaume of Loango which extended from the coast of Congo to the province of the Nyanga was a large provider of slaves. Part of these unfortunate was embarked aboard European ship on the current site of Mayumba.

French colonization

It is starting from the treaty signed between Louis Edouard Bouët-Willaumez and the sovereign Mpongwè named Rapontchombo the February 9th 1839 that the French gradually extend their influence on the Gabon: they create a military station in the estuary of the Komo and the future capital, Libreville, are rested by former released slaves of a ship slave trader. The birth of Libreville (1850) is related to the incident of the ship Brazilian slave trader Ilizia . Indeed, following the capture of this ship full slave trader slaves, the French authorities decide to gather them in a village a little with the image of what took place with Freetown. Thus, at the Libreville beginning, name chosen to express the freedom acquired by these slaves, is made up upon the departure of 30 slaves and will constitute the spearhead of the process of occupation of the Gabonese territory by the French. The agreements with the groups of interior population multiply as well as the catholic missions. In 1886, Gabon forms integral part of the colonial Empire French by the decree of the July 26th.

Here how the Bulletin of the Company of Geography considered the French presence in Gabon, in 1889: “ For Europeans, it would not know being question of a long stay in Gabonie. Tirednesses, the steps are dangerous there. This region cannot thus become a colony of settlement; at most will remain a colony of trade. Currently the number of French residing at Gabon does not exceed the figure of fifty, made abstraction, of course, of the sailors and the civils servant. ”

The fixing of the borders of Gabon was done gradually, on the one hand because of disagreements with the German Cameroun , then on the other hand owing to the fact that, within the framework of the Africa Équatoriale French, Gabon was initially attached to the French Congo whose Libreville was the capital before yielding the place to Brazzaville in 1910.

The population of Gabon works for the colonial power in order to exploit mainly her forest resources. During the construction of the line of Railroad Congo-Ocean, the work conditions are so hard that they cause the first great revolts. Comes then the mining which were the cause of to and from of the province of the Haut-Ogooué between the Congo and the Gabon in 1925 and 1946.

During the Second world war, Gabon lines up side of the free France after confrontations between colonists Vichyist Gaullistes and , during the Bataille of Gabon. In 1946 the country becomes a French territory of overseas within the framework of the French union and sends deputies with the National Assembly in France. In 1958, Gabon becomes an autonomous republic, and Leon Mba is elected by it president.

The first times of independence

The Gabon became independent the August 17th 1960 and in 1961 Leon Mba was elected president of the independent Republic. But the national currency is manufactured by France which into fixed also the value. In 1964 Mba tries to arrange the elections to be maintained with the capacity. February 18th, 1964 it was deposited by the Gabonese army and entrusts the capacity to its civil opponent Jean-Hilaire Aubanne. August 19th, 1964, the French Army intervenes to give Mba to the capacity. In 1967 it died of a cancer in France and was replaced by Albert Bernard Bongo. Bongo which had made its military service in the French Army, in the time of the colonies, which had also worked thereafter for the French secret services in fact was judged by the French political experts, as that which would be ready to defend the economic interests of this one.

The Bongo era

The March 12th 1968, this last founded the monopartism with the creation of the Gabonese Democratic party. As from this moment and for a score of years, the activities of the opposition were confined abroad. The economy developed around the forestry development (Okoumé), mine (Manganèse, Uranium) and especially oil (Elf). Into 1973, Bongo is converted with Islam and takes for first name Omar and in 1974 the Gabon adheres to OPEC. The example of the most outstanding development of infrastructures was the Transgabonais. The strongly centralized State ensured, like today, the essence of national employment thanks to the oil revenue.

At the end of the Years 1980, the fall of the course of oil plunged Gabon in an economic serious attack which it still did not leave. The social and political claims multiplied. A national conference for refonder the country was open in 1990.

The national conference of 1990 restores the multi-party system but since all the elections were gained by chairmen and were disputed by the opposition. The most notable change since this democratization was the multiplication of the parties which reach only little the capacity and the flowering of not easily viable newspapers of opposition. The daily newspaper of the Gabon board does not have him not evolved/moved much, the economic situation being degraded even considering the public sector is reduced under the pressure of the basic financial backers (the IMF, the World Bank) whereas the private sector pains to develop.

The situation does not seem favorable to an alternation considering Omar Bongo was re-elected at the time presidential elections of 2005 (since 2004, Omar Bongo added to its name that of his/her father, Ondimba).

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