Cameroon is noted for its geographical and cultural diversity. It is known as ‘Africa in miniature’ for the same reason. The Sao civilization flourished near Lake Chad in Cameroon and the southeastern rainforests were inhabited by the Baka hunter-gatherers.
In the 1400s, the Portuguese sailed to the coast of Cameroon. These sailors traded ivory, rubber and slaves. Cameroon came under German rule in 1884; it became a colony known as Kamerun.
Modern Cameroon took shape in 1961. By then, the British and French had taken control; they unified a British and a French colony to give birth to the new country. It was later renamed as the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972. After a second round of renaming in 1984, it was known as the Republic of Cameroon.
The country was not free of internal tensions after its independence. There were constant conflicts between the English-speaking provinces and the French-speaking ones; it turned to a secessionist movement in 1990 and an insurgency in 2016.
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