Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0070/00701.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 18KB | 290 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00701}
$Pretitle{366}
$Title{Cameroon
Chapter 1.    General Character of the Society}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Harold D. Nelson}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{cameroon
ch
country
economic
cameroonian
national
government
development
african
political}
$Date{1974}
$Log{}
Country:     Cameroon
Book:        Area Handbook for the United Republic of Cameroon
Author:      Harold D. Nelson
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1974

Chapter 1.    General Character of the Society

     Cameroon joined the family of sovereign African states on January 1,
1960, after a checkered history of European administration that spanned more
than three-fourths of a century (see ch. 2). A German protectorate during the
scramble for colonies in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
the area-then known as Kamerun-was occupied in World War I by the victorious
military forces of France and Great Britain. The resulting de facto partition
of the territory into French and British spheres of influence was given formal
recognition in 1922 when the two segments became League of Nations mandates
under the separate administration of France and Great Britain. The larger of
these, comprising the eastern four-fifths of the territory, was designated
French Cameroun. The western one-fifth, consisting of two unconnected strips
of land along the eastern Nigerian border, became known as British Cameroons.
In 1946 the mandates were converted into United Nations trust territories.

     In 1958 the United Nations granted autonomy to the French trust
territory amid a rising tide of Cameroonian nationalism. A year after the
independence of French Cameroun, the United Nations supervised a plebiscite in
the segmented British trust territory, offering the people a choice of uniting
with one of the two neighboring states. The electorate of the northern segment
opted to join Nigeria, and the southern segment chose union with the new
Cameroonian republic. On October 1, 1961, in a move unique in Africa, the
small British-influenced southern segment joined the larger French-influenced
polity as the federated states of West Cameroon and East Cameroon,
respectively. Differences between the two states of the new federal republic
in political outlook and practice, trade orientation, educational systems, and
administration remained to be accommodated. Problems imposed by the union of
these two political entities divided the republic along the lines of
regionalism, ethnicity, language, religion, and colonial heritage.

     Adjustments were undertaken through the personal guidance and effective
leadership of President Ahmadou Ahidjo, who immediately embarked on a course
that aimed for true national lunity. The framework for its eventual
achievement was forged in May 1972, when federalism was abandoned in a
move the president and his political party termed reunification. The country
was proclaimed the United Republic of Cameroon; internal state subdivisions
were abolished in favor of a provincial system; and a new constitution was
adopted to support the changes (see ch. 8; ch. 9).

     A country with an area of approximately 183,500 square miles, Cameroon
is often referred to as the hinge between West and Central Africa, as it
incorporates many of the physical and human features of both. It is roughly
triangular in shape, having a wide basin in the south, where it borders
Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the People's Republic of the Congo
(Congo-formerly, Congo Brazzaville). Its apex extends into Lake Chad some 700
miles to the north (see fig. 1). Its western boundary is flanked by the Gulf
of Guinea and by Nigeria. Eastern neighbors are Chad and the Central African
Republic.

     Cameroon is divided into four distinct topographical regions (see ch. 3).
In the southwest a low coastal plain gives way inland to plateaus covered by
equatorial rain forests. In the center of the country an extensive
savanna-covered plateau rises to heights of 4,500 feet above sea level. The
west is an area of mountainous forests and the site of Mount Cameroon, an
active volcano, whose height of 13,350 feet marks it as the loftiest peak in
sub-Saharan West Africa. The northern part of the country consists of rolling
subarid savanna, gradually sloping to a marshy flood plain along Lake Chad and
the Chari and Logone rivers.

     The country's climate is as varied as its topography. The coastal plain
is characterized by heavy rainfall, high humidity, and tropical temperatures
throughout the year. Inland, on the central plateau, rainfall diminishes,
the temperature undergoes seasonal variations, and humidity declines. In the
extreme north, near arid conditions exist.

     In 1973 Cameroon was the home of approximately 6.1 million people, and
its population was increasing at an annual rate of about 2.1 percent. Located
at the geographical and ethnic crossroads of the African continent, it has
great ethnic diversity, which has resulted from the process of intermingling
and assimilation that occurred through a history of countless human migrations
(see ch. 4). The twenty-four major languages and numerous dialects spoken by
the country's 200 ethnic groups have served as a divisive element,
discouraging interethnic relations. In the modern sector both French and
English have official status, a situation unparalleled in any other African
country. Inter-regional communication is aided by the use of Wes Cos, a form
of pidgin English.

     According to data compiled in the 1960s during the republic's only
census, the people were grouped generally along regional lines-a division
traced throughout the history of the area. Although the government has made
an effort to deemphasize ethnic and regional divisions for the sake of
national unity, most Cameroonians-except members of the modern elite-still
categorized themselves as residents of one of three traditional areas: the
northern savanna, the southern forested region, or the western highlands.

     The north is the domain of the Muslim Fulani, who constitute only
one-third of the area's population, but it is shared with numerous other
ethnic groups. Since their Islamic holy wars of the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, the Fulani have referred to these other peoples simply as kirdi
(pagans). The predominant peoples of the south are the Pahouin, a designation
that encompasses a large number of subgroups. The western highlands are shared
by the largest of Cameroonian ethnic groups-the Bamileke-and numerous other
peoples.

     In 1973 approximately 75 percent of the population was rural, residing
mainly in small villages and unplanned agricultural settlements, or nomadic.
Both groups derived a living from agricultural activities. The rest lived in
towns and larger urban centers and worked in industries, in commerce, or
for the government. Although population densities were generally low
throughout much of the country, an increasing number of young people were
migrating to the urban environment in search of wage employment or education.
Most of this internal flow has been from the western highlands to the vicinity
of Yaounde, the national capital, and to settlements centered on Douala, the
country's largest city and major seaport. The influx of Bamileke has been
particularly noteworthy, as they have developed a reputation among other
Cameroonians for a decided interest in the modern sector. Having adapted
readily to the cash economy, their increasing presence in salaried jobs,
commerce, the transportation sector, and the professions is apparent in the
growing towns of the southwest.

     Living conditions vary considerably between rural and urban environments
and among different regions of the country, chiefly because of marked
disparities in income levels (see ch. 6; ch. 12). The subsistence cultivators
of the Adamaoua Plateau and the northern hills endure the lowest living
standards, as exemplified by an extremely high rate of infant mortality and
a frugal pattern of life in which all