A Short History of Cote D'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is officially referred to as the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and it’s a nation situated in West Africa. Its political capital city is Yamoussoukro, and Abidjan is its largest and economic capital city. Liberia and Guinea border Ivory Coast in the west, Ghana in the east, and Mali and Burkina Faso in the north. The Atlantic Ocean (Gulf of Guinea) is situated south of the country.

Before it was colonized by the Europeans, Côte d'Ivoire was home to a number of nations including the Baoulé, Gyaaman, and the Kong Empire. Sanwi and Andénié, both Anyi kingdoms tried to hold on to their identities throughout the French colonial era and after attaining sovereignty. The country became a French protectorate between 1843 and 1844 and later, in 1893 during European’s scramble for Africa, it became a French colony. In 1960, Félix Houphouët-Boigny led the country into attaining its independence and he went on to rule Ivory Coast until 1993. After his rule, Côte d'Ivoire experienced a coup d'état in 1999, and two religious-based civil conflicts. The first civil war took place between 2002 and 2007 and the second between 2010 and 2011. Ivory Coast adopted a new constitution in 2010.

Brief History of Ivory Coast

Prehistoric polished stone celt from Boundiali, SourceIt has been difficult to determine when human beings first settled in Ivory Coast due to the nation’s humid climate that has made it difficult to preserve human remains. Tool and weapon fragments such as polished axes and remains of fishing and cooking ware have, however, been found and their presence has been used to interpret the possibility of human settlement during the Upper Paleolithic era from 15000 to 10000 BC, or the Neolithic era. The earliest settlers are believed to have been people from the Ega, Kotrowou (Fresco), Diés (Divo), Zéhiri (Grand Lahou), and Ehotilé (Aboisso) communities.

The first recorded history of Ivory Coast was by the North African (Berber) merchants who carried out caravan trade via the Sahara in goods such as gold, slaves, and salt among others. The trans-Saharan trade routes on the southern terminals were situated on the edge of the desert. This enabled trade to extend south up to the rain forest. Timbuktu, Gao, and Djenné were the most important terminals and these, later on, became major trade centers and from these, Sudanic empires were developed.

Before the European Era, a number of states in Ivory Coast flourished. One of them was the Kong Empire founded by the Juula people and it thrived on crafts, trade, and agriculture. The second was the Abron Kingdom founded by the Abron people of the Akan group. Other Akan groups also formed a Baoulé kingdom at Sakasso, and two Agni kingdoms, Sanwi and Indénié.

Côte d'Ivoire Interactions with the Europeans

Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore West Africa in the 15th century. Others followed thereafter and soon trade was developed with the people of West Africa, especially on the coastline. The initial trade products included pepper, ivory, and gold, and later on in the 16th century, slaves.  Ivory Coast, like other nations in West Africa, was affected by the slave trade, but its lack of protected harbors along the coastline barred the Europeans from developing permanent trade stations. Côte d'Ivoire profited a lot from the ivory trade, thus giving the country its name, Ivory Coast. This was throughout the 17th century, but in the 18th century the trade died out due to the declining number of elephants.

In 1483, The French carried out their first voyage to West Africa and formed their first settlement, Saint Louis, in Senegal. In 1687, a French mission was founded at Assinie near Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana) border. It was in the middle of the 19th century when France firmly established itself in Ivory Coast.

Development of French rule and Colonial Era in Côte d'Ivoire

Ivory Coast Drums, SourceAs mentioned above, France fully established itself in the mid-19th century. In the 1840s, France signed a number of treaties with the kings of the Assini and Grand Bassam territories, thus putting their regions under a French protectorate. These became the first French posts in the country, with Grand Bassam as the capital. In 1871, France was defeated in the Franco-Prussian War, forcing it to abandon its colonial desires and withdraw its forces from its trading posts in West Africa. It was in 1886 when the French regained direct control of their trading posts in the region. Towards the end of the 1880s, France had already attained total control over most coastal territories of the country and in 1893 Côte d'Ivoire was made a French colony. France’s main aim was to increase production of exports. To achieve this, they started planting palm oil, cocoa, and coffee plants along the coast. They also enforced forced labor on the locals who were required to work in the settlers’ plantations.

French rule was met with resistance by some of the locals, for instance, Samori Ture, who during the 1880s and 1890s was seizing his neighbors, reinstating slave trade, and establishing the Wassoulou Empire, which broadened to cover areas of modern-day Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. He was arrested in 1898 and the empire was disbanded soon afterwards.

In 1900, France imposed a head tax to support a public works program in the colony. This was met with a lot of protests from the locals who saw the tax as an infringement of the terms of the signed agreements and the government had to force all native adult men to work for ten days every year without pay as part of their duty to the country. Slave trade was eventually abolished in 1905.

Côte d'Ivoire was a constituent unit of the Federation of French West African from 1904 to 1958 and was an overseas territory and colony under the Third Republic. Regiments from Ivory Coast fought in World War I in France and up to the end of World War II, all administrative affairs in French West Africa were overseen from Paris.

The colonial policy of the French integrated the concepts of association and assimilation. Through the assimilation policy, France was able to extend its customs, laws, institutions, and language to the colony. Association, on the other hand, allowed the locals to preserve their customs but only if they were compatible with the interests of France.

Côte d'Ivoire Independence

Arrival of governer Kong in 1892Félix Houphouët-Boigny was Côte d'Ivoire’s father of independence. In 1944, he founded the nation’s first agricultural trade union for native cocoa farmers. He soon became prominent and in a year’s time, he was selected to the French Parliament in Paris. He forged a h2 association with the government of France and was soon nominated as a minister, making him the first African minister in a European government.

The 1956 Overseas Reform Act handed over some powers from Paris to selected regional regimes in French West Africa. The Act also got rid of the remaining voting dissimilarities, and in 1958 Côte d'Ivoire became a sovereign member of the French Community.

The country attained its independence in 1960 with Félix Houphouët-Boigny as the first president. He ruled over the country until his death on December 7, 1993, and he was succeeded by Henri Konan Bédié. Henri was ousted by General Robert Guéï on December 24, 1999, making this the first coup d'état in the country. The Junta governed over the country until 2000 when the General returned the nation to democratic rule. General elections were held in 2001 and when Laurent Gbagbo won, the General refused to acknowledge his win, leading to protests in the country.

2002 to present of Côte d'Ivoire

The First Ivorian Civil War started on September 19, 2002, and mass murders took place, especially in Abidjan, Korhogo, and Bouaké. France sent some of its troops in 2002 to the county as peacekeepers. In 2003, a reconciliation process began under global auspices. The United Nations also formed the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire in February 2004 in an attempt to end the war. The war finally ended in 2004 but a lot of damage had already occurred.

In January 2003, rebel leaders and Gbagbo signed treaties establishing a ‘regime of national unity’. The treaty, however, collapsed in November 2004 after the rebels refused to disarm. The government and the rebels signed another peace agreement on 4 March 2007.

In November 2010, presidential elections were held and Alassane Ouattara emerged the winner. Despite his win, it was Gbagbo who was inaugurated after claims emerged that it was him who had won the elections. Ouattara went forward and organized another inauguration and this sparked fears of another civil war.

This presidential election led to the Second Ivorian Civil War which took place from 2010 to 2011. Hundreds of citizens were murdered in the city of Duékoué and in Bloléquin. Military action was taken Against Gbagbo by French and UN forces and on 11th April he was taken into custody. The war left the country in a lot of damage making it difficult for Ouattara to reunite the citizens and reconstruct the economy.