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Timeline |
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1520: Sugar plantations are set up by Portuguese and Cameroonian slave trade begins. 1600: Dutch take over slave trade 1884: Germany extends protectorate over Cameroon 1903: German missionaries establish press in Cameroon in order to complement the evangelical effort of converting Cameroonians to Christianity 1916: British and French troops force Germans out of Cameroon 1919: London Declaration divides Cameroon into a British administrative zone which accounted for 20% of the land and French administrative zone which accounted for 80% of the land. 1922: League of Nations establishes mandates on Britain and France for their administrative zones. 1946: British and French mandates renewed as UN trusteeships 1958: French Cameroon granted self-government with Ahmadou Ahidjo as prime minister 1960: French Cameroon granted independence and becomes the Republic of Cameroon with Ahidjo as president 1961: The southern (British) Cameroon join the Republic of Cameroon to become the Federal Republic of Cameroon and Northern Cameroonians join Nigeria 1961-1963: Large scale insurrection orchestrated by Cameroonian People's Party, put down with the help of French forces. 1963: Government takes full control over broadcasting and signed an agreement with a French overseas radio corportion, Societe de Radio-diffusion de la France d'Outre Mer. This corporation ran and operated three radio stations in Douala, Yaounde, and Garoua. 1966: National Cameroonian Union formed out of six major parties and becomes the sole legal party 1972: Cameroon becomes a unitary state following a national referendum and is renamed the United Republic of Cameroon 1974: Cameroon government established Cameroon Tribune. 1982: Prime Minister Paul Biya succeeds Ahidjo 1983: Ahidjo goes into exile after Biya accuses him of masterminding a coup 1984: Biya elected to first full term as president and changes the name of the country to the Republic of Cameroon 1986: Discharge of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos kills nearly 2,000 people 1992: Biya re-elected in Cameroon's first multiparty presidential election 1994: Fighting between Cameroon and Nigeria flares up over disputed oil rich Bakassa Peninsula 1996: Cameroonian Nigerian border clashes 1997: Biya's party, the Cameroon National Democratic Movement wins a majority of seats in parliament amid allegations of irregularities. Biya is relected in October in a ballot boycotted by main opposition parties. 1998: Cameroon classed as the most corrupt country in the world by business monitor Transparency International 2000: World Bank approves funding for oil pipeline project in Cameroon and Chad despite strong criticism from environmental and human rights activists. 2000: October--Roman Catholic Church in Cameroon denounces corruption, saying it has permeated all levels of society 2001: Global Forest Watch reports that 80% of the country's indigenous forests have been allocated for logging 2001: October- Growing tension betwen Biya government and separatists lobbying on behalf of country's 5m English-speakers. Unrest results in three deaths and several arrests. 2002: Ruling by International Court of Justice gives sovereignty of oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon. Nigeria rejects the ruling and have forces occupying the area. 2003: Nigeria hands over 32 villages to Cameroon as part of the 2002 ICJ border deal. Both countries agree to mount joint border patrols. 2004: Nigeria fails to meet deadline to hand over Bakassi and Paul Biya wins new seven-year term as president 2006: June--Nigeria agrees to withdraw its troops from the Bakassi peninsula to settle its lon-running border dispute with cameroon. The breakthrough comes at UN-mediated summit. The Paris Club of major lending nations agree to cancel almost all of Cameroon's $3.5bn debt 2006: August-- A ceremony marks the transfer of the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon after Nigera completes its troop withdraw 2006: December-- up to 30,000 refugees feeling conflicts in Chad and the Central African Republic have crossed into east Cameroon over the past 18 months. 2007: Legislative elections: Biya party retains majority in parliament. Suspected Nigerian militants kill 21 Cameroon soldiers in Bakassi Peninsula. Nigerian senate rejects Nigeria-Cameroon agreement for hand-over of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon. 2008: A nationwide transport strike in protest at fuel costs turns into a series of anti-government demonstrations in the capital, Yaounde, leaving at least 17 dead. 2008: April--Parliament amends the constitution to allow President Biya to run for a third term in 2011. The opposition condemns the move as a "constitutional coup" 2008: Nigeria hands over the potentially oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon, bringing an end to a long-standing dispute over the territory 2008: October-- Nigeria and Cameroon agree to work together to protect their land and sea border from attacks by militants and pirates 2009: Pope visits saying peaceful coesistence between Muslims and Christians in Cameroon should be seen as an example for other African nations. |