Cote d'Ivoire
Cote d'Ivoire has more than 60 ethnic groups, usually classified
into five principal divisions: Akan (east and center, including
Lagoon peoples of the southeast), Krou (southwest), Southern Mande
(west), Northern Mande (northwest), Senoufo/Lobi (north center and
northeast). The Baoules, in the Akan division, probably comprise the
single largest subgroup with 15%-20% of the population. They are
based in the central region around Bouake and Yamoussoukro. The
Betes in the Krou division, the Senoufos in the north, and the
Malinkes in the northwest and the cities are the next largest
groups, with 10%-15% each of the national population. Most of the
principal divisions have a significant presence in neighboring
countries.
Of the more than 5 million non-Ivoirian Africans living in Cote
d'Ivoire, one-third to one-half are from Burkina Faso; the rest are
from Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Liberia, and
Mauritania. The non-African expatriate community includes roughly
10,000 French and possibly 60,000 Lebanese. As of mid-November 2004,
thousands of expatriates, African and non-African, had fled from the
violence in Cote d'Ivoire. However, many expatriates are slowly
returning. Fifty-five percent of elementary school-aged children
attended classes in 2006. |
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The early history of Cote d'Ivoire is virtually unknown, although it
is thought that a Neolithic culture existed. France made its initial
contact with Cote d'Ivoire in 1637, when missionaries landed at
Assinie near the Gold Coast (now Ghana) border. Early contacts were
limited to a few missionaries because of the inhospitable coastline
and settlers' fear of the inhabitants.
In the 18th century, the country was invaded from present-day Ghana
by two related Akan groups--the Agni, who occupied the southeast,
and the Baoule, who settled in the central section. In 1843-44,
Admiral Bouet-Williaumez signed treaties with the kings of the Grand
Bassam and Assinie regions, placing their territories under a French
protectorate. French explorers, missionaries, trading companies, and
soldiers gradually extended the area under French control inland
from the lagoon region. However, complete pacification was not
accomplished until 1915.
French Period
Cote d'Ivoire officially became a French colony in 1893. Captain
Binger, who had explored the Gold Coast frontier, was named the
first governor. He negotiated boundary treaties with Liberia and the
United Kingdom (for the Gold Coast) and later started the campaign
against Almany Samory, a Malinke chief, who fought against the
French until 1898.
From 1904 to 1958, Cote d'Ivoire was a constituent unit of the
Federation of French West Africa. It was a colony and an overseas
territory under the French Third Republic. Until the period
following World War II, governmental affairs in French West Africa
were administered from Paris. France's policy in West Africa was
reflected mainly in its philosophy of "association," meaning that
all Africans in Cote d'Ivoire were officially French "subjects"
without rights to citizenship or representation in Africa or France.
During World War II, France's Vichy regime remained in control until
1943, when members of Gen. Charles de Gaulle's provisional
government assumed control of all French West Africa. The
Brazzaville Conference in 1944, the first Constituent Assembly of
the French Fourth Republic in 1946, and France's gratitude for
African loyalty during World War II led to far-reaching governmental
reforms in 1946. French citizenship was granted to all African
"subjects," the right to organize politically was recognized, and
various forms of forced labor were abolished.
A turning point in relations with France was reached with the 1956
Overseas Reform Act (Loi Cadre), which transferred a number of
powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West
Africa and also removed remaining voting inequalities.
Independence
In December 1958, Cote d'Ivoire became an autonomous republic within
the French community as a result of a referendum that brought
community status to all members of the old Federation of French West
Africa except Guinea, which had voted against association. Cote
d'Ivoire became independent on August 7, 1960, and permitted its
community membership to lapse.
Cote d'Ivoire's contemporary political history is closely associated
with the career of Felix Houphouet-Boigny, President of the republic
and leader of the Parti Democratique de la Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI)
until his death on December 7, 1993. He was one of the founders of
the Rassemblement Democratique Africain (RDA), the leading
pre-independence inter-territorial political party in French West
African territories (except Mauritania).
Houphouet-Boigny first came to political prominence in 1944 as
founder of the Syndicat Agricole Africain, an organization that won
improved conditions for African farmers and formed a nucleus for the
PDCI. After World War II, he was elected by a narrow margin to the
first Constituent Assembly. Representing Cote d'Ivoire in the French
National Assembly from 1946 to 1959, he devoted much of his effort
to inter-territorial political organization and further amelioration
of labor conditions. After his 13-year service in the French
National Assembly, including almost 3 years as a minister in the
French Government, he became Cote d'Ivoire's first Prime Minister in
April 1959, and the following year was elected its first President.
In May 1959, Houphouet-Boigny reinforced his position as a dominant
figure in West Africa by leading Cote d'Ivoire, Niger, Upper Volta
(Burkina), and Dahomey (Benin) into the Council of the Entente, a
regional organization promoting economic development. He maintained
that the road to African solidarity was through step-by-step
economic and political cooperation, recognizing the principle of
nonintervention in the internal affairs of other African states. |
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