History of Cameroon: key dates from prehistory to today

The Shum Laka rock shelter

Near Bamenda, in the Grassfields of the North-West, the Shum Laka rock shelter shows traces of human occupation going back at least 30,000 years and continuing into the Metal Age. Children were buried there around 8,000 and 3,000 years ago: their DNA, studied in 2020, comes from a site within the probable homeland of the Bantu languages. Cameroon added the site to its UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on 2 February 2018.

See also : Bamenda

UNESCO — Le site archéologique de Shum Laka (liste indicative)Wikipédia — Shum LakaHarvard Medical School — Genes from the Grassfields (Nature, 2020)

The Sao civilisation

South of Lake Chad, along the Chari and Logone rivers, the Sao civilisation reached its height between the 9th and 15th centuries, with walled towns and elaborate funeral rites. It left thousands of objects in terracotta, bronze and iron. Absorbed by the expansion of Bornu, the Sao are regarded as the ancestors of the Kotoko.

Britannica — Sao peopleWikipedia — Sao civilisationWikipédia — Sao (civilisation)

Founding of the Bamum kingdom

According to tradition, Prince Nchare Yen, of Tikar origin, founded the Bamum kingdom, with Foumban as its capital. Sources place this founding between 1384 and 1394. The dynasty he founded still reigns today.

See also : Foumban

Wikipédia — Royaume bamounWikipedia — Kingdom of Bamum

The "Rio dos Camarões"

Around 1472, the Portuguese navigator Fernão do Pó became the first European to explore the Wouri estuary. Struck by the abundance of prawns, the Portuguese named it "Rio dos Camarões", the river of prawns. Through the Spanish form Camarones, the name became Kamerun, Cameroun and Cameroon.

Britannica — Wouri RiverWikipedia — Wouri RiverWikipédia — Fernão do Pó

The Adamawa Emirate

As part of the Fulani jihad launched by Usman dan Fodio in 1804, the scholar Modibo Adama was charged with conquering Fombina, the "southlands". The emirate he founded in 1809, a vassal of the Sokoto Caliphate, covered much of present-day northern Cameroon, including the Ngaoundéré area. It gave its name to the Adamawa region.

See also : Ngaoundéré

Wikipedia — Adamawa EmirateBritannica — Modibbo AdamaWikipédia — Émirat de l'Adamaoua

The German-Duala treaty

On 12 July 1884, in Douala, Kings Ndumbe Lobe Bell and Dika Mpondo Akwa signed a treaty with representatives of German firms ceding sovereignty over their territory to Germany. On 14 July, the explorer Gustav Nachtigal raised the German flag, marking the start of the Kamerun protectorate. The treaty was contested, notably by Lock Priso (Kum'a Mbape), who organised armed resistance.

See also : Douala

Wikipédia — Traité germano-doualaWikipédia — KamerunAPA News — 12 juillet, entre colonisation et émancipationbpb — Kamerun und die deutsche Kolonialgeschichte

Buea, capital of Kamerun

In 1901, Governor Jesko von Puttkamer moved the seat of the colonial administration from Douala to Buea, on the slopes of Mount Cameroon. His former residence still stands there. Buea later became the capital of the British-administered Southern Cameroons, from 1949 to 1961.

See also : Douala, Buéa

Wikipedia — BueaWikipédia — Kamerun

Execution of Rudolf Duala Manga Bell

King of the Duala, Rudolf Duala Manga Bell opposed the expropriation of his people's land along the Wouri and petitioned the Reichstag. Convicted of high treason after a summary trial, he was hanged in Douala on 8 August 1914. On the same day, Martin-Paul Samba was executed by firing squad on the same charge; both are regarded in Cameroon as figures of resistance to colonial rule.

See also : Douala

Wikipedia — Rudolf Duala Manga BellWikipédia — Rudolf Douala Manga BellWikipedia — Martin-Paul Samba

End of German rule

During the First World War, British, French and Belgian troops invaded Kamerun: Douala fell on 27 September 1914, Yaoundé in January 1916, and the German garrison at Mora surrendered on 18 February 1916. On 4 March 1916, France and the United Kingdom partitioned the territory, France receiving the larger share.

See also : Douala, Yaoundé

Wikipédia — Campagne du KamerunWikipedia — Siege of MoraWikipédia — Histoire du Cameroun

The League of Nations mandates

Under the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919, Germany gave up its colonies. On 20 July 1922, the League of Nations placed Cameroon under mandate: most of it to France, and two strips bordering Nigeria to the United Kingdom. French Cameroun and British Cameroons would now follow separate paths.

Wikipedia — French CameroonWikipédia — Cameroun britanniqueForeign Relations of the United States, 1922 (université du Wisconsin)

Under UN trusteeship

On 13 December 1946, the United Nations General Assembly approved the agreements placing both Cameroons under the trusteeship system, still administered by France and the United Kingdom. The system provided for their progress towards self-government or independence.

Wikipedia — French CameroonNations unies — Assemblée générale, A/1/PV.62

Founding of the UPC

On 10 April 1948, the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC) was founded in Douala, in a café-bar. Ruben Um Nyobè became its secretary-general in November 1948. The party called for the reunification of the two Cameroons and for independence, and took these demands to the United Nations.

See also : Ruben Um Nyobè, Douala

Wikipédia — Union des populations du CamerounUniversity of Central Arkansas — British/French Cameroon (1948-1961)

UPC banned and war begins

In late May 1955, clashes broke out between UPC activists and colonial forces in several towns; on 13 July 1955, a French government decree dissolved the party, whose leaders went underground or into exile. An armed conflict began and continued after independence. It ended in the early 1970s: Ernest Ouandié, one of its last leaders, was executed by firing squad in Bafoussam on 15 January 1971.

See also : Bafoussam

Wikipédia — Union des populations du CamerounWikipedia — Cameroon WarWikipédia — Guerre du Cameroun

Death of Ruben Um Nyobè

On 13 September 1958, Ruben Um Nyobè, secretary-general of the UPC, who had gone underground, was killed by a French army patrol in a forest in Sanaga-Maritime. He was buried in Éséka. In 2025, France acknowledged its responsibility for his death.

See also : Ruben Um Nyobè

Wikipédia — Ruben Um NyobèSlate — Il y a soixante ans, le Cameroun français assassinait Ruben Um NyobèTimesLIVE (Reuters) — France acknowledges role in Cameroon's struggle for independence

Independence

On 1 January 1960, French-administered Cameroun became independent as the Republic of Cameroon; Prime Minister Ahmadou Ahidjo proclaimed it. On 5 May 1960, he was elected the first President of the Republic. Independence came while the conflict with the UPC was still going on.

Wikipédia — Cameroun françaisEncyclopædia Universalis — Ahmadou Ahidjo

The British Cameroons plebiscite

On 11 February 1961, under UN supervision, the people of British Cameroons chose between joining Nigeria and joining Cameroon; independence on its own was not offered. Northern Cameroons voted 60% for Nigeria, which it joined on 1 June 1961. Southern Cameroons voted 70.5% for Cameroon.

Wikipedia — 1961 British Cameroons referendumWikipédia — Référendum de 1961 au Cameroun britanniqueGlobalSecurity — Development and Unification

Reunification

After the Foumban conference in July 1961, Southern Cameroons joined the Republic of Cameroon on 1 October 1961. The Federal Republic of Cameroon was born, made up of two states: French-speaking East Cameroon and English-speaking West Cameroon.

See also : Foumban

Wikipédia — Réunification du CamerounWikipedia — 1961 British Cameroons referendumCameroon Tribune — Unité du Cameroun : une si longue marche

The unitary state

On 20 May 1972, at President Ahidjo's initiative, a referendum approved the end of the federation and the creation of the United Republic of Cameroon; the new constitution was promulgated on 2 June 1972. 20 May has since been the National Day, celebrated every year with parades.

Wikipedia — 1972 Cameroonian constitutional referendumAPA News — 20 mai : unité camerounaise

Paul Biya succeeds Ahidjo

On 4 November 1982, Ahmadou Ahidjo announced his resignation. On 6 November 1982, his Prime Minister, Paul Biya, was sworn in as Cameroon's second president, as provided by the constitution.

Wikipédia — Paul BiyaOsidimbea — Présidence de la République unie du Cameroun, 1982

The Republic of Cameroon

The law of 4 February 1984 changed the country's name: the United Republic of Cameroon became the Republic of Cameroon. On 6 April 1984, a coup attempt by members of the presidential guard failed after several days of fighting in Yaoundé.

See also : Yaoundé

Osidimbea — Histoire constitutionnelle du CamerounArchontology — Cameroon: polityWikipedia — 1984 Cameroonian coup attempt

The Lake Nyos disaster

On the evening of 21 August 1986, Lake Nyos, in the North-West, suddenly released a huge cloud of carbon dioxide that had built up in its depths. Heavier than air, the gas flowed down into nearby valleys, suffocating more than 1,700 people and thousands of cattle. Since 2001, degassing pipes have been gradually releasing the gas from the lake.

Wikipédia — Catastrophe du lac NyosWikipedia — Lake Nyos disasterOregon State University — Lake Nyos, silent but deadly

Return of multiparty politics

On 26 May 1990, John Fru Ndi's Social Democratic Front (SDF) was launched in Bamenda, outside the single party; the launch rally was suppressed. The laws of 19 December 1990 on freedom of association and political parties restored multiparty politics. The first multiparty elections were held in 1992, including the presidential election of 11 October.

See also : Bamenda

Wikipedia — Social Democratic Front (Cameroon)Wikipédia — Paul BiyaBulletin du CODESRIA

The Indomitable Lions reach the quarter-finals

On 8 June 1990, in the opening match of the World Cup in Italy, Cameroon beat the holders, Argentina, 1-0. Helped by 38-year-old Roger Milla's two extra-time goals against Colombia, they became the first African side to reach the quarter-finals, where England knocked them out 3-2 after extra time on 1 July in Naples.

See also : Roger Milla

Wikipedia — Cameroon national football teamWikipédia — Équipe du Cameroun de footballSuperSport — Milla: the making of Africa at the World Cup

Joining the Commonwealth

In November 1995, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, Cameroon was admitted as the organisation's 52nd member.

Cameroon Tribune — Cameroon-Commonwealth: Celebrating 25 YearsJohn Major Archive — Communiqué d'Auckland, 13 novembre 1995

Bakassi returns to Cameroon

Following a case brought by Cameroon in 1994, the International Court of Justice recognised Cameroon's sovereignty over the Bakassi peninsula, disputed with Nigeria, on 10 October 2002. After the 2006 Greentree Agreement and a phased withdrawal, Nigeria formally handed the peninsula over to Cameroon on 14 August 2008.

Nations unies — Communiqué de la CIJ, 10 octobre 2002Wikipedia — BakassiJurist — Nigeria cedes disputed peninsula to Cameroon

Boko Haram in the Far North

Spreading from neighbouring Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency reached Cameroon's Far North. On 17 May 2014, at the Paris summit on security in Nigeria, President Biya declared war on the group. Cameroon has since taken part in the Multinational Joint Task Force with Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Benin.

Élysée — Conférence de presse du sommet de Paris, 17 mai 2014International Crisis Group — Boko Haram: Cameroon must shift from military to development approachWikipédia — Insurrection de Boko Haram

The Anglophone crisis

In October 2016, lawyers and teachers in the North-West and South-West regions went on strike to defend the common law and the English-speaking education system, with protests in Bamenda, Buea and Limbe. The unrest escalated into armed conflict between the army and separatist groups, which symbolically declared the independence of "Ambazonia" on 1 October 2017. A Major National Dialogue was held from 30 September to 4 October 2019.

See also : Limbé, Bamenda, Buéa

Wikipedia — Anglophone CrisisWikipédia — Crise anglophone au CamerounWikipedia — 2016-17 Cameroonian protests

Nguon on the UNESCO heritage list

In December 2023, UNESCO inscribed Nguon, the governance rituals of the Bamum people, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: the first Cameroonian element on that list. Every two years, the king answers to his people for his governance, a tradition more than six centuries old.

UNESCO — Nguon, rituals of governance in the Bamoun communityCameroon Tribune — Patrimoine culturel immatériel de l'UNESCO : Nguon forever

France acknowledges its role in the war

Following the work of a joint French-Cameroonian commission of historians, President Emmanuel Macron sent Paul Biya a letter, dated 30 July and made public on 12 August 2025. In it he acknowledged that French forces had taken part in an armed conflict in Cameroon between 1945 and 1971, and France's responsibility for the deaths of independence leaders, including Ruben Um Nyobè.

See also : Ruben Um Nyobè

TimesLIVE (Reuters) — France acknowledges role in Cameroon's struggle for independenceJurist — France acknowledges use of repressive violence in CameroonallAfrica — Les militaires français ont pris part au conflit armé entre 1945 et 1971

A disputed presidential election

The presidential election was held on 12 October 2025. On 27 October, the Constitutional Council declared Paul Biya, in power since 1982, re-elected with 53.66% of the vote, ahead of Issa Tchiroma Bakary (35.19%). The challenger rejected the results and claimed victory; protests followed the announcement.

Al Jazeera — Cameroon President Biya declared election victorWikipédia — Élection présidentielle camerounaise de 2025Wikipedia — 2025 Cameroonian presidential election

The vice-presidency restored

On 4 April 2026, Parliament sitting in Congress adopted a constitutional amendment restoring the office of Vice-President of the Republic, promulgated on 14 April. Appointed and dismissed by the head of state, the vice-president would complete the term if the presidency fell vacant.

Al Jazeera — Cameroonians await government reshuffle after Biya's returnAfrica24 — Cameroun : création de poste de vice-président approuvéeWikipedia — Vice President of Cameroon