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Gabon: Equatorial Guinea
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Gabon has an equatorial and humid climate. The long dry season is generally from about the end of June to September with a short dry season from mid December to mid January. The long rainy season is from mid January to June with a short rainy season from the end of September to mid December.
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In 1910, Gabon became one of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa, a federation that survived until 1959. These territories became independent on August 17, 1960. The first president of Gabon, elected in 1961, was Léon M’ba, with Omar Bongo Ondimba as his vice president. When M'Ba died in 1967, Bongo replaced him as president, and has been the head of state ever since, winning each contested election with a substantial majority.
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Gabon began the 20th century as part of French Kongo (Congo). On 1910-01-15, it became one of four colonies making up Afrique Équatoriale Française (French Equatorial Africa). When the four gained their independence in a single week, Gabon was the last one, on 1960-08-17.
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Gabon is located on the edge of the Congo Basin, the richest tropical forest complex in Africa in terms of fauna and flora. The forests of Gabon may rival those of South America. They house 8,000 plant species with an endemism rate possibly as high as 20%, and almost 200 mammal species and 600 bird species. Much of the traditional African culture has disappeared under the onslaught of oil money and French influence. Gabon is a haven of prosperity and stability in equatorial Africa. Gabon was discovered by the Portuguese in 1470 and began to attract French traders around 1840.
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Gabon is bordered to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the north by Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, and to the east and south by the Congo. The 800km-long (500-mile) sandy coastal strip is a series of palm-fringed bays, lagoons and estuaries. The lush tropical vegetation (which covers about 82% of the interior) gives way in parts to the savannah. There are many rivers and they remain the main communication routes along which settlements have grown. Of the 40 or so Bantu tribes, the largest are the Fang, Eshira, Mbele and Okande. Only a small percentage of native Gabonese live in the towns, as the population is concentrated in the coastal areas and the villages along the banks of the many rivers, following a more traditional rural style of life.
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Several Bantu groups occupied the area that is now Gabon when France occupied it in 1885. In 1910, Gabon became one of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa, a federation that survived until 1959. These territories became independent on August 17, 1960.
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Equatorial Guinea