MAPS OF HISTORY · HISTORY OF · Cameroon

ONE LAND · 3 ATLASES

Cameroon, on the map of history

What was Cameroon before it was Cameroon? Below, every era of this land in the Maps of History collection — who ruled it, what it was called, and when control changed — each line linked to the dated map that shows it. Modern borders stand in as an honest approximation; every atlas says so on the map itself.

Kamerun (German) · The Great War, 1914–1918

OPEN WWI ON THE LIVING MAP →

Cameroon · The Cold War, 1945–1991

OPEN THE COLD WAR ON THE LIVING MAP →

Cameroon · The Decolonization of Africa, 1945–1994

Cameroon, mostly a French mandate (with a British portion), became independent in January 1960 — but its decolonization was bloodier than the peaceful French cascade suggests: France waged a brutal, largely hidden war against the UPC nationalist insurgency into the 1960s, killing tens of thousands. A reminder that even the “orderly” French transfers had their suppressed wars.

OPEN THE DECOLONIZATION OF AFRICA ON THE LIVING MAP →