Rio dos Camaroes
Since the journey made by Hannon the Carthaginian to Mount Cameroon in the 5th century BC, which mountain he christened the "Chariot of the Gods", the country's fortunes have been subject to many fluctuations. In 1472 Frenado-poo sailors entered the Wouri estuary and were amazed by the abundance of shrimps in the river and therefore named the river "Rio dos Camaroes" from which Cameroon got its name
The Portuguese were followed by the Dutch and later by the Germans. The natives put up a stiff resistance to German penetration. At the beginning of the First World War, allied troops ousted the Germans and in 1918 the French and the British partitioned the colony. The eastern part (covering 4/5 of the territory) went to the French and the western zone went to the British. Henceforth, each of the two powers made its mark or its "own" Cameroon, the French opting for a policy of assimilation while the British adopted indirect rule. But when the wind of nationalism started to blow across Africa the Second World War, the two colonies expressed the desire to be reunited; reunification took effect soon after Ahmadou Ahidjo proclaimed the French zone independent on the 1st January 1960. It took more than ten years of combined efforts and political determination to achieve a unitary state on 20th May 1972.