ABOUT CÔTE d’IVOIRE
A Brief History
Four large ethnic groups, extending far beyond the various borders, inhabit Côte d’Ivoire. In the northwest and west up to Bandama, there is the Mandé group. The Voltaic group is in the northeast. The Krou is located in the southern forest to the west of Bandama. The Akan group are divided in the south, the center, southeast and the east. Portuguese explorers arrived at the Ivory Coast in 1470-1471. The Portuguese were joined at the end of the 16th century by the Dutch and then in the 17th century by the French and English. In the 18th century, slaves constituted the bulk of trade with Europe. The destruction of traditional political and social systems was accentuated, due to the emergence of new social hierarchies formed by the slave trade. The 19th century brought profound changes in traditional social organizations and the creation of new values based on wealth, which is estimated by the quantity of products held (food products, livestock, clothing, gold dust, and firearms) and the number of individuals over whom authority was exercised.
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The abolition of slavery in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna, reaffirmed in 1885 at the Congress of Berlin, opened the way to development of new commercial relations between Ivorian populations and new European actors who appeared on their soil. Despite tenacious English competition, and sometimes hostility of the local populations, French trading posts were established in Assinie and Grand-Bassam (South-East Coast) in 1843. Established as an autonomous colony by the decree of March 10, 1893, the colony of Côte d’Ivoire was born.
Before the end of World War II, the local populations began a struggle for political, social, and economic emancipation. Côte d’Ivoire achieved independence on August 7, 1960 with Félix Houphouët-Boignyas elected President. The Constitution provides for separation of executive, legislative and judicial powers. Between 1960 and 1980, the transformation of the Ivorian economy was spectacular, especially in agriculture, industry, trade and finance.
