Cameroon

The Evolution of Africa's Major Nations

by Diane Cook

If Cameroon is "Africa in miniature," then understanding this California-sized coastal nation takes one closer to capturing the story of this remarkable continent. Serving as a European trade portal, Cameroon boasts a rich, cross-cultural history that has fostered a society with a wide range of lifestyles and belief systems. As early as the fifth century b.c., curious travelers sailed along the coast to watch Cameroon's volcano erupt. But it wasn't until the Portuguese arrived on the coast in 1472 that the country became a launching point for the slave trade. In the 19th and early 20th centuries Germans, and later French and British colonists, occupied and westernized Cameroon. Cameroon gained its independence in 1960. Today it is among the most stable countries of West Africa.

104 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Diane Cook is the author of the novel, THE NEW WILDERNESS, and the story collection, MAN V. NATURE, which was a finalist for the Guardian First Book Award, the Believer Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Her writing has appeared in Harper's, Tin House, Granta, and other publications, and her stories have been included in the anthologies Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Prize Stories. She is a former producer for the radio program This American Life, and was the recipient of a 2016 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.