28 •
The Lion King
• July - September 2017
Kids jumping off the
bridge in the Woleu river
Lope National Park, Gabon
Photo Credit: Flickr/ Jbdodane
Photo Credit: Flickr/ Jbdodane
G
abon, officially known as the
Gabonese Republic, is located
on the west coast of Central
Africa. The oil-rich country was occu-
pied by the French from 1885 till its
independence. Following the trade
treaty signed with the Mpongwe
ruler, the French began their gradual
incursion into the land. They created
a military post in the estuary of the
Komo which was then inhabited by
the Mpongwé tribe. Some years later,
the future capital and largest city of
Gabon, Libreville, was founded when
the French navy captured a Brazilian
slave ship L’Elizia which was carrying
slaves from the Congo, and reset-
tled the freed slaves on the site of
“Libreville” which means “Freetown”
in French.
Gabon became a member of French
Equatorial Africa in 1910 and after
many years of French colonization,
became an independent republic on
August 17, 1960.
Country Focus
