A Super Quick History of the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)

Hello everyone and welcome to This is Africa and here is Ivory Coast, or Côte d'Ivoire, which is French for Ivory Coast. Now let's go shall we? Now the first thing you may notice about this country is that it's actually a lot more than a coast. And a long time ago, no one's sure when, the first person stepped into its savannas and forests and dwelt far from the prying eyes of the historical record for millenia until different peoples entered the land to hunt and farm and fashion marvelously expressive masks for their ceremonies. And the country today is home to dozens of ethnicities and languages. It was during the time of the Mali Empire to the north, which existed from the 1200s to 1670, that merchants began arriving bearing not only goods for trade, but also the religion of Islam, which remains a major faith among modern Ivorians. One of the most prominent centers of trade was a which was conquered in 1710 by jeweler warrior Seku Watara, who founded the Kong Empire. This here is an actual donkey in Kong. Okay. This was a mercantile state which survived until 1898, when it was dismantled by Samaritui of Guinea, who burned the capital the same year he himself was defeated by the forces of France. The French had been present in West Africa since the 1600s, but didn't really start extending their commercial interests into the Ivory Coast until the 19th century. With the permission of native leaders, the French began building trading posts further inland. This was a mistake of the Ivorian rulers, for during their scramble for Africa, when various European powers fought to gobble up as much of the continent as they could, France claimed the Ivory Coast for itself. Though many Ivorians arose in resistance, they were crushed by their colonial overlords, who proceeded to promote the planting of cocoa and coffee for export. So French rule continued, towns and cities were built, and the French language took root. Enter Félix Oufouette-Boigny. Born into a family of chiefs, he took up the cause of native workers' rights, and later successfully marched into politics, and in 1945, gained a seat in the National Assembly of the French Parliament. The Ivory Coast achieved independence in 1960, and naturally Oufouette-Boigny became first president. Ivory Coast's economy prospered via its lucrative agricultural exports, becoming the world's largest producer of cocoa, and good relations were maintained with France in a policy called France-Afrique. Ivory Coast began booming in many respects, as its president acquired more authoritarian powers, and began several costly building programs. The 1980s saw an unexpected drop in prices for the country's produce, leading to various problems for the next president to deal with. Debt increased alongside complaints of corruption, and in 1999, a coup toppled the president. Now the days of prosperity had seen a lot of immigrants arrive in the country, many of them from Burkina Faso, who began complaining of discrimination by Ivorian laws, including one hastily composed before the 2000 elections that only allowed persons to vote if both their parents were born in the country, which rendered Alassane Ouattara's bid for office ineligible, angering his supporters. And there was civil war, and then another civil war after the 2010 election saw Ouattara become president, who had the support of France and the UN in putting down his opponents. War of course waved its woeful wand over the land, but Cote d'Ivoire's economy is once more improving, and let's hope this trend continues, and we wish it the best of luck. But as for me, it's bye for now. Buh-bye!