Gabon is a country along the Atlantic coast of Central Africa. A former French colony, Gabon retains strong ties to France and to the French language and culture. It is located on the west coast of Africa and is bordered by Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. Archaeological evidence suggests Gabon has been inhabited for over 400,000 years from the Palaeolithic, through the Neolithic and Iron Age, to the present-day Bantu and Pygmy peoples. Except for a few thousand Pygmies, Gabon’s 40 or so peoples speak Bantu languages that are classified into 10 linguistic groups.
The name Gabon comes from the Portuguese word “gabao” meaning “cloak”. Early explorers thought the estuary of the Komo River by the capital of Libreville was the shape of a cloak. Libreville, the capital city, was originally settled by freed slaves in 1849. Libreville means “free town” in French which imitates Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Gabon has a horizontally striped green, yellow and blue flag. The yellow represents the Equator, the green symbolizes the extensive forested area, and the blue reflects the Atlantic coast.
Gabon was a French colony from 1839 and then part of French Equatorial Africa from 1910.
After becoming an autonomous republic in the French Community in 1958, Gabon gained full independence in 1960. Gabon is one of 13 countries that the Equator passes through. Traditionally, countries closer to the equator tend to struggle more economically due to the drawbacks caused by a hot climate which is often more unstable than more moderate-climate nations.
Also, 11.25% of Gabon’s territory is protected by national parkland. Loango National Park in Gabon is known as “Africa’s Last Eden” and is considered one of the world’s best wildlife-watching destinations with animals such as elephants, gorillas, crocodiles and sitatunga antelopes found on its savannahs, lagoons and beaches.
Gabon’s Mayumba National Park is a marine park that sees 550 leatherback turtles – 30% of the world’s total population – lay their eggs there between November and April. The park is also a mating ground for humpback whales and large groups of dolphins, including the rare humpback dolphin.
