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In 1839 and 1841, France established a protectorate over the coast. In 1849, captives released from a captured slave ship founded Libreville. In 1862–1887, France expanded its control including the interior of the state, and took full sovereignty. In 1910 Gabon became part of French Equatorial Africa and in 1960, Gabon became independent.
France first came into contact with people from Gabon when France signed protection treaties with local chiefs in 1839 and 1841. France officially claimed Gabon as a territory in 1885 as part of the scramble for Africa. Administration by France began in 1903 and in 1910, Gabon became part of the newly formed federation of French Equatorial Africa.
Gabon (/ ɡəˈbɒn / gə-BON; French pronunciation: [ɡabɔ̃] ⓘ), officially the Gabonese Republic, is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo on the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west.
De Gaulle's successors Georges Pompidou (1959–74) and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1974–1981) continued de Gaulle's African policy. It was supported with French military units, and a large naval presence in the Indian Ocean. Over 260,000 Frenchmen worked in Africa, focused especially on delivering oil supplies.
See France–Gabon relations. Both countries established diplomatic relations on 18 August 1960 [120] Since independence, Gabon has been "one of France's closest allies in Africa". [121] As of 2008, around 10,000 French nationals lived and worked in Gabon, while the 6th Marine Infantry Battalion of the French military is also stationed there.
The Battle of Gabon (French: Bataille du Gabon), also called the Gabon Campaign (Campagne du Gabon), [4] occurred in November 1940 during World War II.The battle resulted in forces under the orders of General de Gaulle taking the colony of Gabon and its capital, Libreville, from Vichy France, and the rallying of French Equatorial Africa to Free France.
1940: the colony of Gabon rallies to the Free French (France libre) after several battles between Vichyste and Gaullistes. 1946: Jean-Hilaire Aubame, founder of the Union Démocratique et Sociale du Gabon, is the first Gabonese elected to the French National Assembly. 1946: Haut-Ogooué is definitively attached to Gabon.
There have been multiple coups over the past three years in Africa’s former French colonies – Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Tunisia and now Gabon – that threaten a reversal of the ...