This is the [[history]] of [[Côte d'Ivoire]]. See also the [[history of Africa]] and [[history of present-day nations and states]] and [[Civil war in Ivory Coast]].
The early history of Côte d'Ivoire is virtually unknown, although it is thought that a [[neolithic]] culture existed there. [[France]] made its initial contact with Côte d'Ivoire in [[1637]], when [[missionaries]] landed at [[Assinie]] near the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]] (now [[Ghana]]) border. Early contacts were limited to a few missionaries because of the inhospitable coastline and settlers' fear of the inhabitants.
In the [[18th century]], the country was invaded by two related [[Akan]] groups - the [[Agnis]], who occupied the southeast, and the [[Baoulés]], who settled in the central section. In [[1843]]-[[1844]], Admiral [[Bouet-Williaumez]] signed treaties with the kings of the [[Grand Bassam]] and Assinie regions, placing their territories under a French [[protectorate]]. French [[explorers]], missionaries, trading companies, and soldiers gradually extended the area under French control inland from the lagoon region. However, pacification was not accomplished until [[1915]].
== French Period ==
Côte d'Ivoire officially became a [[French colony]] on [[March 10]], [[1893]]. [[Captain Binger]], who had explored the Gold Coast frontier, was named the first governor. He negotiated boundary treaties with [[Liberia]] and the [[United Kingdom]] (for the Gold Coast) and later started the campaign against [[Almany Samory]], a [[Malinke]] chief, who fought against the French until [[1898]].
From [[1904]] to [[1958]], Côte d'Ivoire was a constituent unit of the [[Federation of French West Africa]]. It was a [[colony]] and an overseas territory under the [[Third Republic]]. Until the period following [[World War II]], governmental affairs in French West Africa were administered from [[Paris]]. France's policy in West Africa was reflected mainly in its philosophy of "association", meaning that all Africans in Côte d'Ivoire were officially French "subjects" without rights to representation in Africa or France.
During World War II, the [[Vichy regime]] remained in control until [[1943]], when members of Gen. [[Charles De Gaulle]]'s provisional government assumed control of all French West Africa. The [[Brazzaville conference]] in [[1944]], the first Constituent Assembly of the [[Fourth Republic]] in [[1946]], and France's gratitude for African loyalty during World War II led to far-reaching governmental reforms in 1946. French citizenship was granted to all African "subjects," the right to organize politically was recognized, and various forms of forced labor were abolished.
A turning point in relations with France was reached with the [[1956]] Overseas Reform Act (''[[Loi Cadre]]'' ), which transferred a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa and also removed remaining voting inequalities.
== Independence ==
In December [[1958]], Côte d'Ivoire became an autonomous republic within the [[French Community]] as a result of a referendum that brought community status to all members of the old Federation of French West Africa except [[Guinea]], which had voted against association. Côte d'Ivoire became independent on [[August 7]], [[1960]], and permitted its community membership to lapse. It established the commercial city [[Abidjan]] as its capital.
Côte d'Ivoire's contemporary political history is closely associated with the career of [[Félix Houphouët-Boigny]], President of the republic and leader of the ''[[Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire|Parti Démocratique de la Côte d'Ivoire]]'' (PDCI) until his death on [[December 7]], [[1993]]. He was one of the founders of the ''[[Rassemblement Démocratique Africain]]'' (RDA), the leading pre-independence inter-territorial political party for all of the French West African territories except [[Mauritania]].
Houphouët-Boigny first came to political prominence in 1944 as founder of the ''Syndicat Agricole Africain'', an organization that won improved conditions for African farmers and formed a nucleus for the PDCI. After World War II, he was elected by a narrow margin to the first [[Constituent Assembly]]. Representing Côte d'Ivoire in the [[French National Assembly]] from 1946 to [[1959]], he devoted much of his effort to inter-territorial political organization and further amelioration of labor conditions. After his thirteen-year service in the French National Assembly, including almost three years as a minister in the French Government, he became Côte d'Ivoire's first prime minister in April 1959, and the following year was elected its first president.
In May 1959, Houphouët-Boigny reinforced his position as a dominant figure in West Africa by leading Côte d'Ivoire, [[Niger]], [[Upper Volta]] ([[Burkina]]), and [[Dahomey]] ([[Benin]]) into the [[Council of the Entente]], a regional organization promoting economic development. He maintained that the road to African solidarity was through step-by-step economic and political cooperation, recognizing the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other African states.
The first multiparty presidential elections were held in October 1990 and Houphouët-Boigny won convincingly.
==After Houphouët-Boigny==
Houphouët-Boigny died on December 7, 1993, and was succeeded by his deputy [[Henri Konan Bédié]] who was the President of the Parliament.
He was overthrown on December 24, 1999 by General [[Robert Guéï]], a former army commander sacked by Bédié. This was the first ''[[coup d'etat|coup d'état]]'' in the history of Côte d'Ivoire. An economic downturn followed, and the [[junta]] promised to return the country to democratic rule in [[2000]].
Guéï allowed elections to be held the following year, but when these were won by [[Laurent Gbagbo]] he at first refused to accept his defeat. But street protests forced him to step down, and Gbagbo became president on October 26, 2000.
On [[September 19]], [[2002]] a rebellion in the North and the West came up and the country became divided in three parts. Mass murders occurred, notably in Abidjan from the 25 to 27th of March, when government forces killed more than 200 protesters, and on the 20 and 21st of June in Bouaké and Korhogo, where purges led to the execution of more than 100 people. A reconciliation process under international auspices started in [[2003]]. Several thousand French and West African troops remained in Côte d'Ivoire to maintain peace and help implement the peace accords.
A disarmament was supposed to take place on [[October 15]], [[2004]], but was a failure. Côte d'Ivoire is now divided between the rebel leader [[Guillaume Soro]] and president [[Laurent Gbagbo]] who has blocked the diplomatic advances made in Marcoussis and Accra—of the laws related to political reforms promised by Gbagbo in Accra, only two out of ten have been voted on so far. The Rebel side has not held its promises either, which results in a state of quasi–civil war.
Frustration is now a dominant sentiment in the population, especially since the overall quality of life has dropped since the Félix Houphouët-Boigny era. Responsibility for the worsening of the situation is widely attributed to the Northern people, though the quality of life under Houphouët-Boigny was mainly due to the sponsoring through the "Françafrique" system (designed to consolidate the influence of France in Africa), and the economy worked mainly thanks to a low-paid [[Burkinabé]] working class and immigrants from [[Mali]].
The debt of the country has now risen, civil unrest is occurring daily, and political life has turned into personal struggles for interests. To answer these problems, the concept of "ivoirité" was born, a racist term which aims mainly at denying political and economic rights to the Northern immigrants.
New laws about eligibility, nationality and property are due to be adopted to address this issue, but if they are delayed, inscription of electors will be impossible before the next elections. This might lead to a dangerous situation where the government would stick to power, which the rebellion would likely not accept.
Tensions between Cote D'Ivoire and France increased on November 6, 2004, after Ivorian air strikes killed 9 French peacekeepers and an aid worker. In response, French forces attacked the airport at [[Yamoussoukro]], destroying all airplanes in the Ivorian Air Force. Violent protests erupted in both Abidjan and Yamoussoukro, and were marked by violence between Ivorians and French peacekeepers. Thousands of foreigners, especially French nationals, evacuated the two cities.
[[Category:Côte d'Ivoire]]
[[fr:Histoire de la Côte d'Ivoire]]
[[he:היסטוריה של חוף השנהב]]
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