South West

According to UNESCO, the German administration moved its capital from Douala to Buea in 1901, at altitude on the slopes of Mount Cameroon, for health reasons. Around Buea and Victoria, vast plantations of rubber, cocoa and bananas developed, employing a workforce recruited by force among local populations, notably the Bakweri. After the First World War, the United Kingdom administered its mandate not as a separate territory but as an extension of its Nigerian colony, under the principle of indirect rule: Southern Cameroons was attached to Nigeria's Eastern Region.

Official sourceUNESCO – General History of AfricaPublished 1 Jan 1985Verified 6 Sept 2026

Events tied to this region

Events tied to this region
Date	Event	Era	Source
c. 1750	The Atlantic slave trade and the port of Bimbia	Early contact and the Atlantic trade	Official sourceUNESCO – General History of Africa
1901	Capital moved to Buea and the colonial plantation economy	German Kamerun	Official sourceUNESCO – General History of Africa
1922	Indirect rule of the British Cameroons from Nigeria	Mandates and trusteeships	Official sourceUNESCO – General History of Africa
11 February 1961 – 12 February 1961	1961 plebiscite in the British-administered Cameroons · Contested	Independence and reunification	Official sourceUNESCO – General History of Africa
17 July 1961 – 1 October 1961	Foumban conference and the reunification of Cameroon	Independence and reunification	Official sourceUNESCO – General History of Africa
20 May 1972	1972 referendum and the creation of the unitary state · Contested	Independence and reunification	Official sourceUNESCO – General History of Africa
10 October 2002	International Court of Justice ruling on Bakassi	The Renouveau era (since 1982)	Official sourcePresidency of the Republic of Cameroon
12 June 2006	Greentree Agreement on Nigeria’s withdrawal from Bakassi	The Renouveau era (since 1982)	Official sourcePresidency of the Republic of Cameroon
14 August 2008	Handover of the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon	The Renouveau era (since 1982)	Official sourcePresidency of the Republic of Cameroon
October 2016 – October 2017	Onset of the Anglophone crisis in the North-West and South-West · Contested	The Renouveau era (since 1982)	International organisationUnited Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
10 September 2019 – 24 December 2019	Major National Dialogue and the 2019 special status	The Renouveau era (since 1982)	Official sourceNational Assembly of Cameroon