Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

IVORY COAST (Cote d'Ivoire)

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 100 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

IVORY See also:COAST (Cote d'Ivoire) , a See also:French See also:West See also:African See also:colony, bounded S. by the Gulf of See also:Guinea, W. by See also:Liberia and French Guinea, N. by the colony of Upper See also:Senegal and See also:Niger, E. by the See also:Gold Coast. Its See also:area is approximately 120,000 sq. m., and its See also:population possibly 2,000,000, of whom some 600 are Europeans. See also:Official estimates (1908) placed the native population as See also:low as 980,000. See also:Physical Features.—The coast-See also:line extends from 70 30' to 30 7' W. and has a length of 38o m. It forms an arc of a circle of which the convexity turns slightly to the See also:north; neither See also:bay nor promontory breaks the regularity of its outline. The See also:shore is low, bordered in its eastern See also:half with lagoons, and difficult of See also:access on See also:account of the submarine See also:bar of See also:sand which stretches along nearly the whole of the coast, and also because of the heavy surf caused by the See also:great See also:Atlantic billows. The See also:principal lagoons, going W. to E. are those of See also:Grand Lahou, Grand Bassam or See also:brie and Assini. The coast plains extend inland about 40 M. Beyond the ground rises in steep slopes to a See also:general level of over See also:i000 ft., the See also:plateau being traversed in several directions by hills rising 2000 ft. and over, and cut by valleys with a general See also:south-eastern trend. In the north-See also:east, in the See also:district of See also:Kong (q.v.), the See also:country becomes mountainous, Mt. Kommono attaining a height of 4757 ft. In the north-west, by the Liberian frontier, the mountains in the Gon region rise over 6000 ft.

Starting from the Liberian frontier, the See also:

chief See also:rivers are the Cavalla (or Kavalli), the See also:San Pedro, the Sassandra (240 M. See also:long), the Bandama (225 m.), formed by the See also:White and the Red Bandama, the Komoe (36o m.) and the Bia. All these streams are interrupted by rapids as they descend from the See also:highlands to the See also:plain and are unnavigable by steamers See also:save for a few See also:miles from their mouths. The rivers named all drain to the Gulf of Guinea; the rivers in the extreme north of the colony belong to the Niger See also:system, being affluents of the Bani or Mahel Balevel See also:branch of that See also:river. The See also:watershed runs roughly from 9° N. in the west to to° N. in the east, and is marked by a line of hills rising about 65o ft. above the level of the plateau. The See also:climate is in general very hot and unhealthy, the rainfall being very heavy. In some parts of the plateau healthier conditions prevail. The See also:fauna and See also:flora are similar to those of the Gold Coast and Liberia. Primeval See also:forest extends from the coast plains to about 8° N., covering nearly 50,000 sq. m. Inhabitants.—The coast districts are inhabited by See also:Negro tribes allied on the one See also:hand to the See also:Krumen (q.v.) and on the other to the See also:people of See also:Ashanti (q.v.). The Assinis are of Ashanti origin, and chiefly of the Ochin and See also:Agni tribes. Farther west are found the " See also:Jack-Jacks" and the " Kwa-Kwas," sobriquets given respectively to the Aradian and Avikom by the See also:early See also:European traders. The Kwa-Kwa are said to be so called because their salutation " resembles the cry of a See also:duck." In the interior the Negro See also:strain predominates but with an admixture of Hamitic or See also:Berber See also:blood.

The tribes represented include Jamans, Wongaras and Mandingos (q.v.), some of whom are Moslems. The Mandingos have intermarried largely with the Bambara or Sienuf, an agricultural people of more than See also:

average intelligence widely spread over the country, of which they are considered to be the indigenous See also:race. The Bambara themselves are perhaps only a distinct branch of the See also:original See also:Mandingo stock. The See also:Battle, who occupy the central See also:part of the colony, are of Agni-Ashanti origin. The bulk of the inhabitants are fetish worshippers. On the See also:northern confines of the great forest See also:belt live races of cannibals, whose existence was first made known by See also:Captain d'011one in 1899. In general the coast tribes are peaceful. They have the reputation of being neither industrious nor intelligent. The traders are chiefly See also:Fanti, Sierra Leonians, Senegalese and Mandingos. Towns.—The chief towns on the coast are Grand and Little Bassam, Jackville and Assini in the east and Grand Lahou, Sassandra and Tabu in the west. Grand and Little Bassam are built on the See also:strip of sand which separates the Grand Bassam or Ebrie See also:lagoon from the See also:sea. This lagoon forms a commodious See also:harbour, once the bar has been crossed.

Grand Bassam is situated at the point where the lagoon and the river Komoe enter the sea and there is a minimum See also:

depth of 12 ft. of See also:water over the bar. The See also:town (pop. 5000, including about See also:loo Europeans) is the seat of the customs See also:administration and of the judicial See also:department, and is the largest centre for the See also:trade of the colony. A See also:wharf equipped with See also:cranes extends beyond the surf line and the town is served by a See also:light railway. It is notoriously unhealthy; yellow See also:fever is endemic. Little Bassam, renamed by the French See also:Port Bouet, possesses an See also:advantage over the other ports on the coast, as at this point there is no bar. The sea See also:floor is here See also:rent by a chasm, known as the " Bottomless See also:Pit," the See also:waters having a depth of 65 ft. Abijean (Abidjan), on the north See also:side of the lagoon opposite Port Bouet is the starting-point of a railway to the oil and See also:rubber regions. The half-mile of See also:foreshore separating the port from the lagoon was in 1904–1907 pierced by a See also:canal, but the canal silted up as soon as cut, and in 1908 the French decided to make Grand Bassam the chief port of the colony. Assini is an important centre for the rubber trade of Ashanti. On the northern shore of the Bassani lagoon, and 19 M. from Grand Bassam, is the See also:capital of the colony, the native name Adjame having been changed into Bingerville, in See also:honour of Captain L. G.

Binger (see below). The town is built on a See also:

hill and is fairly healthy. In the interior are several towns, though none of any See also:size numeric-ally. The best known are Koroko, Kong and See also:Bona, entrep8ts for the trade of the See also:middle Niger, and Bontuku, on the See also:caravan route to See also:Sokoto and the See also:meeting-See also:place of the merchants from Kong and See also:Timbuktu engaged in the See also:kola-See also:nut trade with Ashanti and the Gold Coast. Bontuku is peopled largely by Wongara and See also:Hausa, and most of the inhabitants, who number some 3000, are Moslems. The town, which was founded in the 15th See also:century or earlier, is walled, contains various mosques and generally presents the See also:appearance of an eastern See also:city. See also:Agriculture and Trade.—The natives cultivate See also:maize, plantains, bananas, pineapples, limes, See also:pepper, See also:cotton, &c., and live easily on the products of their gardens, with occasional help from fishing and See also:hunting. They also weave See also:cloth, make pottery and See also:smelt See also:iron. Europeans introduced the cultivation of See also:coffee, which gives See also:good results. The forests are See also:rich in See also:palm-See also:tree products, rubber and See also:mahogany, which constitute the chief articles of export. The rubber goes almost exclusively to See also:England, as does also the mahogany. The palm-oil and palm kernels are sent almost entirely to See also:France.

The value of the See also:

external trade of the colony exceeded £i,000,000 for the first See also:time in 1904. About 5o% of the trade is with Great See also:Britain. The export of ivory, for which the country was formerly famous, has almost ceased, the elephants being largely driven out of the colony. Cotton goods, by far the most important of the imports, come almost entirely from Great Britain. Gold exists and many native villages have small " placer " mines. In 1901 the See also:government of the colony began the granting of See also:mining concessions, in which See also:British capital was largely invested. There are many See also:ancient mines in the country, disused since the See also:close of the 18th century, if not earlier. Communications.—The railway from Little Bassam serves the east central part of the colony and runs to Katiola, in Kong, a See also:total distance of 250 M. The line Is of See also:metre See also:gauge. The cutting of two canals, whereby communication is effected by lagoon between Assini and Grand Lahou via Bassam, followed the construction of the railway. Grand and Little Bassam are in See also:regular communication by steamer with See also:Bordeaux, See also:Marseilles, See also:Liverpool, See also:Antwerp and See also:Hamburg. Grand Bassam is connected with See also:Europe by submarine See also:cable via See also:Dakar.

See also:

Telegraph lines connect the coast with all the principal stations in the interior, with the Gold Coast, and with the other French colonies in West See also:Africa. Administration, &c.—The colony is under the general superintendence of the government general of French West Africa. At the See also:head of the See also:local administration is a See also:lieutenant-See also:governor, who is assisted by a See also:council on which nominated unofficial members have seats. To a large extent the native forms of government are maintained under European administrators responsible for the preservation of See also:order, the colony for this purpose being divided into a number of " circles " each with its local government. The colony has a See also:separate See also:budget and is self-supporting. See also:Revenue is derived chiefly from customs receipts and a capitation tax of frs. 2.50 (2s.), instituted in 1901 and levied on all persons over ten years old. The budget for 1906 balanced at £120,400. See also:History.—The Ivory Coast is stated to have been visited by See also:Dieppe merchants in the 14th century, and was made known by the Portuguese discoveries towards the end of the 15th century. It was thereafter frequented by traders for ivory, slaves and other commodities. There was a French See also:settlement at Assini, 1700-1704, and a French factory was maintained at Grand Bassam from 1700 to 1707. In the early part of the 19th century several French traders had established themselves along the coast.

In 183o See also:

Admiral (then Commandant) Bouet-Willaumez (1808-1871) began a See also:series of surveys and expeditions which yielded valuable results. In 1842 he obtained from the native chiefs cessions of territory at Assini and Grand Bassam to France and the towns named were occupied in 1843. From that time French See also:influence gradually extended along the coast, but no See also:attempt was made to penetrate inland. As one result of the Franco-Prussian See also:War, France in 1872 withdrew her garrisons, handing over the care of the establishments to a See also:merchant named Verdier, to whom an See also:annual See also:subsidy of goo was paid. This merchant sent an See also:agent into the interior who made friendly See also:treaties between France and some of the native chiefs. In 1883, in view of the claims of other European See also:powers to territory in Africa, France again took over the actual administration of Assini and Bassam. Between 1887 and 1889 Captain Binger (an officer of marine See also:infantry, and subsequently director of the African department at the colonial See also:ministry) traversed the whole region between the coast and the Niger, visited Bontuku and the Kong country, and signed See also:protectorate treaties with the chiefs. The See also:kingdom of Jaman, it may be mentioned, was for a few months included in the Gold Coast hinter-See also:land. In See also:January 1889 a British See also:mission sent by the governor of the Gold Coast concluded a treaty with the See also:king of Jaman at Bontuku, placing his dominions under British See also:protection. The king had, however, previously concluded treaties of " See also:commerce and friendship " with the French, and by the Anglo-French agreement of See also:August 1889 Jaman, with Bontuku, was recognized as French territory. In 1892 Captain Binger made further explorations in the interior of the Ivory Coast, and in 1893 he was appointed the first governor of the colony on its erection into an administration distinct from that of Senegal. Among other famous explorers who helped to make known the See also:hinterland was See also:Colonel (then Captain) Marchand.

It was to the See also:

zone between the Kong states and the hinterland of Liberia that . Samory (see SENEGAL) fled for See also:refuge before he was taken prisoner (1898), and for a See also:short time he was See also:master of Kong. The boundary of the colony on the west was settled by Franco-Liberian agreements of 1892 and subsequent See also:dates; that on the east by the Anglo-French agreements of 1893 and 1898. The northern boundary was fixed in 1899 on the See also:division of the middle Niger territories (up to that date officially called the French See also:Sudan) among the other French West African colonies. The systematic development of the colony, the opening up of the hinterland and the exploitation of its economic resources date from the See also:appointment of Captain Binger as governor, a See also:post he held for over three years. The See also:work he began has been carried on zealously and effectively by subsequent See also:governors, who have succeeded in winning the co-operation of the natives. In the older books of travel are often found the alternative names for this region, Tooth Coast (Cote See also:des Dents) or Kwa-Kwa Coast, and, less frequently, the Coast of the Five and Six Stripes (alluding to a See also:kind of cotton fabric in favour with the natives). The See also:term Cote des Dents continued in general use in France until the closing years of the 19th century. See See also:Dix ans a la Cote d'Ivoire (See also:Paris, 1906) by F. J. Clozel, governor of the colony, and Notre colonie de la Cote d'Ivoire (Paris, 1903) by R. Villamur and Richaud.

These two volumes See also:

deal with the history, See also:geography, See also:zoology and economic See also:condition of the Ivory Coast. La Cote d'Ivoire by Michellet and See also:Clement describes the administrative and land systems, &c. Another See also:volume also called La Cote d'Ivoire (Paris, 1908) is an official monograph on the colony. For See also:ethnology consult Coutumes indigenes de la Cote d'Ivoire (Paris, 1902) by F. J. Clozel and R. Villamur, and See also:Les Coutumes Agni, by R. Villamur and Delafosse. Of books of travel see Du Niger au Golfe de Guinee See also:par Kong (Paris, 1892) by L. G. Binger, and Mission Hostainsd'011one 1898—19oo (Paris, 1901) by Captain d'011one. A See also:Carte de la Cote d'Ivoire by A.

See also:

Meunier, on the See also:scale of 1:500,000 (6 sheets), was published in Paris, 1905. Annual reports on the colony are published by the French colonial and the British See also:foreign offices.

End of Article: IVORY COAST (Cote d'Ivoire)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
IVORY (Fr. ivoire, Lat. ebur) 		[next]
IVORY, SIR JAMES (1765-1842)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries