Douala

For other uses, see Duala.
Douala

Douala
Douala

Map of Cameroon showing the location of Douala

Coordinates: 04°03′N 009°41′E / 4.050°N 9.683°E / 4.050; 9.683
Country Cameroon
Region Littoral
Department Wouri
Government
Area
 • Total 210 km2 (80 sq mi)
Elevation 13 m (43 ft)
Population (2012 (est.))
 • Total 2,446,945[1]
Time zone WAT (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) WAT (UTC+1)
Website Official website

Douala (German: Duala) is the largest city in Cameroon, the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region and the richest city in the whole CEMAC region of six countries. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial and economic capital of Cameroon and the entire UDEAC region comprising Gabon, Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, CAR and Cameroon. Consequently, it handles most of the country's major exports, such as oil, cocoa and coffee, timber, metals and fruits. As of 2010 the city and its surrounding area had an estimated population that surpassed 3,000,000 inhabitants. The city sits on the estuary of the Wouri River and its climate is tropical.

Settlements had already existed on present-day Douala prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, British, and Germans; however, it was during the German colonization that the city began to develop rapidly as a commercial and political hub of the German colonial administration. During World War I a bitter battle was fought for control of Douala. The City surrendered to British and French forces on September 27, 1914. A joint Anglo-French condominium governed the city until a comprehensive agreement ceded it (and much of Cameroon) to the French. After the independence of Cameroon, Douala has grown rapidly. Local industries, trade, and other opportunities have attracted an unprecedented influx of migrants, especially from the western region of Cameroon. People from other countries in the region have also permanently settled in the city; they include Nigerians, Chadians, and Malians. In recent times city authorities have been overwhelmed by rapidly increasing population; services are stretched and there is an urgent need to enhance the city's ability to cope with the rapid growth. Douala is the first city in tropical Africa to have a piped natural gas supply (presently serving only industrial customers). It is ranked first in 2015 as the most expensive city in Africa. It has the highest standard of living among all African cities for the majority of the last 40 years. A very high number of European, American and Asian expatriates live in the city due to its highly developed infrastructure and peaceful environment for successful business and good life.[2]

History

The first Europeans to visit the area were the Portuguese in about 1472. At the time the estuary of the Wouri River is known as the Rio dos Camarões. By 1650, it had become the site of a town formed by immigrants, said to have arrived from Congo, who spoke the Douala language. And during the 18th century it was center of the transatlantic slave trade.

In 1826[3] Douala appears to be made of four different villages located in four specific locations: the village of Deido (Dido), of Akwa, of Njo and Hickory-town (today Bonaberi located on the other side of the Wouri river).

The German corvette SMS OLGA at the bombardment of Hickorytown, Cameroon (today Duala) on December 21st 1884.

Between 1884 and 1895 the city was a German protectorate. The colonial politics focused on commerce and some explorations of the unoccupied territories. In 1885, Alfred Saker organized the first mission of the British Baptist Church and in the same year the city known as Kamerun was renamed Douala and became the capital of the territory until 1902, when the capital was moved to Buéa.

In 1907 the Ministry of Colonies was established and Douala had 23,000 citizens.[4]

After World War I, in 1919, the German colonial territories became French and British protectorates. France received a mandate to administer Douala; a treaty is signed with the local chiefs.

From 1940 to 1946, it was the capital of Cameroon. In 1955 the city had over 100,000 inhabitants.[4]

In 1960 Cameroon became independent and it becomes a federal republic, with its capital in Yaoundé. Douala comes the major economic city. In 1972 the federal republic became a unified State. Douala then had a population of around 500,000 inhabitants.[4]

In the 1980s, in Cameroon the struggle for liberalization and multi-partitism grew; between May and December 1991, Douala was at the center of the civil disobedience campaign called the ghost town operation (ville morte) during which economic activities shut down to make the country ungovernable and to force the government to allow multi-partitiesm and freedom of expression.[5]

Name

With the arrival of the Portuguese in the 15th century, the area is known as Rio dos Camarõns. Before coming under German rule in 1884,[6] the town was also known as Cameroons Town; thereafter it became Kamerunstadt ("Camaroon City"), the capital of German Kamerun. It was renamed Douala in 1907 after the name of the natives known as Dua ala Ijaws (Njos) and became part of the French Cameroons in 1919. Many of the Ijaw (Njo) natives migrated to the Niger Delta in Nigeria during the Portuguese era.

Geography

The city is located on the banks of the Wouri River, the two sides linked by Bonaberi Bridge. In 2013, the president Paul Biya made a decree that a new bridge will be built over the Wouri River to accommodate the growing population of the citizens in Douala. The bridge is still under construction.

Cityscape

The city of Douala is divided into 7 districts (Akwa, Bassa, Bonabéri, Bonapriso, Bonanjo, Deïdo and New Bell)[7] and it has more than 120 neighborhoods. Akwa is Douala's business district and Bonanjo its administrative district. Plateau Joss is the name used historically to call the current district of Akwa. The name of the districts refer to the Douala lineage, as well as the neighborhoods. For example, Akwa was historically divided between Bell and Deido into Bonadibong, Bonamilengue, Boneleke, Bonalembe, Bonejang, Bonamuti, Bonabekombo, Bonaboijan, Bonakuamuang; the prefix "bona" means "descendant of".

Architecture

According to Jacques Soulillou,[8] historical images of Douala document the areas of Akwa (Plateau Joss) and the port between 1860 and 1960, while the district of Bonaberi, Deido and New Bell have almost no images. The archives which provide documentation about the city are based in Paris,[9] Basel,[10] Hamburg,[11] Potsdam,[12] Douala[13] and Yaoundé.[14] The Native Baptist Church is built 1849. In 1896 a first urban plan of the city is developed during the German colonial period. The plan includes an hospital, the governor residency, the palace of justice, the police station, administrative buildings and buildings for the port and customs (among those the Old Woermann Linie Bachelors House). Also the Bonakouamouang Chimney dates back to this period. In 1904 starts the construction of the Villa Mandessi Bell, in 1905 the palace of the King Manga Ndumbe Bell (also called la Pagode) is built and in 1906 the general plan of Gross Douala is established. In 1914 the large population living in Bonanjo is moved to the new estate of Neue Bell (New Bell). Between 1925 and 1930, during the French colonial period, the chamber of commerce, the new palace of justice, the new railway station, the vault of the Kings Bell and the catholic cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul are built. Constructions are intensified between 1930 and 1955 and in 1955 the bridge on the Wouri River is built. In 1935 the Mausoleum of the Kings Akwa is constructed. In 1947 the Temple of the Centenary is build. In 1959 a new city plan is designed (Plan Dorian); according to Danièle Diwouta-Kotto,[4] this plan is still influencing Douala urban development. After the independence of 1960 a new development and urban plan is established and in 1998 a research prepares the diagnostic for 2015 horizon. In 2005 a new development and urban plan is designed and routes and public canalizations are reestablished and created. In the same year the Project Sawa-Beach is launched Since 1888 terracotta bricks are produced in Douala.[4] The publication Suites architecturales[4] focuses on heritage and reappropriation in the architecture of Douala and it presents some of the characteristics of the buildings and architecture of Douala after its independence. Among those buildings the Casino, the Show-room La Meublerie, the Exhibition hall Cami-Toyota, Union Bank of Cameroon, Immeuble Hollando, the Baptist Church, Immeuble Victoria, Headquarters CA-SCB, espace doual'art, Orange Flagship. The Palace Dika Akwa Mukanda is built in 1990.

Climate

Douala features a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am), with relatively consistent temperatures throughout the course of the year, though the city experiences somewhat cooler temperatures in July and August. Douala typically features warm and humid conditions with an average annual temperature of 27.0 °C (80.6 °F) and an average humidity of 85%.[15][16] Douala sees plentiful rainfall during the course of the year, experiencing on average roughly of 3,600 millimetres (140 in) precipitation of rainfall per year.[15] Its driest month is December where on average 28 millimetres (1.1 in) of precipitation falls while its wettest month is August when on average nearly 700 millimetres (28 in) of rain falls.[15]

Climate data for Douala
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 33
(91)		 35
(95)		 37
(99)		 37
(99)		 37
(99)		 32
(90)		 35
(95)		 32
(90)		 32
(90)		 37
(99)		 36
(97)		 32
(90)		 37
(99)
Average high °C (°F) 32.2
(90)		 32.8
(91)		 32.5
(90.5)		 32.1
(89.8)		 31.4
(88.5)		 29.9
(85.8)		 28.1
(82.6)		 27.7
(81.9)		 29.0
(84.2)		 29.8
(85.6)		 30.9
(87.6)		 31.7
(89.1)		 30.67
(87.22)
Daily mean °C (°F) 27.8
(82)		 28.5
(83.3)		 28.2
(82.8)		 27.8
(82)		 27.3
(81.1)		 26.5
(79.7)		 25.4
(77.7)		 25.3
(77.5)		 25.9
(78.6)		 26.2
(79.2)		 27.1
(80.8)		 27.5
(81.5)		 26.96
(80.52)
Average low °C (°F) 23.4
(74.1)		 24.1
(75.4)		 23.9
(75)		 23.5
(74.3)		 23.2
(73.8)		 23.0
(73.4)		 22.7
(72.9)		 22.8
(73)		 22.8
(73)		 22.5
(72.5)		 23.2
(73.8)		 23.3
(73.9)		 23.2
(73.76)
Record low °C (°F) 17
(63)		 18
(64)		 18
(64)		 18
(64)		 20
(68)		 19
(66)		 17
(63)		 18
(64)		 17
(63)		 17
(63)		 18
(64)		 20
(68)		 17
(63)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 34.2
(1.346)		 54.5
(2.146)		 155.2
(6.11)		 241.2
(9.496)		 276.2
(10.874)		 354.1
(13.941)		 681.4
(26.827)		 687.5
(27.067)		 561.2
(22.094)		 406.6
(16.008)		 123.1
(4.846)		 27.5
(1.083)		 3,602.7
(141.838)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 5 9 15 18 21 23 27 30 26 24 12 5 215
Average relative humidity (%) 81 81 83 84 85 87 89 89 88 87 85 83 85.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours 192.2 180.8 170.5 177.0 176.7 123.0 71.3 52.7 90.0 130.2 162.0 182.9 1,709.3
Source #1: World Meteorological Organization[15]Hong Kong Observatory (sun 1961-1990)[17]
Source #2: Weatherbase (record highs and lows, humidity)[16]

Culture and contemporary life

Along the city's main thoroughfare lie some of Cameroon's best restaurants, coffee houses and French-style patisseries; along the waterfront, many bars and bistros may be found, commanding views of the Gulf of Guinea and nearby mangrove swamps. Many of these are frequented by the city's large expatriate population, mainly French or Lebanese, most of whom work in the petroleum industry.

Points of interest

Casino Kheops,Akwa, Boulevard Amadou Ahidjo.

Education

Main article: Education in Cameroon

As in most large cities in Cameroon there are several nursery, primary, secondary and high schools in the city. In recent years there has been a surge in the number of private schools. In is interesting to note that there is also a large informal educational sector that caters for a huge part of the population; mostly individuals with primary school certificate or those with no education at all. This form of education is common in sectors like cloth manufacture, bread making, construction, security, car repair. Individuals from this these informal sector are by far the most visible in deprive neighborhoods’ such as Ndokoti, Bepanda, Village, Logbaba.

The city of Douala is home to a number of higher education institutions including the University of Douala. There are also a number of professional school the most prominent being the Douala Maritime institute. Douala has an aviation school called CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Douala. The city of Douala is however mostly a commercial city hence education is not underscored like in other cities

Transportation

Gare de Bessengué, Douala's train station.

Douala is linked by rail to Yaoundé, Ngaoundéré, Kumba and Nkongsamba. Douala has a fairly developed road network compared to other cities in Cameroon. However many of the city's roads have decayed due to years of neglect and corruption. Efforts have recently been made to renovate the city's roads, especially in the most deprived neighborhoods.

The Douala International Airport is located in the eastern part of the city. There are direct flights to several European cities including Paris, Brussels, and Istanbul. Regional and continental destinations include Abidjan, Brazzaville, Dakar, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Lagos, Malabo, Nairobi and other cities. The airport is the busiest in the CEMAC area and is the hub for Cameroon's national carrier Camairco.

The seaport has 8.5m of draft.

Twin towns – Sister cities

Doula is twinned with the following places:

City Region Country
Strasbourg  Alsace  France
Akhisar Turkey Manisa Province  Turkey
Dakar Dakar Region  Senegal
Newark  New Jersey  United States
Philadelphia  Pennsylvania  United States
Windhoek Namibia Khomas Region  Namibia

See also

References

  1. ↑ "World Gazetteer".
  2. ↑ http://www.africaranking.com/most-expensive-cities-in-africa/
  3. ↑ Notes from Richard Mother Jackson published in R.-P. Bouchaud 1948 and 1952.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Diwouta-Kotto, Danièle (2010). Suites architecturales: Kinshasa, Douala, Dakar. Épinal: Association VAA, p. 42.
  5. ↑ Edmond Kamguia Koumchou (2003) Le Journalisme du Carton Rouge. Douala: Editions l'Etincelle d'Afrique.
  6. ↑ "Cameroon and the German Lake Chad Railway". World Digital Library. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  7. ↑ Douala, Cameroon in Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century African History, eds. Dickson Eyoh, Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, Routledge, 2002, p. 151.
  8. ↑ Jacques Soulillou (1989), Douala, un siècle en images. Paris: L'Harmattan, p. 9.
  9. ↑ French national archives, Section Outre-mer and Départment des Estampes; Documentation Français, Photothèque Afrique; Archives des Pères du Saint-Esprit; Archives des Missions des Églises Évangeliques; Agence France Press.
  10. ↑ Archives of Mission 21.
  11. ↑ Welwirtschafsvelten; Deutsch Afrika Linien.
  12. ↑ Staatliche Archivverwaltung.
  13. ↑ Archive Photo Prunet.
  14. ↑ Goethe Institut.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "World Weather Information Service - Douala". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  16. 1 2 "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Douala, Cameroon". Weatherbase. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Climatological Information for Douala, Cameroon". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved December 6, 2012.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Douala.

Coordinates: 4°03′N 9°42′E / 4.050°N 9.700°E / 4.050; 9.700

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