CAMEROON AS FOUND IN THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA:
The country’s name is derived from Rio dos Camarões (“River of Prawns”)—the name given to the Wouri River estuary by Portuguese explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries. Camarões was also used to designate the river’s neighboring mountains. Until the late 19th century, English usage confined the term “the Cameroons” to the mountains, while the estuary was called the Cameroons River or, locally, the Bay. In 1884 the Germans extended the word Kamerun to their entire protectorate, which largely corresponded to the present state.
In the mid-20th century Cameroon was largely a trust territory under France supervised by the United Nations. After it was promised independence, local government began discussing a possible national flag in 1957. One popular symbol suggested for the flag was the prawn that had given the country its name. (The Portuguese place-name Rio dos Camarões [“River of the Prawns” or “River of Shrimps”] was corrupted into Cameroons or Cameroon.) In the end, however, the members of the legislature favoured a simple flag of three equal vertical stripes, a design inspired by the French Tricolor. The influence of the African Democratic Rally, the leading local political force in French West Africa, was felt when colours were chosen. Its party colours (green, yellow, and red) symbolized the struggle of Africans for self-government following World War II. Cameroon therefore decided to use green-red-yellow on its flag, which was first officially hoisted on October 29, 1957. After independence on January 1, 1960, the flag was retained, but slight modifications were subsequently made. The amalgamation of part of the British Cameroons into the country led to the addition of two yellow stars to the green stripe of the flag on October 1, 1961. The present design dates from May 20, 1975, when a central yellow star was substituted for the two stars, as a symbol of national unity. Green is for the vegetation of the south, yellow for the savannas of the north. Red symbolizes a link between the north and south and stands for national sovereignty.
The country’s name is derived from Rio dos Camarões (“River of Prawns”)—the name given to the Wouri River estuary by Portuguese explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries. Camarões was also used to designate the river’s neighboring mountains. Until the late 19th century, English usage confined the term “the Cameroons” to the mountains, while the estuary was called the Cameroons River or, locally, the Bay. In 1884 the Germans extended the word Kamerun to their entire protectorate, which largely corresponded to the present state.
In the mid-20th century Cameroon was largely a trust territory under France supervised by the United Nations. After it was promised independence, local government began discussing a possible national flag in 1957. One popular symbol suggested for the flag was the prawn that had given the country its name. (The Portuguese place-name Rio dos Camarões [“River of the Prawns” or “River of Shrimps”] was corrupted into Cameroons or Cameroon.) In the end, however, the members of the legislature favoured a simple flag of three equal vertical stripes, a design inspired by the French Tricolor. The influence of the African Democratic Rally, the leading local political force in French West Africa, was felt when colours were chosen. Its party colours (green, yellow, and red) symbolized the struggle of Africans for self-government following World War II. Cameroon therefore decided to use green-red-yellow on its flag, which was first officially hoisted on October 29, 1957. After independence on January 1, 1960, the flag was retained, but slight modifications were subsequently made. The amalgamation of part of the British Cameroons into the country led to the addition of two yellow stars to the green stripe of the flag on October 1, 1961. The present design dates from May 20, 1975, when a central yellow star was substituted for the two stars, as a symbol of national unity. Green is for the vegetation of the south, yellow for the savannas of the north. Red symbolizes a link between the north and south and stands for national sovereignty.
Cameroon
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Cameroon—country lying at the junction of western and central Africa. Its ethnically diverse population is among the most urban in western Africa. The capital is Yaoundé, located in the south-central part of the country.
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