Land migration from
Boundiali in northern Ivory Coast, photo taken at the
IFAN Museum of African Arts in
Dakar, Senegal The first human presence in Ivory Coast has been difficult to determine because human remains have not been well preserved in the country's humid climate. However, newly found weapon and tool fragments (specifically, polished axes cut through
shale and remnants of cooking and fishing) have been interpreted as a possible indication of a large human presence during the
Upper Paleolithic period (15,000 to 10,000 BC), or at the minimum, the
Neolithic period. The earliest known inhabitants of Ivory Coast have left traces scattered throughout the territory. Historians believe that they were all either displaced or absorbed by the ancestors of the present indigenous inhabitants, who migrated south into the area before the 16th century. Such groups included the Ehotilé (
Aboisso), Kotrowou (Fresco), Zéhiri (
Grand-Lahou), Ega and Diès (
Divo).
Pre-Islamic and Islamic periods The first recorded history appears in the chronicles of North African (
Berber) traders, who, from early
Roman times, conducted a
caravan trade across the
Sahara in salt, slaves, gold, and other goods. Villagers
subsisted on agriculture and hunting. In 1895 the city of Kong was sacked and conquered by
Samori Ture of the
Wassoulou Empire. European slave and merchant ships preferred other areas along the coast. A French
mission was established in 1687 at
Assinie near the border with the
Gold Coast (now Ghana). French explorers, missionaries, trading companies, and soldiers gradually extended the area under French control inland from the lagoon region. In 1887, Lieutenant
Louis-Gustave Binger began a two-year journey that traversed parts of Ivory Coast's interior. By the end of the journey, he had concluded four treaties establishing French protectorates in Ivory Coast. Also in 1887, Verdier's agent,
Marcel Treich-Laplène, negotiated five additional agreements that extended French influence from the headwaters of the Niger River Basin through Ivory Coast. Many Ivorians saw the tax as a violation of the protectorate treaties because they felt that France was demanding the equivalent of a
coutume from the local kings, rather than the reverse. From 1904 to 1958, Ivory Coast was part of the Federation of
French West Africa. Based on the assumed superiority of French culture, in practice the assimilation policy meant the extension of the French language, institutions, laws, and customs to the colonies. They were drafted for work in mines, on plantations, as porters, and on public projects as part of their tax responsibility. A turning point in relations with France was reached with the 1956 Overseas Reform Act (
Loi Cadre), which transferred several powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa and also removed the remaining voting inequities. By 1960, the country was easily French West Africa's most prosperous, contributing over 40% of the region's total exports. When Houphouët-Boigny became the first president, his government gave farmers good prices for their products to further stimulate production, which was further boosted by a significant immigration of workers from surrounding countries. Coffee production increased significantly, catapulting Ivory Coast into third place in world output, behind Brazil and Colombia. By 1979, the country was the world's leading producer of cocoa. It also became Africa's leading exporter of pineapples and palm oil. French technicians contributed to the "Ivorian miracle". In other African nations, the people drove out the Europeans following independence, but in Ivory Coast, they poured in. The French community grew from only 30,000 before independence to 60,000 in 1980, most of them teachers, managers, and advisors. For 20 years, the economy maintained an annual growth rate of nearly 10%—the highest of Africa's non-oil-exporting countries.
Houphouët-Boigny administration Houphouët-Boigny's one-party rule was not amenable to political competition.
Laurent Gbagbo, (who eventually became the president of Ivory Coast in 2000) had to flee the country in the 1980s after he incurred the ire of Houphouët-Boigny by founding the
Ivorian Popular Front. Houphouët-Boigny banked on his broad appeal to the population, who continued to elect him. He was criticised for his emphasis on developing large-scale projects. Many felt the millions of dollars spent transforming his home village,
Yamoussoukro, into the new political capital were wasted; others supported his vision to develop a centre for peace, education, and religion in the heart of the country. In the early 1980s, the world recession and a local drought sent shock waves through the Ivorian economy. The overcutting of timber and collapsing sugar prices caused the country's external debt to increase three-fold. Crime rose dramatically in
Abidjan as an influx of villagers exacerbated unemployment caused by the recession. In 1990, hundreds of civil servants went on strike, joined by students protesting
institutional corruption. The unrest forced the government to support multi-party democracy. Houphouët-Boigny became increasingly feeble and died in 1993. He favoured
Henri Konan Bédié as his successor.
Bédié administration In October 1995, Bédié overwhelmingly won re-election against a fragmented and disorganised opposition. He tightened his hold over political life, jailing several hundred opposition supporters. In contrast, the economic outlook improved, at least superficially, with decreasing inflation and an attempt to remove foreign debt. Unlike Houphouët-Boigny, who was very careful to avoid any ethnic conflict and left access to administrative positions open to immigrants from neighbouring countries, Bedié emphasised the concept of
Ivoirité to exclude his rival
Alassane Ouattara, who had two northern Ivorian parents, from running for the future presidential election. As people originating from foreign countries are a large part of the Ivorian population, this policy excluded many people of Ivorian nationality. The relationship between various ethnic groups became strained, resulting in two civil wars in the following decades. Similarly, Bedié excluded many potential opponents from the army. In late 1999, a group of dissatisfied officers
staged a military coup, putting General
Robert Guéï in power. Bedié fled into exile in France. The new leadership reduced crime and corruption, and the generals pressed for
austerity and campaigned in the streets for a less wasteful society.
First civil war A
presidential election was held in October 2000 in which Laurent Gbagbo vied with Guéï, but it was not peaceful. The lead-up to the election was marked by military and civil unrest. Following a public uprising that resulted in around 180 deaths, Guéï was swiftly replaced by Gbagbo. Ouattara was disqualified by the country's Supreme Court because of his alleged
Burkinabé nationality. The constitution did not allow noncitizens to run for the presidency. This sparked violent protests in which his supporters, mainly from the country's north, battled riot police in the capital, Yamoussoukro. In the early hours of 19 September 2002, while Gbagbo was in Italy, an armed uprising occurred. Troops who were to be demobilised mutinied, launching attacks in several cities. The battle for the main
gendarmerie barracks in Abidjan lasted until mid-morning, but by lunchtime the government forces had secured Abidjan. They had lost control of the north of the country, and rebel forces made their stronghold in the northern city of
Bouaké. The rebels threatened to move on to Abidjan again, and France deployed troops from its base in the country to stop their advance. The French said they were protecting their citizens from danger, but their deployment also helped government forces. That the French were helping either side was not established as a fact, but each side accused the French of supporting the opposite side. Whether French actions improved or worsened the situation in the long term is disputed. What exactly happened that night is also disputed. armoured car, 2004The government claimed that former president Robert Guéï led a coup attempt, and state TV showed pictures of his dead body in the street; counter-claims stated that he and 15 others had been murdered at his home, and his body had been moved to the streets to incriminate him. Ouattara took refuge in the German embassy; his home had been burned down. President Gbagbo cut short his trip to Italy and on his return stated, in a television address, that some of the rebels were hiding in the shanty towns where foreign migrant workers lived. Gendarmes and vigilantes bulldozed and burned homes by the thousands, attacking residents. An early ceasefire with the rebels, which had the backing of much of the northern populace, proved short-lived and fighting over the prime cocoa-growing areas resumed. France sent in troops to maintain the cease-fire boundaries, and militias, including warlords and fighters from
Liberia and
Sierra Leone, took advantage of the crisis to seize parts of the west. In January 2003, Gbagbo and rebel leaders signed accords creating a "government of national unity". Curfews were lifted, and French troops patrolled the country's western border. The unity government was unstable, and central problems remained with neither side achieving its goals. In March 2004, 120 people were killed at an opposition rally, and subsequent mob violence led to the evacuation of foreign nationals. A report concluded the killings were planned. Though UN peacekeepers were deployed to maintain a "Zone of Confidence", relations between Gbagbo and the opposition continued to deteriorate. Early in November 2004, after the peace agreement had effectively collapsed because the rebels refused to disarm, Gbagbo ordered airstrikes against the rebels. During
one of these airstrikes in Bouaké, on 6 November 2004, French soldiers were hit, and nine were killed; the Ivorian government said it was a mistake, but the French claimed it was deliberate. They responded by destroying most Ivorian military aircraft (two Su-25 planes and five helicopters), and violent retaliatory riots against the French broke out in Abidjan. Gbagbo's original term as president expired on 30 October 2005, but a peaceful election was deemed impossible, so his term in office was extended for a maximum of one year, according to a plan worked out by the
African Union and endorsed by the
United Nations Security Council. With the late-October deadline approaching in 2006, the election was regarded as very unlikely to be held by that point, and the opposition and the rebels rejected the possibility of another term extension for Gbagbo. The UN Security Council endorsed another one-year extension of Gbagbo's term on 1 November 2006; however, the resolution provided for strengthening of Prime Minister
Charles Konan Banny's powers. Gbagbo said the next day that elements of the resolution deemed to be constitutional violations would not be applied. A peace accord between the government and the rebels, or
New Forces, was signed on 4 March 2007, and subsequently
Guillaume Soro, leader of the New Forces, became prime minister. These events were seen by some observers as substantially strengthening Gbagbo's position. According to UNICEF, at the end of the civil war, water and sanitation infrastructure had been greatly damaged. Communities across the country required repairs to their water supply.
Second civil war The presidential elections that should have been organised in 2005 were postponed until November 2010. The preliminary results showed a loss for Gbagbo in favour of former Prime Minister Ouattara. The ruling FPI contested the results before the
Constitutional Council, charging massive fraud in the northern departments controlled by the rebels of the New Forces. These charges were contradicted by United Nations observers (unlike African Union observers). The report of the results led to severe tension and violent incidents. The Constitutional Council, which consisted of Gbagbo supporters, declared the results of seven northern departments unlawful and that Gbagbo had won the elections with 51% of the vote – instead of Ouattara winning with 54%, as reported by the Electoral Commission. while the African Union also suspended the country's membership. In 2010, a colonel of Ivory Coast armed forces, Nguessan Yao, was arrested in New York in a year-long
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation charged with procuring and illegal export of weapons and munitions: 4,000 handguns, 200,000 rounds of ammunition, and 50,000 tear-gas grenades, in violation of a UN embargo. Several other Ivory Coast officers were released because they had diplomatic passports. His accomplice, Michael Barry Shor, an international trader, was located in Virginia. The 2010 presidential election led to the
2010–2011 Ivorian crisis and the Second Ivorian Civil War. International organisations reported numerous human-rights violations by both sides. In
Duékoué, hundreds of people were killed. In nearby
Bloléquin, dozens were killed. UN and French forces took military action against Gbagbo. Gbagbo was taken into custody after a raid into his residence on 11 April 2011. The country was severely damaged by the war, and it was observed that Ouattara had inherited a formidable challenge to rebuild the economy and
reunite Ivorians. Gbagbo was taken to the
International Criminal Court in January 2016. He was declared acquitted by the court but given a conditional release in January 2019. Belgium has been designated as a host country.
Ouattara administration Ouattara has ruled the country since 2010. President Ouattara was re-elected in the
2015 presidential election.
In November 2020, he won a third term in office in elections boycotted by the opposition. His opponents argued it was illegal for Ouattara to run for a third term. Ivory Coast's Constitutional Council formally ratified President Ouattara's re-election to a third term in November 2020. In December 2022, Ivory Coast's electric production company, launched a commission to establish the country's first
solar plant in
Boundiali, with an installation of 37.5 MW, backed by a 10-MW lithium
battery energy storage system. On 6 October 2023, Ouattara dissolved the government and removed Prime Minister
Patrick Achi from his position. ==Government and politics==