ABSTRACT
Like many former colonies in Africa, Cameroon entered the postcolonial period under difficult political circumstances, complicated by the divided legacy of United Nations Trust Territory status under French and British administrations and the paths leading not simply to independence but to reunification of the earlier German-ruled terrain. Because of the preponderance of people and land in the French zone and the earlier initiatives and subsequent domination by Cameroonian politicians from that side of the border, our coverage of the transitional period since 1960 emphasizes conditions in the territory emerging from French rule.
