Editing Yaoundé (section)

==History==
{{For timeline}}
[[File:Lac Municipal de Yaoundé.jpg|thumb|Yaoundé Lake]]
The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were likely the [[Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon)|Bakas (pygmies)]]. They still inhabit the forests of the south and east regions. Bantu speakers originating in the Cameroonian highlands were among the first groups to move out before other invaders. During the late 1770s and early 1800s, the [[Fula people|Fulani]]—a pastoral Islamic people of the western Sahel—conquered most of what is now northern Cameroon, subjugating or displacing its largely non-Muslim inhabitants.

The outpost of '''Epsumb''' or '''Jeundo''' was founded between the [[Nyong River|Nyong]] and [[Sanaga River|Sanaga]] [[rivers of Cameroon|rivers]] at the northern edge of the area's forests in 1887,<ref>Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi &&nbsp;al. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sAgeKycuXMoC&pg=PA174 ''African Families at the Turn of the 21st Century'', p.&nbsp;175]. Praeger Publishers ([[Westport, Connecticut|Westport]]), 2006. {{ISBN|0275972747}}. Accessed 17&nbsp;Apr 2014.</ref> 1888,<ref>Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2013, p. 342</ref><ref name=mama>Johnson&ndash;Hans, Jennifer. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NgoQlcAZN3EC&pg= PA34 ''Uncertain Honor: Modern Motherhood in an African Crisis'', p.&nbsp;34]. University of Chicago Press (Chicago), 2006. {{ISBN|0226401812}}. Accessed 17&nbsp;Apr 2014.</ref> or February 1889<!--French *and* German articles--> by the [[German Empire|German]] explorers Lt.&nbsp;Richard Kund and [[Hans Tappenbeck]] by the agreement of the chiefs of Ela Esono.{{refn|„Ich bemerke nur, daß der Lieutenant Tappenbeck und ich eine Station in größeren Maßstabe auf dem Innerafrikanischen Plateau zwischen den Flüssen Yong u Zannaga an dem Platze angelegt haben, der auf der Karte mit dem Namen Epsumb bezeichnet ist. (3° 48' N.) Die Entfernung von der Küste beträgt 20 Tagesmärsche...“<ref>[[Richard Kund|Kund, Richard]]. Letter to the Foreign Office of April 4, 1889. Bundesarchiv R 1001/3268, Bl. 14f. {{in lang|de}}</ref>}} From December 1889 to May 1895, it was occupied by the [[German Empire|German]] [[botanist]] [[Georg August Zenker]] as an agricultural research station named '''Jaunde''' after the local [[Yaunde]] or Ewondo people.{{refn|Kund and Tappenbeck had used the title "Jaunde" to refer to the area but not the settlement or site itself.}} His settlement served as a base for the area's [[rubber]] and [[ivory trade]], purchasing these from the natives in exchange for imported [[clothing]] and [[iron]].<ref name=mama/> It was also known in English as '''Yaunde Station'''. [[Hans Dominik (Schutztruppe)|Major Dominik]]'s establishment of a military garrison at the site in 1895 permitted a [[Pallottine mission to Kamerun|Pallotine mission]] and religious school at nearby [[Mvolyé]] (now a suburb).<ref name=mama/>

During [[World War I]], Jaunde was occupied by [[Belgian army|Belgian troops]] from the [[Belgian Congo|Congo]]. After Imperial Germany's defeat in that war, [[French Third Republic|France]] held [[French Cameroon|eastern Cameroon]] as a [[League of Nations mandate|mandate]] of the [[League of Nations]] and Yaoundé was chosen to become the capital of the colony in 1922.<ref name=":0">Britannica,
[https://www.britannica.com/place/Yaounde Yaoundé], britannica.com, USA, accessed on July 7, 2019</ref>
[[Douala]] long remained the more important settlement, but Yaoundé saw rapid growth after 1957 due to the cocoa crisis and unrest along the coast. It continued as the seat of government for the [[Republic of Cameroon]] upon its independence.