Editing History of Cameroon (section)

===Southern Regions===
The Muslim empires of the Sahara and Sahel never reached further south than the highlands of the [[Cameroon Line]]. Further south, there is little archaeological evidence of large empires or kingdoms and no historical record due to the lack of writing in the region. When the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] arrived in the region in the sixteenth century, a large number of kings, chiefs, and [[Fon (title)|fons]] ruled small territories. Many ethnic groups, particularly speakers of the [[Grassfields languages]] in the west, have oral histories of migrating south fleeing Muslim invaders, likely reference to the [[Fulani War]] and subsequent conflicts in Nigeria and northern Cameroon.

[[Malaria]] prevented significant European settlement or exploration until the late 1870s, when large supplies of the malaria suppressant [[quinine]] became available.<ref name=":0">{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite web|date=May 2002|title=Background Note: Cameroon|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2822.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020606162126/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2822.htm|archive-date=June 6, 2002|publisher=[[U.S. State Department]]}} }}</ref> The early European presence in Cameroon was primarily devoted to coastal trade and the [[Atlantic slave trade|acquisition of slaves]].<ref name=":0" /> The Cameroon coast was a major hub for the purchase of slaves who were taken across the Atlantic to Brazil, the United States, and the Caribbean. In 1807, the British [[Slave Trade Act 1807|abolished slavery in the Empire]] and began [[Blockade of Africa|military efforts to suppress the slave trade]], particularly in West Africa. Combined with the [[Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves|end of legal slave imports in the United States]] the same year, the international slave trade in Cameroon declined sharply. [[Christian missionaries]] established a presence in the late nineteenth century. Around this time, the [[Aro Confederacy]], was expanding its economic and political influence from southeastern Nigeria into western Cameroon. However, the arrival of British and German colonizers cut short its growth and influence.