Douala is a coastal city in southwest Cameroon. Inland from the Wouri River, La Pagode, or the Palace of the Kings Bell, dates from the German colonial period. Nearby, the Doual’art gallery exhibits art from Cameroon and across Africa. The Douala Maritime Museum explores the city’s history as a centre of colonial trade and fishing. South of the city, Douala-Edéa Wildlife Reserve is home to elephants and crocodiles. Douala, city and chief port of Cameroon. It is situated on the south-eastern shore of the Wouri River estuary, on the Atlantic Ocean coast about 130 miles (210 km) west of Yaoundé. Douala served as the capital of the German Kamerun protectorate from 1884 to 1902. It again served as the capital of Cameroon in 1940–46.
Historical, Cultural facts & Religion
Before coming under German rule in 1884, the town was also known as Cameroons Town; thereafter it became Kamerunstadt (“Cameroon City”), the capital of German Kamerun. It was renamed Douala in 1907 after the name of the natives known as Dua ala Ijaws (Njos), and became part of the French Cameroons in 1919. Douala is a Bantu language (Benue-Congo, Niger-Congo) spoken in one of the major urban centres of Cameroon. Given their location at the coast, the Douala have long been middlemen in the trade between the Cameroonian hinterland and the coast (cf. Austen & Derrick 1999). Christianity, Islam and Traditionalist are the three main religions in Cameroon. Christian churches and Muslim centres of various denominations operate freely throughout Cameroon while the traditionalists operate in their shrines and temples which are also becoming popular today.
Brief City History
Douala, city and chief port of Cameroon. It is situated on the south-eastern shore of the Wouri River estuary, on the Atlantic Ocean coast about 130 miles (210 km) west of Yaoundé. Douala served as the capital of the German Kamerun protectorate from 1884 to 1902. It again served as the capital of Cameroon in 1940–46. With its mixture of traditional, colonial, and modern architecture, Douala has grown rapidly since World War II and is the most populous city in the republic. Western-style residential areas alternate with neighbourhoods inhabited by unskilled migrants from rural Cameroon and other African countries.
One of the major industrial centres of central Africa, Douala houses breweries, textile factories, and palm-oil, soap, and food-processing plants. It also produces building materials, metalwork, plastics, glass, paper, bicycles, and timber products. Other activities include boat and ship repairing, railway engineering, and radio assembly. Offshore reserves of petroleum and natural gas had not been exploited by the early 2000s. Douala’s deepwater port handles most of the country’s overseas trade. It has special installations for handling timber products, bananas, gasoline, and bauxite, as well as fishing facilities. The Wouri Bridge, 5,900 feet (1,800 metres) long, joins Douala to the port of Bonabéri and carries both road and rail traffic to western Cameroon. The city is connected by road to all major towns in Cameroon, has rail links to Kumba, Nkongsamba, Yaoundé, and Ngaoundéré, and is served by an international airport. Douala houses a branch (economics) of the University of Yaoundé; a variety of commercial, agricultural, and industrial schools; and research institutes for health, forestry, textiles, oilseed derivatives, and meteorology. A museum and a handicraft centre encourage the production and preservation of Cameroonian art. Pop. (2005) 1,906,962; (2010 est.) 2,125,000.
Language (s) Written & Spoken
Duala, which is known as Douala in French, is a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon by about 87,700 people.
Important Types of Commerce in Douala
Manufacturing contributes 17.3% of Cameroon’s GDP (2008). The main manufacturing activities are in petroleum production and refining, aluminium production, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles and ship repair. Douala is the largest manufacturing centre.
Language Services US and others will provide working with Douala
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