History
Before the early 19th century there were few contacts between the people of the Ivory Coast and Europe, however in the 1840's the French constructed a plan to set up a commercial monopoly in the region and a number of treaties were signed with the local chiefs.
In the 1890's when Africa was being carved up, the French used these treaties to claim the region. The French colonial policy in the Ivory Coast centred around the cash crops grown there. To make sure that there would be enough labour on the plantations a "head tax" was imposed on the population in 1903. Along with forced labour to build public facilities, this led to suffering and social dislocation and also a mass emigration to Ghana.
In the 1930's indigenous planters started to play an important role in cash crop cultivation although a third of the land planted with bananas and timber still remained in French hands. Since then concessions have been made to African aspirations.
Felix Houphouet-Boigny became President after independence from France in 1960. Houphouet-Boigny founded the Syndicate Agricole Africain in 1944 this was a protest against the colonial authorities treatment of the French planters. These protests led to mass demonstrations in Abidjan during the years 1948 and 1949 demanding greater African participation in the administration of the colonies. Houphouet-Boigny then adopted a more conciliatory approach. This paid off but it also led to a classic case of neocolonialism.
There was a brief period of Marxism but Houphouet-Boigny rejected any ideas of revolution and class struggle.
There is now unrestricted reliance on foreign and local private enterprise.
During the 1970's there was no obvious successor to the now elderly Houphouet-Boigny. Phillipe Yace was groomed for the position but dumped early in the 1980's after he was found to be using underhand methods to maintain his and the President's position. During a recent election this situation was resolved by the election of a vice-president.
In 1985 the Ivory Coast was rocked by an embezzlement and debt scandal involving a former mayor who fled to Belgium claiming he did not have a fair trial.
In 1984 and 1985 there were good rains ensuring that coffee and cocoa exports stayed at a high level.
After independence the Ivory coasts relied heavily on expatriate workers recruited by the French government or by private enterprise, during 1985 to 1986 unemployment rose and the benefit of remitted wages became less important to the country.
Language
The official language is French and the major African languages are Dioula, Baoule and Bete.