Burkina Faso is one of the world's poorest countries and is locked in a vicious circle of poverty.In the fifteenth century ancestors to the Mossi tribe set up a number of centralised kingdoms.
One of the most important of these was Ouagadougou, this was taken by the French in 1896.
In 1947 the borders of Ouagadougou were defined.
The French colonial authorities put into operation a system of forced labour recruitment among the Mossi between World War 1 and World War 2 this was to supply the European owned plantations in the Ivory Coast. This system was abolished in the 1940's but actually continued under another name.
Independence came in 1960, the first president was Maurice Yameogo one of the principle figures in national politics since World War 2.
He led an autocratic style of rule.
In 1966 he was overthrown in a military coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Sangoule Lamizana, as a result of his mismanagement of the economy.
The military remained in power for four years.
From 1970 to 1974 there was a civilian government but the army once again intervened and a period of military rule followed.
This in turn was followed by mixed civilian and military governments, the most powerful lobby in the country is the trade union movement who forced the military to compromise.
Throughout the 1970's drought was common.
1983 a further coup occurred led by Captain Thomas Sankara. He ordered a railway to be constructed from Ouagadougou to Tambao he also built a dam to supply cheap electricity to replace the need for firewood.
There was opposition to the financing of these projects by the trade unions and there were a number of sabotage incidents. Sankara dissolved the government and sent its ministers to various co-operative farms. Union leaders fled overseas.
Sankara reduced the country's dependence on France and the Ivory Coast and widened his country's trade interests.
He was overthrown in 1988.
Burkina Faso has much infertile land, aid organisations refuse to help and insist upon cultivation of cash crops.
The majority of the basic food crops need to be imported, causing the country great poverty.
The country also has a long history of labour migration to Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
