The West African country Cote D’Ivoire or Ivory Coast is officially known as the Republic of Cote D’Ivoire. It covers an area of 322,462 km2 and its capital is Yamoussoukro Abidjan. The country shares its borders with Mali and Burkina Faso to the north, Liberia and Guinea to the west, Gulf of Guinea to the south and Ghana to the east.
The country is divided into 19 regions and 58 departments and the official language is French.
Etymology of Cote D’Ivoire:-
The name of the country was came into existence on the government request in October 1985 so that it can be used in every language whereas it was initially known by the name Ivory Cost which can only be used in English.
History of Cote D’Ivoire:-
In earlier history the ethnic groups occupied the whole country and in the late eighteenth and nineteenth century the eastern part of the country was occupied by the Akan people from Ghana and the north western part by Malinke from Guinea.
In French colonial era the country suffered a lot from slavery but in 1840 French took interest in the country. After a long war in 1890 with Mandinka forces from Gambia they occupied the country and started animinating the production of coffee, cocoa, and palm oils. As a result they started forcing the labor class to do the work for them and at this time all the cash crops were in the hands of France.
In 1944 the son of Baoule chief Felix Houphouet Boigny became a member of French parliament in Paris and after that French government annulled the forced labor. He maintained such a strong relation that he became the first minister in European government. In 1958 the country became an independent member of the French community and in 1960 the country declared fully independent.
Under the rule of Boigny the farmers get the good prices for their products as a result of which the production of all the cash crops increases which in turn increased the economy of the country. People have the different views regarding the Boigny’s rule, some say that he wasted the money in transforming the home village into a new capital and some say that he developed the country in terms of peace, education and religion.
In 1980 due to the over cutting of timber the drought occurred in the country which leads to the decline of the economy and the increase in the corruption. Due to which many civil servants went on strike and in 1993 Boigny became weak and died. After him Henri Konan Bedie came into power in 1995 and the economy again started increasing with the decrease in inflation.
Bedie debarred many opponents from the party under his rule due to which the angry officers thrown a strong stroke on Bedie by throwing him out of the country and putting General Robert Guei in power.
In October 2000 when the presidential elections were held then Laurent Gbagbo won that election and became the president of the country. Once when he was in Italy rebel forces attacked the several cities and as a result of which they easily made a hold in the north city of Baouke. Also Robert Guei and other fifteen members were shot dead in this war.
In January 2003 a peace agreement was signed between the President and rebel forces but all in vain. When in November 2004 the President ordered the air strikes against the rebels then in these air strikes nine soldiers of the French army were killed and the Ivorian government claimed it as a mistake. In response to these air strikes the French soldiers almost destroyed the Ivorian military aircraft due to which the war was again broke out in Abidjan.
Due to the lack of disarmament the elections were on hold and the period of Gbagbo’s rule extended to one year and this continues upto November 2006 until all the powers were given to the Prime minister.
Politics and government at Cote D’Ivoire:-
The President of the country is the head of the state as well as of the government. The multi party system exists in the country in which the executive power is headed by the government, and legislative power is headed by both the government and the parliament.
Due to the civil war the people of the country has to suffer a lot as a result of which there is existence of child slavery in the production of cocoa. In 1959 a new constitution was established in which all the powers are separated.
The executive power is headed by the president which in turn selected for five year term and also the commander in chief of the armed forces. He has the power to accept or decline the treaties and submit a bill to the National Assembly which consists of 255 members who are elected in single seat constituency for five year term.
The judicial system is headed by the Supreme Court which consists of four chambers namely: Judicial chamber for criminal cases, Audit chamber for financial cases, Constitutional chamber for judicial review cases, and Administrative chamber for civil cases.
Cote D’Ivoire Geography:-
The country is located between 6 degree 51 minutes north latitude and 5 degree 18 minutes west longitude and is somewhat like a square. The climate of the country consists of three seasons: warm and dry from November to March, hot and dry from March to May and hot and we from June to October.
As there are large number of forests in the country due to which timber industry is very much popular but it leads to the deforestation. Tai National Park is the only park which has a large number of species covering an area of 3600 km2. Cocoa is the crop which is produced in large quantity and other crops like coffee, bananas and oil palms are also produced. Minerals like cobalt, diamonds, manganese, petroleum, bauxite are also produced.
Cote D’Ivoire Currency:-
West African CFA Franc. is the currency which is used by the people of the country.
Cote D’Ivoire Economy:-
The economy of the country is good. Since independence the close relations of the country with the France helps in the modification of agriculture exports and encouragement of foreign investment which in turn made the country more successful. But in recent years the country has to face a large decline in the agriculture crops like coffee, cocoa due to which the corruption increases in the country.
Demographics of Cote D’Ivoire:-
About 18,373,060 people are residing in the country and most of them are Ivorians. The official language of the people is French but Dulya is the common language which is used by the people in trading as well as by the Muslim community. In total 65 languages are spoken in the country. As the country is divided into the three communities called Muslim, Christians and Animist so mostly Islam and Christianity are the religions followed by the people of the country.
Cote D’Ivoire Culture:-
As there are 60 ethnic groups in Cote D’ivoire so everyone has its own economy, religion, art and culture but also share some common things with the other groups.
The main cuisine of the Cote D’Ivoire is attieke which is actually a grated cassava. Also braised chicken and fish made with onions and tomatoes and kedjenou made with vegetables and mild sauce are also served with attieke. Maquie which is an open air restaurant is very much famous in Ivorians. The ripe banana named aloco in palm oil with steamed onions and chilli are the famous street vended food.
The people of the country celebrate each ritual like death, birth, weather, marriage all with the music. Alpha Blondy is the famous singer of the country. Instruments like talking drum, djembe, Akombe and Cleavers made up of animal skins and horns are used in every type of music.
The most common form of art of the country is the masks and they are used for special purposes like they symbolize the lesser deities, the souls of the deceased, and caricatures of the animals. These masks are wore by permitted families only because the person converted into masks entity when came into contact. Also the festival of Masks is the famous festival of the country. Other festivals like Ramadan and Eid al- Fitr are also famous.
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