The Mpongwe are an

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

, notable as the earliest known dwellers around the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

where

Libreville Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904. The area has been inh ...

is now located.

History

The

Mpongwe language Myene is a cluster of closely related Bantu varieties spoken in Gabon by about 46,000 people. It is perhaps the most divergent of the Narrow Bantu languages,Myènè people of the Bantus, who are believed to have been in the area for some 2,000 years, although the Mpongwe clans likely began arriving in only the 16th century, possibly in order to take advantage of trading opportunities offered by visiting

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

ans. The Mpongwe gradually became the middlemen between the coast and the interior peoples such as the Bakèlè and Séké. From about the 1770s, the Mpongwe also became involved in the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. In the 1830s, Mpongwe trade consisted of slaves,

dyewood A dyewood is any of a number of varieties of wood which provide dyes for textiles and other purposes. Among the more important are: *Brazilwood or Brazil from Brazil, producing a red dye. *Catechu or cutch from Acacia wood, producing a dark brown ...

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

, and

gum copal Gum copal is a resin produced by the sap of forest tree in the genus Daniellia. Due to common impurities and differences in regions, gum copal ranges in color from black to yellow to white. Gum copal, along with ivory and slaves, was a significant ...

in exchange for

cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s, and various forms of

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

drink. In the 1840s, at the time of the arrival of American missionaries and French naval forces, the Mpongwe consisted of 6,000-7,000 free persons and 6,000 slaves, organized into about two dozen clans. Four of these clans were preeminent; the Asiga and Agulamba on the south shore, and the Agekaza-Glass and Agekaza-Quaben on the north shore. Each of these clans was ruled by an ''oga'', translated as "king" by Europeans, although clan leadership was largely oligarchic.

French colonial rule

The French took advantage of longstanding inter-clan rivalry to establish a foothold; while "King Denis" ( Antchouwé Kowe Rapontchombo) of the Asigas talked the French out of using his clan's area, "King Glass" ( R'Ogouarowe) of the Agekaza-Glass submitted only after a bombardment in 1845, and "King Louis" ( Anguilé Dowe) of Agekaza-Quaben ceded his village of Okolo and moved, leaving the French to establish

Fort d'Aumale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

on the village's site in 1843. The combination of slave trade suppression and direct contact by Europeans with the interior reduced Mpongwe fortunes, but at the same time missionary schools enabled young Mpongwe to work in the colonial government and enterprise. The population declined greatly as a result of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, and an 1884 estimate lists only about 3,000 Mpongwe.

Fang A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fang ...

migration pressure converted many Mpongwe to urban life in the early 20th century, and they came to be leaders in both the French colony and independent Gabon.

Social relations with Europeans

As African and European communities converged along the coast, the Mpongwé adjusted traditional practices to incorporate interracial relationships between Mpongwé women and European men. By mid 19th century, it was commonplace for Mpongwé women to engage in sexual and domestic acts with European men in exchange for a bridewealth. As a result of centuries of contact with the Europeans, a mixed-race population emerged: the

métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

. Métis could be found in almost every Mpongwé family during this time. Mpongwé families even encouraged their daughters to engage with European men. Such unions were not considered legitimate marriages under French law, but were in Mpongwé communities as long as family consent and a bridewealth were given. These marriages provided an avenue for women to acquire property and to obtain French citizenship.Jean-Baptiste, Rachel. "A Black Girl Should Not Be With a White Man" Journal of Women's History 22.2 (2010): 56-82. Print. As these interracial unions continued into the 20th century, African and French societies sought to restrict these unions as Mpongwé women began to claim their European ancestry as a means to assert their voice in society. The métis population not only confronted gender roles within the African community, but also challenged the permeability of social and legal hierarchies under colonial rule.

Notable people

Simone Saint-Dénis Simone Saint-Dénis (1934 2008) was a trade union leader from Gabon, who played an active role in politics in the post-independence era. Biography Saint-Dénis was born in Libreville in 1934, to parents from the Mpongwe ethnic group. Her fat ...

(1930-2008) - Gabonese trade union leader

History

French colonial rule

Social relations with Europeans

Notable people

Culture

References

Further reading