Silicon Mountain as seen in Buea, Cameroon on 26-06-2019

Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. The city is located in Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...

, and has a population of 300,000 (at the 2013 Census). It has two Government Hotels, the Mountain Hotel and Parliamentarian Flats Hotel located around The Government Residential Area. The self-declared state of

Ambazonia Ambazonia, officially the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, also referred to as Amba Land, is an unrecognised breakaway state in West Africa which claims the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon, though it currently controls almost ...

claims the city as its capital.

History

Buea, originally "bue", was founded by a hunter who came from the Bomboko area. Coming from the Bomboko side of the mountain, he named the new-found land in amazement as "a Bue", meaning literally a "son of bué". A prominent King of the tikar clashes with German troops during invasion. Resistance remain popular folklore; currently ruled by the Endeleys.

Tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

growing is an important local industry, especially in Tole. Buea was the

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

capital of German

Kamerun Kamerun was an African colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916 in the region of today's Republic of Cameroon. Kamerun also included northern parts of Gabon and the Congo with western parts of the Central African Republic, southwestern ...

from 1901 to 1919, the capital of the Southern Cameroons from 1949 until 1961 and the capital of West Cameroon until 1972, when Ahmadou Ahidjo abolished the Federation of

. The German colonial administration in Buea was temporarily suspended during the eruption of Mount Cameroon from 28 April until June 1909. Originally, Buea's population consisted mainly of the

Bakweri The Bakweri (or Kwe) are a Bantu ethnic group of the Republic of Cameroon. They are closely related to Cameroon's coastal peoples (the Sawa), particularly the Duala and Isubu. Early survey discussion of these topics may be found in Ardener 195 ...

people. However, owing to its status as a university town and the regional capital, there are significant numbers of other ethnic groups.

Ambazonian secession

In September 2017, the Federal Republic of Ambazonia declared its independence from Cameroon, with Buea as its claimed capital.ADC Lands Ground Troops in Southern Cameroons, Declares War on LRC
Cameroon Journal, 10 September 2017. Accessed 19 April 2018. In late-June 2018, the Ambazonia Defence Forces began approaching Buea, and on 29 June they invaded the Mile 16 neighborhood. On 1 July, separatists invaded the Muea neighborhood and battled Cameroonian troops.

Notable institutions

Buea hosts the

University of Buea University of Buea (UB) is found in Molyko, Buea, in the southwest region of Cameroon. It was founded as a university centre in 1985 and became a full-fledged university in 1992, following a government decree that re-organized state universities ...

, Cameroon's first

anglophone Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

university. It is the site of several other higher institutes of learning, including St Francis Schools of Nursing and Midwifery presently known as Biaka University Institute of Buea (BUIB) and one of Cameroon's three Catholic universities. UB Junction

A handful of colonial era buildings are surviving, notably the palatial former residence of the German governor

Jesko von Puttkamer Jesko Albert Eugen von Puttkamer (2 July 1855 in Berlin – 23 July 1917 in Berlin) was a German colonial military chief, and nine times governor of Kamerun: *13 May 1887 – 4 October 1887 *14 August 1890 – 2 December 1890 *31 December 18 ...

. Other German colonial buildings are still standing, but some of them suffer from lack of maintenance and old age. The Nigerian Consulate in anglophone Cameroon and the main operational hub of the

Naigahelp ''Naigahelp'' (full name in German: "Naigahelp - Organisation für Afrikahilfe", which means '' Naigahelp organisation for aid in Africa'') is a humanitarian aid organisation which provides medical assistance for health centres in West Africa .

medical aid organisation are in Buea. Buea hosts an annex of the

National Archives of Cameroon The National Archives of Cameroon (French: Archives nationales du Cameroun) (est. 1966) is the national archives of Cameroon. Its main location is in Yaoundé and has a library which holds 64,000 volumes. There is an annex in Buea with early mater ...

, whose main location is

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

. Next door to the annex is the

Cameroon Press Photo Archive The Cameroon Press Photo Archive (CPPA-B) is a photographic archive located in Buea, the regional capital of the South West Region of Cameroon. It holds around 120,000 negatives and 14,000 proof sheets (templates on which up to 16 contact prints w ...

, which has been permanently closed since 2001.

Geography

About 300,000 people live in Buea (including the villages of Bokwaongo, Muea; Bomaka; Tole;

Mile 16 Mile 16, also known as Bolifamba and Bolifamba Mile 16, is a locality in the Buea Municipality of the Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon. Mile 16 location refers to Highway 8, the first 17 miles of which were tarred in 1952. The Univer ...

(Bolifamba); Mile 17; Mile 15; Mile 14 (Dibanda); Bova; Bonjongo; Likombe; Buasa; Great Soppo; Molyko; Small Soppo; Bwitingi; Mile 18 (Wonyamavio); Lower farms; Bokwai;

Bonduma Bonduma, also known as Wonduma by the indigenous Bakweri people, is one of the quarters of Buea, the capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. Although there is no clear distinction between the regions, over the years Bonduma has evolved into ...

; Sandpit, Wonyamongo, Bulu; Bokova and surrounding villages).

Climate

Buea has a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(Cfb) closely bordering on a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(Af). Because of its location at the foot of

, the climate in Buea tends to be humid, with the neighbourhoods at higher elevations enjoying cooler temperatures while the lower neighbourhoods experience a hotter climate. Extended periods of rainfall, characterized by incessant

drizzle Drizzle is a light precipitation consisting of liquid water drops smaller than those of rain – generally smaller than in diameter. Drizzle is normally produced by low stratiform clouds and stratocumulus clouds. Precipitation rates from dri ...

, which can last for weeks, are common during the rainy season as are damp fogs, rolling off the mountain into the town below.

Transport

Limbe was served by a gauge plantation railway to Limbe, of the West African Planting Society Victoria.http://www.gouverneur-ebermaier.de/english/narrow_gauge_railways.htm

Gallery

File:Bismarck Fountain, Buea.jpg, Bismarck Fountain File:Reunification monument in Buea.jpg, Buea Reunification Monument File:Our Lady of Grace Grotto, Sasse-Buea.jpg, Our Lady of Grace Gretto, Sasse-Buea File:Old German Tombs, Buea.jpg, Old German Tombs in Buea File:Post office, Buea.jpg, Old German Post Office File:Holy Spirit Fountain.jpg, Holy Spirit Fountain, Sasse-Buea File:Holy Family Chapel, Sasse-Buea.jpg, Holy Family Chapel, Sasse-Buea

Notable people

Julius Akosah Julius Pongla Akosah ( ''Akosah'', born ) is a former Cameroon-born Hong Kong professional footballer who currently plays as an amateur for Hong Kong Second Division club Fu Moon. His position was striker. He was once called up by Cameroon in ...

Daphne Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ...

(born 1989), singer

References

External links

Mount Cameroon Inter-communal Ecotourism Board
- formerly known as Mount Cameroon Ecotourism Organisation, abbreviated as Mount CEO {{Authority control Communes of Cameroon Mount Cameroon Ambazonia Former colonial capitals Communes of Southwest Region (Cameroon)