The dense rain forests of Côte d'Ivoire inhibited for centuries the development of large political states, and through much of its history the area was divided into small chiefdoms. One of the earliest large states was Jaman, founded by the Abron people in the 1600's and centered around their trading city of Bondoukou in eastern Côte d'Ivoire. In the early 1700's the Sénoufo people established a state centered around their city of Kong in northern Côte d'Ivoire. Later in the century, the Baoulé founded a state in central Côte d'Ivoire and the Agni established two states farther east, Indénié and Sanwi.
The first Europeans to arrive in Côte d'Ivoire, in the late 1400's, were the Portuguese, who came to trade for gold, pepper, and ivory. The area later became a center for the slave trade. The first French trading post was built in 1687. In 1886 France took possession of the entire coastal region. During 1887–88 two French explorers, Louis Binger and Maurice Treich-Laplène, working separately, traversed the interior and signed treaties with various chiefdoms, making them protectorates and placing them nominally under French control. Although the area was not fully under French control, in 1893 France made Côte d'Ivoire a colony and Binger the first governor.
French attempts to impose their rule with military force over all of Côte d'Ivoire met with resistance for several years. The most formidable foe was Samori Touré, who established an empire that extended over parts of present-day Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. His empire collapsed after the French captured him in 1898. In 1904 Côte d'Ivoire was made part of French West Africa.
The French introduced coffee and cacao plantations and a lumbering industry to make the colony self-supporting. Roman Catholic missionaries entered the colony and established many schools, which helped create an educated and Westernized elite in the indigenous population. Many members of the elite began to protest against French rule, especially its practice of forced labor, by which every adult male was forced to work 10 days each year without compensation on public works or on plantations. In 1944 Felix Houphouët-Boigny founded the African Agricultural Union, which in 1945 succeeded in getting the French to abolish forced labor.
After World War II, Houphouët-Boigny founded the Democratic party to work for independence. The country became an autonomous member of the French Community in 1958, and in 1960 became independent. Houphouët-Boigny became president, and gradually established authoritarian rule, making the Democratic party the sole legal party.
Under Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire attracted Western investment, developed its resources, and became one of the more prosperous nations of Africa. The country's population was one of the continent's fastest growing, especially in the cities, as immigrants from surrounding nations, notably Mossi people from Burkina Faso, flocked to Côte d'Ivoire for jobs. In the late 1970's, however, a worldwide drop in coffee and cocoa prices and a great increase in oil prices produced an economic decline.
Houphouët-Boigny in the 1990's faced growing resistance to his regime. In early 1990, following severe riots against austerity measures imposed by the government and growing corruption within the government, he permitted the formation of opposition parties and multiparty elections. In late 1990, in the first contested elections since independence, Houphouët-Boigny and his party won an overwhelming victory. During 1991–92 violent clashes between police and political protesters kept the country in turmoil. In 1993 Houphouët-Boigny died.
