Matthew Page age 14 of Reno, Nev , for his question

HOW DID IVORY COAST RECEIVE ITS NAME?

Ivory Coast is a country that is located on the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast of Africa The country received its name in the late 1400s when French sailors began to trade for ivory there it became a French colony in 189

French is still the country s official language  ivory Coast however became an independent country in 1960 Its official name is the Republic of the Ivory Coast. The country has a president and a legislature called the National Assembly

The area that is now ivory Coast once consisted of great kingdoms established by various African groups French sailors established trade with Africans in the area in 1483 and French missionaries came in 1637

 In 1842  the French brought the Grand Bassam area under their protection Treaties with African chiefs later expanded the area under  French protection Ivory Coast became a French colony in 1893 and France made it part of French West Africa in 1895.

After World War I the French built ports railroads and roads in Ivory Coast They also grew coffee and cacao trees and established medical services.   In 1932 Upper Volta became a part of ivory Coast France made the two colonies separate again in 1947

The French began to develop Ivory Coast s resources after World War II and the colony became the richest in French West africa. In 1946 France made Ivory Coast a territory in the French Union.

In 1958 Ivory Coast voted to become a self governing republic within the French Community an organization that linked France with its overseas territories Then in 1959 Ivory Coast joined with Dahomey, Niger and Upper Volta to form the Council of the Entente, a loose economic confederation

Then on August 7 1960 Ivory Coast declared itself an independent republic

Ivory Coast has about the same area as the state of New Mexico but it has about five times as many people as that state Abidjan is the capital the largest city in the country and also the main port.

Almost all Ivorians are black The population includes four major groups The Akan live in the southeast the Kru in the southwest the Mandingo in the northwest and the Voltaic in the northeast These four large groups are made up of many smaller groups

Although French is the official language, more than 60 languages are spoken in Ivory Coast

The law requires children to go to elementary school if one is near their home About 40 percent go on to high school The University of Abidjan founded in 1959 has about 2.000 students although many Ivorians attend college in other countries

Most Ivorians practice ancient tribal religions About 27 percent of the people are Muslims and about 15 percent are Christians