There are only two things that appear certain about Gabon: the first is that its precolonial history is shrouded in uncertainty; and the second is that whatever its history, it has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. Educated guesses put Pygmies as the original inhabitants but they were quickly displaced in the 16th and 18th centuries by the Fang who migrated south from Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Small family units of Pygmies now only survive in the more remote parts of the country.

Contact with Europeans, starting with the arrival of the Portuguese in 1472, set a train of events in motion that had a profound effect on tribal social structures. The Portuguese largely ignored the area, preferring to base their activities on the nearby islands of Bioko and São Tomé. However, British, Dutch and French ships called in along the coast regularly to trade for slaves, ivory and precious tropical woods. The capital, Libreville, was established as a settlement for freed slaves in 1849, and quickly became a mecca for every God-fearing missionary in the western world. It represented an unlimited source of unshriven pagan souls and theological brownie points for the saving thereof. In 1904, the capital of the Congo was transferred from Libreville to Brazzaville in the Congo, and six years later Gabon became a French colony in French Equatorial Africa.

In 1912, Albert Schweitzer, missionary-with-a-difference, ex-theologian, and physician, set off for Gabon,

During the early years of the 20th century, when colonisation was still seen as an economic rather than a social or ethical issue, French private companies exploited Gabon by forcing Africans to work for them. Having only recently thrown off the shackles of slavery, the Gabonese were understandably bent out of shape by this new form of indentured slavery and, like other Africans in French Equatorial Africa, vented their anger in periodic revolts. Each successive revolt was quelled, and by the time a new broom swept these old regimes out of the country the companies had destroyed the forests, used up most of the other natural resources and sent the country into an economic slump that lasted until after WWI.

In 1960, Leo M'Ba was elected as the first president of the new republic of Gabon and survived a mid-60s coup to remain in office until his death from natural causes in 1967. This was no mean feat given that presidents of other African countries tend to be elected at the pull of a trigger and deposed in much the same way. His successor, the diminutive Albert-Bernard Bongo, made Gabon a one-party state and then converted to Islam, becoming El Hadj Omar Bongo. His appointment fortuitously coincided with the processing of manganese and uranium deposits and a bullish run on oil prices. This ushered in the 'Gabonese Miracle', a decade of untold wealth, champagne and caviar lifestyles, and a spendthrift's mentality. In the year that oil prices peaked, Gabon hosted a summit for the Organisation of African Unity to the staggering tune of US$1 billion.

When oil prices plummeted in the early 80s, so did Gabon's financial standing. Notwithstanding the drastic change in Gabon's fortune, Bongo retained presidential office through a strategy of tough social measures, defensive boundaries, national insularity, tough-mindedness, lucrative ministerial posts for the politically faithful, and a phalanx of Moroccan bodyguards, European mercenaries and French political and military advisors. It's a strategy that worked. Depsite civil unrest in 1990 that led to the legalization of political parties for the purpose of free elections, Bongo continued to defeat other candidates, most recently in 1998 for another 7-year term. He has been in office for over thirty years, a minor miracle in the turbulent atmosphere of African politics.

While Gabon continues to grapple with such issues as substandard health care and schools, Bongo has allegedly used his country's oil riches to purchase large amounts of real estate in Paris. The citizens of Gabon, however, continue to show strong support for their leader.

Gabonese are almost exclusively of Bantu descent but are subdivided into ten large ethnic groups. The largest of these is the Fang, who hail primarily from the north and north-east. The Mbédé (which also includes the Téké and the Mbété) are from the southeast, and the Eshira from the southwestern areas. Most of the coastal areas are the province of the Myéné people.

On paper, somewhere between 65% and 75% of the population are true to the one holy apostolic church, but traditional religions and animism remain strong influences. Consequently Catholicism in Gabon is more a matter of regional sensibilities than papal bull. About 1% of the population are Muslim, an extraordinary low number for an African country

Although French is the official lingua franca, over half the population also speak the African language of Fang. You will also hear Bapunu spoken in the south, and Bandgabi in the east and south, around Franceville.

Gabon is particularly noted for its woodcarvings and masks. The former gave visiting missionaries palpitations when they first set eyes on them, and the exquisite but sensual forms of the statues, with their emphasis on the fleshy tones of the human body, does suggest an earthiness at odds with Protestant and Catholic chastity. It's little wonder that they were banned as pagan idols by these buttoned-down proselytisers.

Fang masks, like other African masks, have enormous significance in rituals designed to keep in touch with the world of the dead. Traditionally every aspect of the mask, from the selection of the wood to its creation, was overseen by a priest. These rituals were of prime importance. At completion, the mask developed enormous occult powers and was a concrete expression of the abstract world of the spirits. Sloppy attention to ritual details could spell death and disaster. Today these masks are valued for their artistic merit - both Picasso and Matisse were influenced by Fang masks - although the whiff of occult powers still hangs around them. The Gabonese art of mask making has been lost and the only place you can see them today is in the museum.

Traditional Gabonese fare is not always easy to find; most restaurants offer generic type meals. You'll know the real stuff by the presence of manioc paste (or rice) served in a spicey sauce alongside a selection of bush meat such as antilope (antelope), porcpic (porcupine), singe (monkey), sanglier (wild boar), and boa (snake).