The first generation of professional Gabonese historians completed their training at French universities in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Three men are especially significant in this regard: Joseph Ambouroue-Avaro, Nicolas Metegue-N'nah, and Anges Ratanga-Atoz. Ambouroue-Avaro, to my knowledge., was the first Gabonese to write a thèse de doctorat in history. Originally from Port-Gentil, on obtaining his BAC in Libreville he received a government scholarship to pursue university studies in geography and history at the Sorbonne. There he was the student of Hubert Deschamps, a former colonial governor but also the author of numerous works on African history and, in the 1960s, an honorary professor at the Sorbonne.[9] Ambouroue-Avaro's study of the peoples of the lower Ogooué region in the nineteenth century was completed in Paris in 1969. It draws on both oral and documentary sources and contains a number of key insights on the evolution of the Orungu and Nkomi kingdoms. It was published with no revisions in 1981, more than a decade after its completion and three years after Ambouroue-Avaro's death. Yves Person provided a brief forward to bring the work up to date. Despite the publishing delay, Ambouroue-Avaro's book remained an original and stimulating contribution to Gabonese history.[10] 

Sadly, he was not able to develop his promising career as a scholar. While a student in France, he apparently had some problems with the Gabonese regime and lost his government scholarship; he completed his studies at his own expense. Returning to Gabon in 1969, he taught at the secondary level and at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration before joining the faculty at the newly-created national university. However, he was subject to the harassment of the Gabonese authorities due to his political views and was arrested in 1972 and 1974. In 1975 he was appointed dean of the Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines at UNOB, but was forced to resign this position in 1978 following a student strike. On 17 November 1978 Ambouroue-Avaro died in a mysterious plane crash. Due to the very difficult conditions he faced in Gabon and his tragic early death, he was never able to revise his original doctoral thesis nor begin work on a thèse de doctorat d'état that he was to write under the supervision of Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch. [11]

Nicolas Metegue N'nah is from Lambaréné and nicely represents the generational shift from the amateur to professional historian since Paul-Vincent Pounah was his father-in-law. He began his studies in France at the Université de Rennes and then came to Paris where he completed his doctoral thesis in 1974 at the Université de Paris I on nineteenth-century contacts between the French and Gabonese. Yves Person directed his research, but Metegue-N'nah was also a student of Hubert Deschamps. His thesis relies largely upon data drawn from French archival sources, but it is very thorough and solidly argued. One wonders why it was never published. Metegue-N'nah has published several shorter works of considerable interest to historians of Gabon, but these are not so detailed or as carefully argued as his doctoral thesis[12] 

Metegue-N'nah returned to Gabon in 1975, where he joined the faculty at UNOB and assumed the chair of the Department of History. He held this position until 1982, when he was linked to an opposition group critical of the Bongo regime and forced to leave the university for a teaching post at a secondary school in the town of Ndende in southern Gabon[13]. He taught in Ndende for several years before returning to Libreville to take up a post at the Institut Pedagogique National. In 1991 striking faculty at UNOB demanded that Metegue N'nah and other academics forced out of the university in the 1980s be allowed to return to their former positions. These demands were met and Metegue N'nah resumed his place in the history department on the troubled UNOB campus at the start of the 1991-92 academic year.

Anges Ratanga-Atoz is from Port-Gentil and in 1973 he obtained a doctorat en histoire from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris. His research was directed by Henri Brunschwig and he wrote a thesis on Gabonese resistance to French colonial rule. On returning to Gabon he was named an assistant in the history department at UNOB, as well as the headmaster of a secondary school in Libreville. In 1979 he took a position in a government ministry and in 1982, still holding his position in the UNOB history department, he assumed the direction of the Ecoles des Cadres du Parti Democratique Gabonais (PDG), the training institution for the governing party of President Omar Bongo. During the 1988-89 academic year, Ratanga-Atoz was head of the UNOB history department. Since completing his doctoral thesis, he has published a few articles and a brief, rather undistinguished, general history of Gabon. [14]

Mention should also be made of two Gabonese historians of this first generation who came to the discipline through the priesthood: Florent Mbumb-Bwas and Lazare Digombe. Mbumb-Bwas is from the Nyanga Region and he obtained a doctorat d'université from the Université de Strasbourg in 1972, writing on the history of the Catholic Church in Gabon. He remains an important figure in the Gabonese church and is the head priest at the St. Michel parish in Libreville. Digombe, from the Ngounie region, did university studies in France but subsequently left the priesthood. He was a member of the history department at UNOB in the early 1980s before becoming dean of the Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines. In July 1991 he was appointed the Minister of Culture in the government of Prime Minister Casmir Oyé Mba.[15]

The careers of these five men illustrate some of the obstacles faced by Gabonese historians who seek to pursue scholarly interests on completing their doctoral research in France. In the case of Ambouroue-Avaro and Metegue-N'nah, their links to opposition political groups and their criticism of the Bongo regime prior to the opening up of the Gabonese political scene in 1990 effectively destroyed their promising careers as scholars. Metegue-N'nah has tried to carry on and is working on a general of history of Gabon, but has yet to find a publisher. [16]

It is fair to say that in the past the Bongo regime has been extremely suspicious of intellectuals and in order to control them a two-pronged strategy was developed: punish those who dared to dissent and reward those who were willing to participate in the government. Ratanga-Atoz opted for the latter route and today enjoys a position as conseiller à la Présidence de la République. Despite the opening up of the political system in 1990, this same suspicion continues to exist and the government uses similar, though more subtle, tactics to keep intellectuals in check[17].  Yet, whether crushed in opposition or seduced by the ruling power, the consequences for sustained research on Gabonese history by Gabonese scholars remain the same: it simply does not happen. Thus most Gabonese historians stop doing research on completing their doctoral theses in France and pursue other interests when they return to Gabon to take up their university positions.

In addition to the allure of politics, Gabonese scholars are confronted with enormous obligations to members of their extended families, who have often waited patiently for their return from France and who may have contributed in one way or another to the completion of their studies. Having assumed a position of prominence within Gabonese society as a professor at UNOB, the Gabonese historian is often deluged with a variety of requests from family members seeking to make use of their relative's situation to advance their own interests. Dealing with these requests, in addition to the inevitable bureaucratic duties of a university professor, obviously cuts into time that might have been devoted to research. Yet even if the historian is able to master the familiar balancing act between teaching and administrative duties, meet family obligations, safely maneuver through the minefields of Gabonese politics, and then somehow find the time to formulate a research agenda, there is still one more virtually insurmountable obstacle: the almost total lack of facilities and support for research at UNOB. 

The UNOB History Department and the Eighties Generation

If the nurturing of a national university is an indication of the strength of a country's nationalist culture, Gabonese national culture is in need of further nurturing.[18]. Gabon's national university first opened in October 1970; following the initial investment to create the Libreville campus the government did very little over the next twenty years to develop or even maintain the university's facilities. The university library became the most enduring symbol of this neglect: a specially constructed building designed for air-conditioning (windows do not open), when I worked there in 1991 the air-conditioning had not functioned for over a year. It was, to say the least, an uncomfortable place to work. The card catalog no longer corresponded to anything in the collection (indeed, the collection had been decimated due to theft and neglect) and the staff was understandably dispirited. Fortunately, faculty strikes in 1991, partly organized around the terrible working conditions at UNOB, resulted in some major remodeling work on the library. It remains to be seen if the collection will be improved.

The lack of library facilities is only one of the obstacles facing the Gabonese historian wanting to continue to do research in Gabon. Faculty do not have offices at UNOB, nor are they necessarily provided with working space on campus. The history department has a small library which is staffed by masters degree students; in 1991 half this space served as the office for the chair of the department. Due to the faculty strike and the closing of the university in May 199 1, it was rarely open the remainder of the year.[19] I am well aware that infrastructure problems, lack of government support, political tensions, and mismanagement of existing resources plague universities throughout Africa to a greater or lesser degree. In Gabon the picture is perhaps unnecessarily bleak given the relative wealth of the country; I raise these issues to explain why Gabonese historians neither publish nor produce much research after completing their doctorates.

Despite some hopeful developments, this is the discouraging state of affairs that holds for the generation of Gabonese historians who completed their théses pour le doctorat de 3e cycle at French universities in the 1980s. The production of doctoral theses that rely almost entirely on data gleaned from French archival sources reached its peak in this second generation. This was a curious phenomenon, as Gabonese historians are clearly the best-equipped researchers (due to their language and cultural skills) to gather historical data from oral sources in their own country. Yet until the development of the mémoire de maîtrise at UNOB in 1982, there was little chance for Gabonese students of history to do any systematic oral research. Once in France, there existed very few funding opportunities to return to Gabon to do field research. Thus the most efficient way to complete a doctoral program was to work with archival material. This archival focus also reflected the research interests and preferred methodology of the French historians directing Gabonese students' research in the 1970s and 1980s[20]

C. Felix Painbo-Loueya's doctoral thesis on the social and economic history of the Gabon colony during the interwar years is a case in point. Completed in 1980 at the Université de Paris VII under the direction of Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch, it is two-volume study of 691 pages that successfully organizes a large amount of information under the broad headings of "structures sociales économiques et politiques," "production," and "déséquilibres et inadéquation de l’économie coloniale". Indeed, it is very much in the tradition of Coquery-Vidrovitch's classic study on French concession companies; its length gives it more the flavor of a thése d'État than a thèse de 3e cycle. It is valuable research that deserves to be published; but once again the obstacles referred to above come into play, as Pambo-Loueya, a member of the UNOB history department throughout the 1980s, has held positions in government, and has apparently been unable to either find a publisher, rework some of his material into journal articles, or undertake the necessary revisions to produce a publishable manuscript.[21] 

There seems to be a "more is better" attitude taken by Gabonese historians when writing their doctoral theses. This is due to a stubborn "thèse d’État" mentality that continues to exist in French academia (despite the forthcoming disappearance of the thèse d’État itself) and that seems to push researchers into producing unwieldy, difficult to publish tomes. The most successful, like that of Pambo-Loueya, are worth the time and effort of a close reading. Others can be more frustrating to work through and are little more than compilations of tables and facts drawn from colonial reports pieced together in a less than lucid fashion.[22] 

A singular exception to this tradition of theses based on archival research is Monique Koumba-Manfoumbi's fascinating study, completed in 1987 at Université de Paris 1, on the history of the Punu people of southern Gabon[23] She has compiled a rich collection of Punu clan migration accounts and has charted the peopling of the Punu-speaking areas of southern Gabon according to clan movements. She gathered these clan traditions from interviews with close to fifty informants, overcoming considerable logistical obstacles simply to reach certain villages. To obtain this information she was required to conduct complex negotiations with clan elders who were reluctant to share specialized knowledge with a young female researcher. Yet to one who has attempted to gather oral data in this same region of Gabon, KoumbaManfoumbi's results are very impressive, and her research should be published. But the same pattern is again at play; since returning to Gabon and taking a position at UNOB Koumba-Manfoumbi has apparently fallen into the scholarly black hole[24].

Until recently any Gabonese scholar completing a doctorate in France was assured of a position at UNOB on returning home. This was due to the fact that when the university opened in 1970 there were very few Gabonese with higher degrees and many positions were simply waiting to be filled by the first returning doctorates. A consequence of this initial shortage of Gabonese faculty is that the university has traditionally been staffed by significant numbers of expatriates. The history department has been no exception: Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch was present for a time in the early 1970s; the Malian historian, Sékéné Mody Cissoko, has taught at UNOB for a number of years; and Aliké Tshinyoka, a Zairian classics scholar, was head of the department at the time of my research in 1991. Raymond Mayer, a French anthropologist, and Hugues de Changy, a French historian, have been teaching and directing research in history at UNOB for more than a decade. The 1980s generation of doctorates has since filled in most of the gaps and at present there is little room for new blood. Gabon's economy has been on the downturn since 1985 and this situation will not allow for an inflation of the university ranks[25]

Ironically, the opening up of the Gabonese political system to opposition political parties and a critical press has resulted in a further deterioration of university life, as educational institutions, and particularly the university, have been used as ideological battlegrounds by both the government and the opposition. Since the student disturbances of January 1990, UNOB has more often than not been closed due to either striking faculty or striking students[26] Obviously such instability precludes, and renders somewhat absurd, the possibilities for a vibrant scholarly environment. Yet prior to this recent outbreak of political unrest, there had been some new developments to give heart to those interested in historical research on Gabon.

Laboratoire Universitaire de la Tradition Orale

The Laboratoire Universitaire de la Tradition Orale (hencefoarth LUTO) was created in 1985 and at the end of the 1986-87 academic year it launched a series of projects seeking to collect, transcribe, and publish the myths, epics, and historical traditions of the Gabonese people. It brought together scholars from a number of disciplines and was clearly an attempt to fill the research void that existed at UNOB. There were a number research teams created, Pambo-Loueya and Cissoko from the history department were responsible for collecting historical traditions, and plans for conferences and publications were put in motion.[27].

When I met with Michel Voltz, a French anthropologist and the Secretary General of LUTO in April 1991, he expressed frustration that LUTO had not effectively met its goal of promoting research in the humanities at UNOB. He noted, among other things, the difficulty of publishing research in Gabon due to high costs and few presses. For example, the first two issues of the Revue Gabonaise des Sciences de I'Homme, a LUTO publication, had to be printed in Portugal. A project to collect village histories from all the regions of Gabon, designed for eventual use in Gabonese secondary schools, has gathered enough material for two volumes but remains unpublished. Several historians, Parnbo-Loueya and Koumba-Manfoumbi among them, have contributed to these volumes. Once again, the problem of gaining access to publishing outlets not only keeps completed research from seeing the light Of (lay but also dampens the desire to continue producing new material.[28] The instability and strikes that have plagued UNOB over the past three years have resulted in the shutdown of LUTO's activities as well.

Student Research in the History Department at UNOB

The most valuable research on Gabonese history coming from the university community is done by students. It is especially valuable to foreign researchers, as Gabonese students already have the language and cultural expertise to do oral research that would take non-Gabonese years to develop. In an indirect manner these student researchers become a new kind of interpreter for the foreign researcher; the questions they pose and the materials they produce are their own and obviously not guided by the interests of an outsider. Yet there is much that is interesting in the results, as even the most shoddy work reveals something about the students' attitude toward the past and toward their informants. Better work allows the informants' worldview to come through and a good deal of what Gabonese students have done over the past ten years is of this caliber.

As we have seen, the first Gabonese to receive university training in history produced mostly archive-based research. This situation began to change in 1982 as Gabonese students pursuing history at UNOB started to go into to the field on a regular basis to collect oral data to write their mémoires de maîtrise. The creation of a maîtrise-level degree to be completed in Gabon was the crucial development. The first two generations of Gabonese historians received virtually all of their post-secondary school training in France. This was, of course, due to the fact that UNOB was created in 1970 and only began awarding degrees at the licence level in 1977.[29] There were no opportunities to do historical research in Gabon at the university level until 1979, when the first mémoires de licence began to appear. A number of these early efforts treated non-Gabonese topics or were merely exercises in working with colonial archival material available in Libreville. When students did seek to obtain oral data from informants, no more than a handful were interviewed and there were no apparent guidelines as to how this material was to be collected or presented.[30] 

In 1982Lazare Digombe, at the time a member of the UNOB history department, pushed his colleagues to adopt a more structured program of student research that emphasized collecting oral data from informants. Students were required to spend several weeks in the field gathering material; this was most often accomplished over the holiday break in January.[31] As the program developed, students tended to work on a particular topic over several years and to make more than one trip into the field. A preliminary paper, the mémoire de D.U.E.L., has become the first step in undertaking research, usually written at the end of a student's second year at university. The mémoire de license, originally a finished product in itself, has evolved into an elaboration of ideas presented in the preliminary paper, a summary of initial field research, and a research proposal for the mémoire de maîtrise. The mémoire de maîtrise often involves additional field work and the finished product is usually a study of more than 100 pages. The most talented students go on to France to develop their research in doctoral programs further. 

Koumba-Manfoumbi is one of the first to have gone through the mémoire de maîtrise program and then complete a doctorate in France. It is certainly no coincidence that data gathered from informants in oral field interviews were at the core of her thesis.[32] Another recent and highly regarded study is Wilson-André Ndombet's history of the Adjumba people. Ndombet completed his doctorate in 1989 at Paris I but he had been able to collect data in the field while at UNOB and develop his topic in preparing a mémoire de licence and a mémoire de maîtrise before going to France in 1985.[33] Clearly, this situation is a vast improvement over the days when Gabonese researchers were obliged to make archival material the primary focus of their studies. 

But what of the usefulness of these mémoires to the foreign researcher? After all, these studies are the efforts of students undertaking a research project for the first time. Naturally the final product at this level will tend to be a bit rough. Given the woeful library situation, up-to-date journals and recent monographs that might aid the students' in organizing and interpreting their data are extremely difficult for even a professor to obtain and virtually impossible for a student. Students are further limited by a "Francophonie mon village!" world view that results in their being unaware of scholarship produced in English[.34] Having read through a number of these mémoires for my own research on the history of southern Gabon, I can attest to their uneven quality.

In the appended bibliography, I have grouped the mémoires de maîtrise done at UNOB from 1982 to 1991 into eight categories. One notes a healthy representation of studies on various aspects of French colonial administration viewed from the perspective of the colony as a whole. These tend to he based on data drawn from colonial archives housed in Gabon. The histories of individual Catholic missions, due to their more specific focus and the fact that virtually all the mission archives are in France, tend to rely more on informants.[35] But the majority of the mémoires can be grouped into two categories: ethnic group histories or town and regional histories. The latter usually combine information drawn from colonial political and economic reports with oral data obtained from informants who relate their life experiences under colonial rule. These studies are valuable sources on the development of colonial towns, regional economies, and the evolution of local political authority, as well as life under colonialism. [36] 

Those mémoires focusing on the history of an ethnic group are the most interesting in terms of oral data. Some are very much in the tradition of "old scrappers" like Pounah and seek to legitimate the existence of ethnic identities forged during the colonial period. It is revealing that a number of these studies are on "disappearing" peoples like the Adjumba and Eviya, whose numbers are dwindling due to the rural exodus to towns and cities and the traditionally fluid boundaries of ethnicity in Gabon.[37] The most interesting raise provocative questions about the creation of ethnic identities and seek to explain the relationship between ethnicity and clan. Charles Mombo-Maganga's study of the history of the Varama is an example; his mémoire de maîtrise contains rich data on Varama clan migrations and the functioning of the precolonial clan system.[38] In preparing a proposal for his doctoral thesis in France, MomboMaganga shifted his focus from the Varama ethnic group to examine the rise of the dominant clan among the Varama, the Gimondu. Branches of this clan, though under different names, are present in several other ethnic groups in southern Gabon.[39] It is in analyzing the changing role of the precolonial clan system in face of increased ethnic awareness during the colonial period that one hits on the major theme in recent Gabonese history. 

The ethnic group studies that I read through while in Gabon left me with the impression that students were following guidelines from the supervising professor in order to organize their research. The mémoires are usually divided into three parts: the first part covers origins and migrations; a second part describes social, economic, and political structures as they existed in the nineteenth century just prior to colonial rule; and a third part describes colonial occupation and the alteration of the precolonial structures. Clearly what we have here is the latest manifestation of the classic "ethnographic account" genre analyzed by Jan Vansina.[40] According to Vansina, 

The genre requires that a description be given by rubric without any progression of argument, without any flow from point of departure to final consideration, except for what is provided by the arrangement of rubrics. Chapters or major sections deal with material culture, food producing activities, industries, kinship and domestic organization including marriage, political organization, religion, magic and (more optional) ethics, language, oral art, arts and sciences. This is the most common order.[41] 

The second part of the ethnic group mémoires nicely mirrors this description. It is ironic, though not surprising given limited access to recent scholarship, that Gabonese students should make use of a decidedly colonial genre to research and write the nineteenth century precolonial history of their peoples. The better studies do break from the timelessness of the ethnographic account and insert some historical narrative. This is invariably found in the third part where the specific events of colonial occupation and resistance are discussed. 

Vansina raises a number points regarding rules of evidence and the sources of data found in the earlier colonial versions of the ethnographic account genre. These are legitimate concerns for the twentieth-century Gabonese examples. Yet, by and large the Gabonese students have been meticulous in citing their sources and including lengthy appendices of the transcriptions of their taped recordings with informants (the recordings themselves remain in the possession of the individual researchers as there is no audio archive for this material). Since the mid-1980s, at the instigation of the anthropologist Raymond Mayer, students have been required to provide transcriptions of their interviews in the Gabonese languages in which they were conducted with a French translation along side[42] They have always provided information about their informants, usually including name, age, profession, ethnic group, clan, and place of residence.

Ultimately, these appended lists of informants and transcriptions of interviews are the parts of the mémoires de maîtrise most valuable to foreign researchers. The informant information is enormously practical as one can use it to draw up one's own list of possible interviews before heading into the interior. The students usually begin their studies with a brief description of their field experiences and these can be quite helpful as well.[43] The data found in the interview transcriptions has the advantage of being raw and untouched by concerns of fitting it into the text of a mémoire. Thus, for another researcher with a different set of questions, this material holds the possibility of further insights and new information. Occasionally, as is the case with Hortense Togo's study on the oral traditions of the Apindji, the annexed material is nearly as long and just as interesting as the mémoire itself.[44]. 

Therecent political problems in Gabon and at UNOB have slowed, and at times brought to a halt, the normal operation of the university and this has naturally affected student research. However, given the obstacles faced by senior scholars outlined above, the most interesting material on Gabonese history may continue to be produced by Gabonese university students for some time to come. 

Archives and Other Sources of Documentation

The earlier archival reports of Hubert Deschamps[45] and Henry Bucher[46] are still useful starting points when preparing to work in Gabon. Though Deschamps wrote more than thirty years ago, his description provides a sense of perspective on what has been accomplished, and what has been lost, in the intervening period. The accomplishments, mainly the creation of a national archive and a national library, are described in Bucher's report and were primarily due to the efforts of their first general director, Gaston Rapontchombo. The losses are at the level of regional archives since, though there have been efforts to transport and classify documents languishing in the interior to Libreville, not all of the provincial centers have been reached .[47]

The Archives Nationales (B.P. 1188, Libreville, tel. 73 02 39) are open Tuesday thru Friday, 7:30AM to noon, 3:OOPM to 6:OOPM; and on Saturday, 7:30AM-1:00PM. They close one month out of the year for inventory (usually in August/September); student or faculty identification is needed for admission. The archives are divided into two main sections. The first holds the paper copies of French colonial documents specific to the various regions of Gabon; these are consulted in the lower level of the archive-library complex by using the "Fonds de la Présidence" card catalog, which is classified according to rubric (e.g., "Rapports politiques," "Santé," "Travaux publics," etc.), and by consulting several bound catalogs classifying documents from regional archives and special collections. 

The main development since Bucher's report has been the growth of the microfilm holdings. The microfilm archivist spends six months out of the year in France at the Archives Nationales, Centre des Archives d'Outre-Mer in Aixen-Provence microfilming material relevant to Gabonese history. As a result foreign researchers can now get much of their archival work accomplished while in Gabon.[48] The microfilm readers are in good condition, but the archive does not own a machine that makes photocopies from film (though there are plans to purchase one). Photocopying of hard documents is possible but expensive at about 30 cents per copy. This is conditional on the state of the archive's only copier, which can be down for long periods.

The Bibliothèque Nationale is housed in the same complex as the Archives Nationales. It is open Tuesday thru Friday, 7:30AM to 6:OOPM; and Saturday, 7:30AM to 1:00PM. The reading room is a pleasant place to work, as it is cooled by ceiling fans and looks out on the Gabon Estuary; but more important is the fact that it remains open all day and one can work through the long Gabonese lunch break. The library has a good, though not exhaustive, collection of Gabonese mémoires de maîtrise, as well as a selection of doctoral theses done in France. By consulting the main and the history department libraries at the university in addition to the Bibliothèque Nationale, one gains access to virtually all the unpublished research done by Gabonese students at UNOB. The photocopying situation is the same as for the archives.

The tense political situation has not spared this sector: archive and library personnel went on strike in April 1990 to demand General Director Rapontchombo's retirement. There were reports of theft and sabotage though I did not notice any permanent damage a year after these events .[49] Following the strike's resolution, Fidèle lbouili-Nzigou, a member of the psychology department at UNOB, was named General Director and Rapontchombo was subsequently named conseiller à la Présidence de la République. 

Only once did I visit the small library at the Libreville Chamber of Commerce mentioned by Bucher and I was unable to find the document I was looking for; however a recent Indiana University Ph.D. thesis on Gabonese agricultural policy made use of this facility.[50] There is no longer an ORSTOM office in Gabon, but the small museum library still exists. It has moved from its space in the Musée National des Arts et Traditions to an annex building located in the heart of Libreville's largest market, Mont Bouet. The library reading room is open Monday thru Friday, 8:OOAM to noon; 3:OOPM to 6:OOPM. 

Libreville is home to the Centre International des Civilisations Bantu (CICIBA), an ambitious project designed to promote research on the Bantu world in the fields of archeology, ethnomusicology, linguistics, and traditional medicine. Though the Center's interests deal with historical questions and its first director, Théophile Obenga, is a historian, there is no history section within its structure. A pet interest of Gabonese President Omar Bongo, CICIBA's fortunes have declined along with those of the Gabonese economy and the center has found it difficult to meet its development agenda. Housed in a temporary site for the nearly ten years of its existence, a permanent facility on the outskirts of Libreville remains three-quarters complete and unoccupied due to lack of funds. The much-vaunted computer network meant to link centers in member countries and to serve as a clearinghouse for information on the Bantu world does not function effectively. There is a library at the temporary site but it contains very little material on Gabonese history; books and other materials on microfiche reflect CICIBA's regional Bantu focus. Obenga, a Congolese national, returned to Brazzaville in 1992 to assume a cabinet position in the Congolese government (which he promptly lost with the creation of a new government at the end of the year). In January 1993, he was replaced as General Director of CICIBA by Koukanda Vantomene, an Angolan national[51]. 

The most interesting addition to Libreville's research scene has been the development of an outstanding collection of historical materials on Gabon at the library of the Centre Culturel Franqais St. Exupery (B.P. 2103, tel. 76 11 20; open Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 10:OOAM-noon; 3;30PM-6:30PM; Wednesday, 8:30-noon; 3;30PM-6:30PM; Saturday, 10:OOAM-noon; 4:OOPM-6:OOPM; closed the month of August; admission with a reader's card that must be obtained from the librarian; fee for foreign researchers about $20). Annie Merlet, the head librarian at the Center for a number of years, obtained funding to purchase or photocopy rare books and articles relevant to Gabonese history found in France. She organized all this material into a collection labeled "Fonds Gabon" and it is probably the best collection of historical documents related to Gabon under one roof anywhere in the world. She has drawn from this collection to publish a series of books on Gabonese history which are primarily collections of relevant excerpts from difficult to find explorers' accounts [52]

When Merlet was still at the Center, one had to make an appointment with her to consult the "Fonds Gabon" as it was kept in her office separate from the general collection. This was sometimes difficult, as she was very busy and often using the collection herself. She left Gabon in July 1991. 1 met with her replacement shortly after he assumed the head librarian position in September and he stated that he had absolutely no interest in the "Fonds Gabon." Apparently, Merlet did not train any of the permanent staff to maintain the collection nor did she appoint any one to monitor its access. As a result, the future of this valuable resource is in jeopardy.

Notes

I. My research in Gabon was made possible by a Predissertation Research Grant from the Social Science Research Council in June 1989 and by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education in 1991. 1 would like to thank John Cinnamon of Yale University for his comments and suggestions.

2. See the prefatory remarks in Phyllis M. Martin, The External Trade of the Loango Coast 15760-1870 (Oxford, 1972), vii; and K. David Patterson, 7he Northern Gabon Coast to 1875 (Oxford, 1975), vii. For a more recent statement, see the "Avant- Propos" in Nicolas Metegue N'nah, Lumiére sur points d'ombre (Langres, 1984), 11. 

3.André Raponda-Walker and Roger Sillans, Les plantes utiles du Gabon (Paris, 1961);Rites et croyances des peuples du Gabon (Paris, 1962). 

4.Raponda-Walker, Notes d'histoire du Gabon (Mémoire de l'Institut d’Études Centrafricaines, 9). (Brazzaville, 1960). 

5. Biographical information can be found in David E. Gardinier, Historical Dictionary of Gabon (Metuchen, 1981), 194; there is a "bio-bibliographie" in Hubert Deschamps, Traditions orales et archives au Gabon (Paris, 1962), 161-67; and nearly three pages of references in the bibliography to Henry H. Bucher, "The Mpongwe of the Gabon Estuary: A History to 1860' (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1977), 426-29. In Gabon there exists a critical study: Dieudonné Lendoye Ringue, "Aperçu critique de l'oeuvre scientifique d'André Raponda-Walker," (Mémoire de maîtrise, UNOB, 1990). 

6. "Old scrappers" is a term used by Jacob Carruthers in referring to the first Black American writers to write on Ancient Egypt who, though having no formal training in history, fought to present a Black American perspective on the past. See Carruthers, Essays in Ancient Egyptian Studies (Los Angeles, 1984), 34-35.

7. Pounah's books include Notre passé (Paris, 1967); Concept gabonais. (Monaco, 1968); Carrefour de la discussion (Coulonges-sur-I'Autize, 197 1); and a French translation of Pasteur Ogoula Mbeye's Galwa manuscript, Galoa ou Edongo d'antan (Fontenay-le-Comte, 1978). There is a brief biographical note in Gardinier, Historical Dictionary, 165. 

8.Sebastian Bodinga-bwa-Bodinga, Traditions orales de la race Eviya (Paris, 1969).

9.In addition to his book on Gabonese oral traditions, see Deschamps, Quinze ans de Gabon (Paris, 1965) and the list of books opposite the title page of Traditions orales

10. Joseph Ambouroue-Avaro, Un peuple gabonais à l’aube de la colonisation (Paris, 1981). 

11. For biographical information see Gaston Nwendogo's preface to Un peuple gabonais, 13-19.

12. See Nicolas Metegue N'nah, "Le Gabon de 1854 à 1886: 'Presence' française et peuples autochtones" (Doctorat de 3e cycle, Université de Paris 1, 1974); Economies et sociétés au Gabon dans la première moitié du XIXe siécle (Paris, 1979); Domination coloniale au Gabon: la résistance d'un peuple (Paris, 198 1); and the 1984 collection of essays, Lumiére sur points d'ombre.

13. In November 1981 the Mouvement de redressement national (MORENA) distributed tracts throughout Libreville criticizing the Bongo regime and a number of prominent politicians, academics, and journalists were arrested and imprisoned. See Amnesty International's report, Gabon: Déni de justice au cours d'un procés (London, 1984), 10-16. 

14. See Anges Ratanga-Atoz, "Les résistances gabonaises à l'impérialisme de 1870 à 1914," (Doctorat en histoire, EPHE-Paris, 1973); "Fang et Miéné dans le Gabon du XIXe siécle," Realités gabonaises 38 (1977), 9-19; "Commerce, économie et société dans le Gabon du XIXe-début XXe siécle," Annales de l'école nationale d'administration (Libreville) 3 (1979), 85-96; "L'Immigration Fang, ses origines et ses conséquences," Afrika Zamani 14/15 (1984), 7381; and Histoire du Gabon des migrations historiques à la République XVe-XXe siécle(Paris, 1985). It would appear that there is little love lost between Ratanga-Atoz and Metegue N'nah; when referring to Ratanga-Atoz in his doctoral thesis Metegue N'nah puts the word "historien" in quotation marks (Metegue N'nah, "Le Gabon," 135); meanwhile, none of Metegue N'nah's works are referenced in Ratanga-Atoz's Histoire du Gabon. Such mutual dislike is not so surprising given their two radically different relationships with the Bongo regime.

15. See Florent Mbumb-Bwas, "Genése de l’Église du Gabon: étude historique et canonique," (Doctorat d'université, Université de Strasbourg, 1972) and (with Wisi MagangMa-Mbuju) Les Bajag du Gabon (Paris, 1974). In the mid-1980s Digombe participated in some archeological research; see Lazare Digombe et at, "Recherches archéologiques au Gabon: Année académique 1986-1987," Nsi 2 (1987), 29-31; and "Early Iron Age Prehistory in Gabon," Current Anthropology 29 (1988), 180-84. 

16. This was the situation, at least, when I met with Metegue N'nah in June 1989.

17. The case of the geographer Marc Ropivia is revealing; Ropivia received his academic training in Canada and has published historical articles on the Fang migration (see Marc Ropivia, "Les Fangs dans les Grands Lacs et la vallée du Nil," Présence africaine 120[1981], 46-58; and "Migration Bantu et Tradition orale des Fang (le Mvett): Interprétation critique," Le mois en Afrique 211/212 [1983], 121-32). He was an outspoken critic of the government and the head of the Gabonese university faculty union during the period of political turmoil at the beginning of 1990. Following the National Conference and the opening up of the Gabonese political system, he was named Minister of Education, as a member of an opposition party, in Prime Minister Casmir Oyé Mba's first cabinet. Yet he quickly became embroiled in ongoing conflicts between his former colleagues and the government. Tracts criticizing his handling of the situation and, interestingly, mocking his Canadian (as opposed to French) doctoral training circulated at the university early in 1991. UNOB was shut down by a faculty strike in April and, in a subsequent cabinet reorganization, Ropivia was replaced and effectively neutralized as a political force. 

18. On nationalist culture and universities, see Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (London, 1991), 70-71.

19. Most Gabonese researchers, whether student or faculty, use the library facilities at the Bibliothèque Nationale (see below). When it was functioning, the main library at UNOB was open Monday thru Friday, 9:OOAM-6:OOPM; Saturday, 9:30AM-noon; admission open to the public; student ID needed to consult materials. The UNOB history department library was open Monday, Tuesday, 10:00AM-noon; 3:OOPM-6:OOPM; Wednesday thru Friday, 9:OOAM-noon; 3:OOPM-6:OOPM; Saturday, 8:OOAM-noon. 

20. Doctoral research since 1975 has been directed by Jean-Louis Miège at Aix-Marseille I (5 theses); Annie Rey-Goldzeiger at Reims (4 theses); Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch at Paris VII (3 theses); Yves Person at Paris 1 (2 theses); M. Epp at Strasbourg II (1 thesis); Jean Devisse at Paris I (I thesis); and Claude Hélène Perrot at Paris I (I thesis) (Source: Repertoire des théses africanistesfrançaises 1978-1989)

21. C. Felix Pambo-Loueya, "La colonie du Gabon de 1914 à 1939. Étude economique et sociale," (Doctorat de 3e cycle, Université de Paris VII, 1980). 

22. Examples would be Christian Mamfoumbi, "Contribution à l'étude du travail forcé en Afrique équatoriale française dans l'entre-deux-guerres (1914-1939): l'exemple du Gabon," (Doctorat de 3e cycle, Université de Paris 1, 1984); and Théophile Loungou-Mouélé, "Le Gabon de 1910 à 1925: les incidences de la Première Guerre mondiale sur I'évolution politique, économique et sociale," (Doctorat de 3e cycle, Université d'Aix-Marseille 1, 1984). Both Mamfoumbi and Loungou-Mouélé assumed positions in the UNOB history department on returning to Gabon. Loungou-Mouélé was among a team of UNOB scholars who produced a short volume to mark the town of Lastoursville's centenary, Millenaire de Mulundu: Centenaire de Lastoursville.(Ubreville, 1986). 

23. Monique Koumba-Manfoumbi, "Les Punu du Gabon: Des origines à 1899," (Doctorat de 3e cycle, Université de Paris 1, 1987). It is significant that Claude-Héléne Perrot, a specialist in oral history, directed Koumba-Manfoumbi's research. 

24. For the obstacles she faced in gathering oral data, see Koumba-Manfoumbi, "Les Punu," 5-8. Due to the unrest at UNOB during my stay in Gabon it was extremely difficult to track down and meet with Gabonese historians. For example, despite several efforts to contact her, I was unable to meet with Koumba-Manfoumbi. I was told that in addition to being a member of the UNOB history department, she also has an important administrative position in the UNOB bureaucracy.

25. Below is a list of other doctorats de 3e cycle completed in history at French universities by this second generation of Gabonese researchers: Jean-Pierre Elelaghe, "De l’aliénation à I'authenticité. Problématique rnissionnaire et affrontements culturels au Gabon. L'exemple des Fang," (Université de Strasbourg 11, 1977); Jean N'Doume-Assebe, "L'enseignement missionnaire au Gabon (1842-1960)," (Université de Paris 1, 1979); Mdfse-Nsole Biteghe, "Les relations franco-gabonaises depuis 1960," (Université de Paris 1, 1981); Michel Renwomby, "La politique administrative de la France an Gabon et ses conséquences de 1899 à 1934," (Université d'Aix-Marseille 1, 1982); Jérôme Mikal-Mi-Mikal, "L'enseignement au Gabon de 1842 à 1920," (Université de Reims, 1983); Anselme Nzoghe, "L'exploitation forestière et les conditions d'exploitation des peuples de la colonie du Gabon de 1920 à 1940: le travail forcé," (Université d'Aix-Marseille 1, 1984); Hilaire Jidy Makaya, "Contribution à l'étude de la santé en AEF: médecines traditionnelle et occidentale. Le cas du Gabon (1910-1945)," (Université de Reims, 1984); Juste-Roger Koumabila, "La guerre de Wongo au Gabon (1928-1930)," (Université de Paris VII, 1984); Clotaire Ivala, "Structures monétaires et changements économiques et sociaux an Gabon (1914-1960)," (Université de Reims, 1985); Rose Ahavi, "Les bouleversements de la société  gabonaise au contact de l'Occident (1900-1939)," (Université d'Aix-Marseille 1, 1985); Charles Nziengui-Doukaga, "L'enseignement et la formation de l'élite intellectuelle gabonaise (1920-1970)," (Université de Reims, 1986). 

Of the above, N'Doume-Assebe, Nsole Biteghe, Kournabila, and Nziengui-Doukaga have had positions in the UNOB history department. Nsole Biteghe has published a short book on the 1964 coup attempt against Gabon's first president, Léon Mba, entitled, Echec aux militaires au Gabon (Paris, 1990).

The history department has also been the academic home of Jean-Emile Mbot, a former Minister of Culture who holds a doctorat d'État in ethnology: "Les fondements sociaux de l'éthnology en Afrique noire: les peuples du bassin de I'Ogooué de 1850 à nos jours," (DE, Université de Paris V, 1979). See also his Ebughi bifia "Démonter les expressions": Enonciation et situations sociales chez les Fang du Gabon (Paris, 1975). 

Finally, a few Gabonese historians have studied in French-speaking Canada, although they have not been nearly so numerous or influential as those who have gone to France. For example, Pierre N'dombi, "Économies et sociétés gabonaises avant la conquête coloniale," Thèse de maîtres histoire, Université de Montréal, 1976); and, also from the Université de Montréal, Nganga Akelaguelo, "Esquisse d'histoire ethnique du Gabon," Présence africaine 132 (1984), 3-32. 

26. Interestingly, two key university figures in the political opposition, Pierre-Louis Agondjo Okawe, the leader of the Parti Gabonais du Progrés, and Max Remondo, the head of university faculty union during the 1991 strike actions, both produced law theses in the late 1960s that have left their mark on Gabonese historical studies. See Pierre-Louis Agondjo Okawe, "Structures parentales et développement au Gabon: les Nkorni," (Thèse de Faculté de Droit et des Sciences économiques, Université de Paris, 1967); and Max Remondo, 'L'organisation administrative du Gabon de 1843 à nos jours," (Thèse de Doctorat d'État de droit, Université de Paris, 1970). 

27. See Programme tradition orale: collecte, élaboration et publication des traditions culturelles du Gabon (Libreville, 1987). A philosopher, Benoit Mouity-Nzamba, was LUTO's first director. He was succeeded by the sociologist Martin Alihanga, whose thèse dÉtat, 'Structures communautaires traditionnelles et perspectives coopératives dans la société alto-govéene (Gabon)," (Rome, Universario Pontificale, 1975), is not only a classic example of the "ethnographic account" genre (see below) but one of the more explicit attempts by a Gabonese scholar to create a regional ethnic identity (the term "altogovéene" is derived from "Haut-Ogooué", the name of the province in the southeast corner of Gabon). 

28. See Revue Gabonaise des Sciences de I'Homme, Actes du seminaire de formation en ethnomusicologie 1 (1988); and Actes du seminaire des experts: Alphabet Scientifique des Langues du Gabon 2 (1990). Voltz had the next five numbers of the Revue planned out, but it is unlikely that these will be published in the near future. The Histoire des villages du Gabon project was to be published in a series of cahiers; the first two are on computer disk and await funding for publication.

29. Jean Bilinga et al, Le Gabon 1960-1980 (Libreville, 1981), 95-96.

30. For an example see Loundou Mounanga, "L'exploitation de l'Or à Étéké(Gabon) de 1937 à 1960," (Mémoire de licence, UNOB, 198 1). 

31. Conversations with Aliké Tshinyoka, head of UNOB history department in April 1991. 

32. Her initial study is an example of mission history: Monique Koumba-Manfoumbi, "La mission catholique Saint Martin des Apindji (1900-1954): étude de cas sur l'histoire de l’évangélisation du Gabon," (Mémoire de maîtrise, UNOB, 1983). 

33. Wilson-André Ndombet, "Histoire des Adjumba: la fin d'un peuple," (mémoire de licence, UNOB, 1983); "Histoire des Adjumba," (Mémoire de maîtrise, UNOB, 1984); "Histoire des Ajumba du Gabon du XVe siécle à 1972," Thése pour le nouveau doctorat de l'université, Université de Paris 1, 1989). 

34. See Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch, "A propos de 'La pensée de Cheikh Anta Diop" d'Alain Froment," Cahiers dbudes africaines 32(1992), 135, for a criticism of this state of affairs. 

35. Ile Congrégation du Saint-Esprit was the dominant Catholic missionary presence in colonial Gabon; historical documents relating to Gabon are housed in the order's Archives Générales, 12, rue du Pére Mazurie, 94669 Chevilly-Larue, France. 

36. Mathias Mbigui, "Recherches sur lbistoire de Sindara (1858-1946)," (Mémoire de maltrise, UNOB, 1984) and Eugenie Mouanga-Mouloungui, "Contribution A lhistoire de Mouila des origines i 1971," (Mémoire de maîtrise, UNOB, 1984) are two good examples. 

37. Thirty years ago there remained but two Adjumba villages (see Raponda-Walker, Notes, 60) and at present there exists only one Eviya village. In addition to Ndombet's work on the Adjumba, there is J. M. Mackaya-Mackanga, "Ethno-histoire des Ajumba: essai sur l'implantation des peuples du Gabon des origines à l'indépendence," (Mémoire de maîtrise, UNOB, 1983). For the Eviya, Léonard Diderot Moutsinga Kebila, "Contribution à histoire Eviya," (Mémoire de maîtrise, UNOB, 1989). Other "vanishing" peoples who have been the subject of mémoires de maîtrise are the Benga, the Varama, the Seki, and the Apindji (see appendix). The evolution of Gabonese ethnic identity is the focus of my own research; see Christopher Gray, "Space, Ethnicity, and Colonial Rule in Southern Gabon, 1858-1940," (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1994). 

38. Charles Mombo-Maganga, "Un siécle d'histoire Varama: seconde moitié du 19e siécle, première moitié du 20e siécle," (Mémoire de matrise, UNOB, 1986). 

39. Mombo-Maganga, "Naissance et développement du pouvoir Gimondu chez les Varama au 15e siécle," (Rapport de DEA, Université de Montpellier 111, 1987).

40. Jan Vansina, "The Ethnographic Account as a Genre in Central Africa," Paideuma 33 (1987), 433-44.

41. Ibid., 434.

42. Mayer has published a useful inventory of migration accounts found in student research and has drawn extensively from mémoires de maîtrise in a recent historical study of the Gabonese family. See Raymond Mayer, "Inventaire et recension de 130 récits migratoires originaux du Gabon," Pholia 4 (1989), 171-216; and Mayer, Histoire de la famille gabonaise (Libreville, 1992). 

43. Inevitably, students complain of the difficulties in doing oral research in Gabon. Information about clan origins, initiation societies, and the past in general remains sensitive in a village setting and informants are not quick to open up to young university students who, despite their linguistic and cultural knowledge, may be as alien to village and clan elders as the foreign researcher. This point was made clear to me in conversations with Pére Ghislain Mwanda, a Gabonese priest based in Mouila, who stated that university students often behave "comme les blancs" when they arrive in villages to gather oral testimony and thus provoke the suspicions of their informants (Interview Notes, VII, Pére Mwanda Ghislain, 27 September 1991). 

44. Hortense Togo, "La tradition orale des Apindji (Ngounié, Gabon): Origines du peuple, mode de vie, médecine, religion et ethique," (Mémoire de mattrise, UNOB, 1988). 

45. Deschamps, Traditions orales 143-55.

46. Henry H. Bucher, "Archival Resources in Gabon," History in Africa 1 (1974), 159-60.

47. For the Ngounié and Nyanga provinces, documents have been transported and classified for the administrative posts of Mbigou, Tchibanga, Moabi, and Ndende. However, in Mouila, where there exist both regional and district archives from the colonial period, documents dating from the 1930s to independence sit pell-mell on shelves of no use to researchers. In Fougamou, the district archives are stored in a blockhouse behind the prefecture. When I consulted them in June 1991, we had to clear a path through tall grass to reach the blockhouse; the inside was musty with piles of documents stacked to the ceiling, prey to mice and insects, and waiting to tumble down on the researcher courageous enough to sort through them. A quick perusal revealed interesting material on the logging industry in the 1950s, but there are no funds available to protect or classify these documents; the Gabonese bureaucrats in Fougamou expressed regret about this situation but explained that they had more pressing problems. In Mimongo all colonial archival material was lost in a fire. By consulting Deschamps' 1962 inventory for these posts (Deschamps, Traditions orales, 149-50), one sadly notes that valuable documents have either been lost or remain inaccessible to researchers. There exists a relevant mémoire: Thomas Nguema-Ndong, "Repertoire analytique des principales sources historiques conservées au Gabon: des origines jusqu'à 1900," (Mémoire de maltrise, UNOB, 1984). 

48. Among the different A.E.F. "séries" now available on microfilm are Série B Correspondence Générale, sous-série 2B "correspondence ancienne 1848-1912." Série D Politique et Administration Générale, sous-série 4 (1) D "Rapports politiques- Gabon 1894-1945"; and sous-série 5D "Dossiers divers des Affaires politiques 1901-1956." 

49. Marchés Tropicaux (20 April 1990), 1090. 

50. Howard Anderson, "The Limits of Development Management: An Analysis of Agricultural Policy Implementation in Gabon" (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1987).

5 1. Marchis Tropicaux (11 September 1992), 2366-67; (29 January 1993), 284. See also my discussion of CICIBA in Chris Gray, Conceptions of History in the Works of Cheikh Anta Diop and Thgophile Obenga (London, 1989), 76-78; 105-06.

52. Annie Merlet, Ligendes et histoire des Mygng de 1'Ogooué (Libreville, 1989); Le pays des trois estuaires (Libreville, 1990); Vers les plateaux de Masuku (Libreville, 1990); and Autour du Loango (Libreville, 1991). These books were published jointly by the Centre Culturel Franqais Saint-Exupéry in Libreville and Sépia publications in Paris. They are useful in that they allow easy access to historical information from early explorers like Robert Bruce Walker (André Raponda-Walker's father) and Paul Du Chaillu, as well as colonial figures like Brazza, Léon Guiral, Alfred Fourneau, and George Le Testu. In each volume Merlet provides introductory comments to the excerpted texts found in the second section of the books; as Merlet is a documentalist and not a trained historian her analysis is not particularly probing. For example, she does not subject the ethnic categories used by European explorers and administrators to critical scrutiny. The excerpted material is well-chosen, but page citations to the original publications are not given. Despite these shortcomings Merlet has performed a valuable service in gathering together a number of important sources in Gabonese history and making them available to a wider audience. The bibliographies to each book indicate the sources available in the "Fonds Gabon" and thus allow the researcher to get an idea of the scope of the collection. 

 

Appendix: Mémoires de Maîtrises in Gabonese History done at the Université National Omar Bongo (Libreville), 1982-1991

Historiography

Nguema-Ndong, Thomas. "Repertoire analytique des principales sources historiques conservées au Gabon: des origines jusqu'à 1900." 1984.

Archeology and Material Culture

Asseko-Ndong, Alain. "Essai d'une approche ethnoarchéologique sur la métallurgie du fer dans la Province du Woleu-Ntem." 1988.

Issembe, Aristide. "Les industries traditionnelles des métaux." 1984.

Kogou-Mboula, Hortense. "Inventaire des sites archéologiques dans le département de la Lébombi-Leyou (Moanda) Haut-Ogooué." 1985.

Riohou, Ide Nestor. "La matière première dans l'industrie lithique préhistorique de la Ngounie et de la Nyanga." 1990.

Colonial Administration

Adze, Léon-Paul. "Le régime de l'indigenat au Gabon de 1910 à 1946." 1985.

Anvame, Olga-Chantal. 'Vaction des organismes financiers dans le développement économique du Gabon (1944-1960)." 1990.

Barbera, Max-Alain. "La perception de l'impôt au Gabon 1900-1930." 1989.

Didzambo, Rufin. "Migrations de travail au Gabon, 1900-1930." 1990.

Kiki, Jeanne- Françoise. "La justice indigène au Gabon de 1910 à 1945." 1985.

Loubamono-Bessacque, Guy-Claver. "L'armée coloniale au Gabon de 1910 à 1930." 1984.

Makongo, Rene. "L'histoire économique du Gabon." 1983.

Mboumbou-Makanga, Jean-Marie. "Main d'oeuvre autochtone et mise en valeur coloniale: exemple du Gabon de 1900 à 1939." 1985.

Menie-Nka, Théophile. "La Securité Sociale dans le Gabon colonial, 1918-1960." 1984.

Meviane, Yolande-Christiane. "Les voies de communications au Gabon pendant la période coloniale (1920-1960)." 1985.

Momha, Roland. "Le Gabon de 1850 à 1929: commerce colonial et société autoclitone." 1986.

Ngoua, Philomène. "Les problèmes de santé au Gabon pendant la période coloniale 1910-1955." 1984.

Nguema, Marie-Thérèse. "L'oeuvre économique et sociale des premières assemblées gabonaises: conseil représentatif et assemblée territoriale, 1947-1960." 1986.

Nzengue, Dieudonné. "Histoire de l'administration publique au Gabon de 1946 à 1958." 1988.

Rossinga, Marie- Madeleine. "Contribution à l'étude de l'évolution du patrimoine forestier gabonais: la première zone forestière de 1946 à 1961." 1984.

Ethnic Group History

Angue-Biyogho, Brigitte. "Les razzias fang chez les Nturnu: Obane et Sono dans la région Sud Cameroun et Nord Gabon de 1880 à 1950." 1989.

Binga, Hubert. "Histoire de la chefferie Ndumu de 1879 - 1958." 1989.

Engone-Ndong, Callixte. "Les Hausa d'Oyem des origines à nos jours (1899-1989)." 1991.

Goufoura-Offiga, Antoinette. "Recherches sur le rôle de la chefferie indigéne Gisira dans I'administration coloniale française de  la Ngounie (1909-1960)." 1985.

Ivanga, François de Paul. "Contribution à l'histoire des Mpongwe des origines à 1845." 1985.

Lekogo, Thomas. "Economie coloniale et société precapitaliste Mbere dans le Haut-Ogooué, 1875-1930." 1986.

Mackaya-Mackanga, J.M. "Ethno-histoire des Ajurnba: essai sur l'implantation des peuples du Gabon des origines a l'indépendence." 1983.

Madoungou-Boudianga, Jean-Pierre. "Histoire de la région des Duma de 1882 à 1953: la domination coloniale et ses incidences." 1986.

Mezui-Me-Zue, Celestin. "Société et économie des Fang du Nord Gabon avant la colonisation, fin du 19e siècle." 1983.

Mombey, Paul. "Les Benga, peuple du Gabon." 1988.

Mombo-Maganga, Charles. "Un siècle d'histoire Varama: seconde moitié du 19e siécle, premiére moitié du 20e siécle." 1986.

Mouloungui-Mouele. "Esquisse d'étude monographique sur une ethnie gabonaise: le cas des Sangu dans le 19e siècle." 1983.

Moutete, Barthélemy. "Contribution à I'histoire do Gabon: les Wandjis des origines é 1929." 1984.

Moutsinga Kebila, Léonard Diderot. "Contribution à l'histoire Eviya." 1989.

M'Voubou, Augustin. "Le peuple Punu du bassin de la Nyanga: les aspects socio-culturels et leur évolution de la fin du XlXe siécle à l'indépendence." 1987.

Ndimina Mougala, Antoine Denis "Monographie d'une ethnie gabonaise: les Gisir de 1855 à 1900." 1983.

Ndombet, Wilson-André. "Histoire des Adjumba." 1984.

Ndong Bibang, Alfred Georges. "L'armement Ntumu son évolution des origines à 1960." 1990.

Ngomo, Théophile. "Contribution à l'histoire des Tsengi." 1984.

Nkala, Simon. "Contribution à I'histoire de l'implantation des Fang Nzaman dans I'Ogooué-Ivindo du siècIe dernier à nos jours." 1986.

Nziengui-Moukani, Jerome. "Histoire des implantations Bavungu dans la région du sud-ouest do Gabon: des origines à 1968." 1988.

Obouyou Makassi, Christian. "Ethno-histoire de la société Seki précoloniale: migrations et structures traditionnelles." 1983.

Olaghe Nkora, Noël "L'implantation et l'expansion du bwiti chez les Nzaman de l'Ogooué-Ivindo de 1950 à nos jours." 1989

Togo, Hortense. "La tradition orale des Apindji (Ngounie, Gabon): origines du peuple, mode de vie, médecine, religion et éthique." 1988.

Town and Regional Histories

Akendengue, Bernard. "La vie économique et sociale dans le district d'Omboué, 1945-1960." 1986.

Ayingone Eyi, Blandine. "Famines, épidémies au Woleu-Ntem pendant la période coloniale de 1910 à 1960." 1985.

Banguebe, Benjamin. "La vie économique et sociale à Lastoursville de 1883 à 1928." 1989.

Codjo, Leopold. "L'évolution économique de I'Ogooué- Maritime de 1930 à 1960." 1984.

Dzimet Mba, Rufin. "L'évolution de Cocobeach des origines à nos jours." 1987.

Eya-Minko, Fidele. "Les échanges commerciaux entre les provinces du Woleu-Ntem (Gabon) et les provinces du Centre-Sud (Cameroun) de 1945 à 1960." 1987.

Leoumbou, Scholastique-Rufine. "Contribution à I'histoire de la ville de Franceville de 1880 à 1946." 1985.

Lepebe, Jean. "Occupation coloniale française dans le Haut-Ogooué (Gabon) 1880-1946. 1985.

Magandi, Christian. "Ogooué-Maritime: les incidences de l'exploitation et de l'exploration du pétrole sur le peuplement actuel (1928-1985)." 1990.

Mba-Biyogho, Jean-Paul. "La colonisation do Nord-Gabon (Woleu-Ntem) de 1902 à 1932." 1985.

Mbanga Livoua, Barnabé José. "Fleuve et sociétés: le cas de I'Ogooué au Gabon, des origines à 1973." 1990.

Mbigui, Mathias. "Recherches sur histoire de Sindara (1858-1946)." 1984.

Meye, François-Charles. "La fondation de Madiville 1883 (futur Lastoursville)." 1985.

Meye-Me-Nze, François. "Évolution de la vie politique dans la région du Woleu-Ntem (1945-1960)." 1985.

Meyo-Me-Nkoghe, Dieudonné. "La vie économique et sociale de Kango de 1900 à 1955." 1989.

Mouanga-Mouloungui, Eugenie. "Contribution à I'histoire de Mouila des origines à 1971." 1984.

Ndong-Ondo, Jean-Fréderic. "La mise en valeur économique de la région du Woleu-Ntem: 1900-1950." 1986.

Ndoutoume-Minko, Thomas. "L'activité économique et commerciale dans la région de I'Ogooué-Ivindo pendant la période coloniale: 1905-1960." 1986.

Ngolet, Francois. "Techniques et activités cynégétiques dans le Moyen-Ogooué précolonial (Gabon): approche photohistorique et paléosociologique." 1986.

Ngonda, Fabien. "Les exploitations diamentifères de Makongonio 1947-1958: étude économique et sociale." 1983.

Ngoubili, Felicité. "Recherches sur I'histoire de la frontiére nationale entre le Gabon et le Congo: le secteur de la Nyanga de 1934 à 1979." 1984.

Nguema-Edzo, Michel. "L'évolution historique de Ntoum de 1905 à 1970." 1985.

Nkeze Igouwe, Edwige. "La vie politique et syndicale dans I'Ogooué-Maritime de 1945 à 1960." 1983.

Nze, Samuel. "L'évolution économique de la région du Moyen-Ogooué de 1862 à 1960." 1983.

Nzeong-Mbami, Paulin. "La vie politique et éconornique dans la région de I'Ogouué-Ivindo: de la colonisation à l'indépendence 1945-1960." 1985.

Nzetchouang, Bernadette. "Les relations économiques entre le Sud-Cameroun et le Nord-Gabon de 1919 à 1950." 1986.

Obame-Anda, Paulin. "L'histoire de Bitam, 1904-1960." 1986.

Obiang, Claude L. "Implantation européene et domination française sur 'arongo mbe ndiwa' ou les côtes de I'Estuaire de Gabon 1828-1888." 1985.

Omvane-Nkouele, Francois-Xavier. "Oyem des origines à 1960: évolution économique, politique et sociale." 1986.

Catholic Mission Histories

Bé Ndong, Albert-Simon. "Missions chrétiennes du Woleu-Ntem: cas du departement de Ntem." 1990.

Delicat, Cherubin. "La mission catholique de Mayumba, 1888 à 1958." 1984.

Koumba Manfoumbi, Monique. "La mission catholique Saint Martin des Apindji (1900-1954): étude de cas sur I'histoire de l'évangélisation du Gabon." 1983.

Lendoye Ringue, Dieudonné. "Aperçu critique de l'oeuvre scientifique d'André Raponda-Walker." 1990.

Ngoma-Tchikaya, Joseph. "La vie et l'oeuvre de Monseigneur Jean-Remy Bessieux au Gabon (1803-1876)." 1985.

Obiang-Nguema, Dieudonné. "La Mission Sainte Thérèse d'Oyem de 1929 à 1979." 1985.

Ogowet, Thérèse. "La Mission Saint Louis de Port-Gentil de 1927 à 1971." 1986.

Olla, Jacqueline. "Sainte-Anne d'Odimba (1887-1960): oeuvre missionnaire et rayonnement." 1983.

Oyandja, Dieudonné. "La mission catholique Saint Hilaire de Franceville de 1897 à 1970." 1986.

Islam in Gabon

Assournou Mombey, Théophile. "L'évolution de l'islam au Gabon de 1973 à nos jours." 1989.

Nzeng, Armand. "Essai sur l'histoire de l'islam à Libreville de 1900 à nos jours." 1985.

Independence Era

Bitoung Angome, Michèle Nathalie Chanique. "De la libre circulation des personnes et des biens dans le système de l'UDEAC de 1964 à 1985: cas de relations Gabon-Camerounaises." 1990.

Eyindanga, Edouard Jacob. "Les langues do marché à Libreville." 1989.

Nziengui, Charles. "L'enseignement au Gabon 1960-1970." 1982.