Bafoussam, city in western Cameroon, the capital of West Province, 286 km (177 mi) northwest of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. The rich volcanic soils surrounding Bafoussam support a rural population, chiefly engaged in the cultivation of arabica coffee and cocoa, which is processed in the city. Linked to Yaoundé and Douala by air and paved roads, Bafoussam has markets, banks, courts, and administrative offices. Tourist activities include hiking and hunting. The principal ethnic group of the region is the Bamileke, Cameroon's largest Bantu group. In nearby Bandjoun, the country's most beautifully decorated chief's compound, now a museum, provides an excellent example of Bamileke architecture, with square buildings with conical straw roofs, granaries, tall carved pillars resembling totem poles, carved doorways and woven bamboo walls with geometric designs.
Between 1700 and 1800, the Mbum people established a confederation of chiefdoms, which included the Bamileke. The area was subjected to German colonization in the late 19th century and then came under French control after World War I (1914-1918). Today, many of the city's inhabitants are French-speaking. With Cameroon gaining independence in 1960 under a government dominated by northern Muslims, Bafoussam became the center of an armed rebellion which was not fully suppressed until 1975. In 1991 the city was a center of the “ghost town” campaign, a series of protests and strikes against the government of President Paul Biya. Population (1992 estimate) 120,000.
