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Limbe
Limbe
	Fishing boats on the beach
	; Limbe Location in Cameroon
	Coordinates: 4°01′N 9°13′E / 4.017°N 9.217°E
Country	Cameroon
Province	Southwest
Department	Fako
	Population (2001)
- Total	84,500 (est)

Coordinates: 4°01′N 9°13′E / 4.017°N 9.217°E / 4.017; 9.217

Limbe (1858–1982: Victoria; also spelled Limbé) is a seaside city in the South West Region of Cameroon. Limbe was founded in 1858 on the southern slopes of Mount Cameroon by the British missionary Alfred Saker. According to the 2001 estimate, the population was 84,500.

[edit] History

Victoria was founded by the British missionary Alfred Saker of the Baptist Missionary Society of London in June 1858.. Due to this treaty, initially Victoria and its vicinity was not part of the new German colony Kamerun and remained under British administration. On May 7, 1886 Great Britain and Germany agreed to exchange Victoria and its vicinity for German rights at the Forcados River in Nigeria and St. Lucia in South Africa. On March 28, 1887 Victoria and its vicinity were handed over to the German administration. At the same time Swiss Presbyterian missionaries bought the land from the Baptist Missionary Society in 1887.

Victoria became British again in 1915. In 1982 Victoria was renamed and is since then known as Limbe.

[edit] Language

1908 painting of the town when it was known as Victoria

The Southwest Province's official language is English, although French is often spoken due to the city's geographic proximity to Douala, where the official language is French. Most of the population speaks Cameroonian Pidgin English. The native language of the region is Bakweri or Mokpwe.

[edit] Of interest

Limbe is located on a beautiful bay against the backdrop of a major mountain range. Black sand beaches make Limbe one of two coastal towns (Kribi being the other) that are popular among Western tourists. The Limbe Wildlife Centre and Limbe Botanical Gardens are notable attractions. The Germans left a Bismarck tower in the vicinity of Limbe.

[edit] Transport

Limbe is served by a terminal station of a 600 mm (1 ft 11+⁵⁄₈ in) gauge plantation railway. ^[1]

[edit] Commerce

Limbe is the center of Cameroon's oil industry. Other important industries are fishery and tourism. The Port of Limbe is one of four commercial ports in Cameroon. ^[2]

[edit] Industry

In 2008, Limbe became the site of a cement works.The city is also host the head office of one of Cameroon's largest company known as the CDC. The head office is at Bota, Limbe. The former Prime Minister of Cameroon, Mr . Peter Mafany Musonge, used to be the General Manager of CDC before he was appointed Prime Minister. Limbe also has a natural sea port; although, it is not operational. Most of the shipping is done in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon. Limbe also hosts several nice hotels such as Atlantic beach hotel, Guest House Hotel, Park and Mirama Hotel etc and some of the best pharmacies in South West Province such as Rainbow Chemist, Fako Pharmacy, and Pharmacy Donagu.