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Côte d'Ivoire was ruled by kingdoms during the pre-European era. The first recorded history is found on the journals of North African traders who conducted a gold caravan trade that traversed on the country during the times of the Roman Empire.
From 1843 to 1844, a treaty made Côte d'Ivoire a protectorate of France and in 1893, a French colony as part of the "European scramble" for Africa. The country declared independence on August 1960 through the efforts of its first president and "Father of Independence," Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who attempted to combine Western capitalism with African values in ushering the country to become Africa's economic miracle and role model for stability.
Immediately after Houphouët-Boigny became president, Côte d'Ivoire became West Africa's richest nation, and a decade after, became the world's third largest coffee producer and exporter of cocoa, pineapple and palm oil exports.
All these changed when Houphouët-Boigny died. Coups and insurgencies have torn the country into northern and southern factions, causing French businesses to jump ship and leave the country into crumbles. Through foreign intervention, however, Côte d'Ivoire is now on the road to healing. Security is being restored, while tourism infrastructures are being developed.