Cameroon has always had ethnic diversity; dating back to about 8000 BC when the Baka people migrated to the modern-day borders of the country. By 200 BC, there was an arrival of Bantu-speaking people into the southern and eastern areas of the country. The Bantu-speaking people drove the Bakas off fertile land and into the nearby forests. In the 1500s, the Mandara kingdom inhabited the Mandara Mountains. During this time, Arabic and Hamitic migrants began to settle in the northern regions of the country. Several notable civilizations grew in the north surrounding the Chad basin, including the Karem, Bournou, and Sou people. At the beginning of the 15th century, the northern ethic groups were joined by the pastoral nomadic Islamist Fulani group who, by the 18th century, had established a strong presence in the region. The Fulani took over the northern region until about the 19th century. Europeans first arrive in Cameroon in the 15th century, when Fernando Po, a Portuguese explorer, led a voyage of explorers up the Wouri River. There was an abundance of shrimp in the Wouri River, because of this Po named the river Rio dos Camaroes (River of the Prawns). ‘Camaroes’ forms the base of the name Cameroon.
Trade was a great advancement which the used to everybody’s advantage. Po’s arrival in Cameroon was the beginning of a 400-year trading relationship between the Portuguese and local African chiefs, who were primarily from Douala, Limbé, and Bonaberi. The Portuguese and African’s trade consisted of slaves, food, and goods. Eventually, the trade came to include the British, French, Dutch, and German. Malaria and other tropical diseases restricted European presence in the coastal regions until the late 1870s, when large supplies of the malaria suppressant, quinine, became available. The African-Euro trade increased the prominence of the coastal kingdoms, until the pre-existing Bornou Empire was taken over. The powerful kingdoms were the coastal regions and the Fulani stronghold in the north. By the end of the 18th century, the Fulani had grown so powerful by merging and conquering or ejecting the non-Muslim population. The Fulani proceeded to establish a slave trade that allowed them to hold their power. While the end of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade caused the southern ethnic groups to trade gold and ivory in return for the European’s guns, metals, alcohol, and cloth. The ethnic groups in the south made rewarding profits from their trade with the Europeans, mostly because of their role as the “middleman” in the exchanges. Christian mission groups began to establish a presence in the late 19th century and still play a role in the country.
I found this information about ancient history of Cameroon on the Internet. There was not sufficient information found on any one site, so I had to cross reference all my sources. I also contacted some of my cousins in Cameroon to ask them about what aspects of Cameroonian history they knew and learned in school. I do not think there is sufficient documentation throughout history.