Ndjolé
Ndjolé is the capital town in the Abanga-Bigne Department in Gabon, lying northeast of Lambaréné on the Ogooué River, the N2 road and the Trans-Gabon Railway. It is known as a base for logging and as a transport hub. Ndjolé is the last city that can be reached by barge traffic traveling up the Ogooué River. Above Ndjolé there are rapids on the river.
Ndjolé | |
|---|---|
  Ndjolé Location in Gabon | |
| Coordinates: 0°11′S 10°45′E | |
| Country |  Gabon |
| Province | Moyen-Ogooué Province |
| Department | Abanga-Bigne Department |
| Population (2008) | |
| • Total | 6,289 |
History
In 1883, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza founded the military post of Ndjolé, a strategic point located on the Ogooué River.
The river being difficult to navigate upstream, it is here that foresters loaded their wood to bring it down to Port-Gentil.
The N'djolé prison, built in 1898 on an island on the Ogooué, opposite Ndjolé, was part of a French policy to build detention centres in the French overseas departments and territories then in the colonies. It was here that Samory Touré, founder and leader of the short-lived Wassoulou Empire, died in captivity. Alongside Samory Touré, Cheikh Amadou Bamba Mbacké also experienced exile and forced labour there.
Further reading
- Petringa, Maria. Brazza, A Life for Africa. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4259-1198-0. Describes Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza's extensive explorations of Gabon and surrounding countries.