Being adjacent to the north shore of the Gabon estuary, its first French establishment was founded when Admiral Bouet recognized the importance of the river as a route of navigation, flowing into the Gulf of Guinea, in 1849. The rising colony welcomed freed slaves along with Pongoue villagers (who first settled the estuary): hence, the name was given to the city meaning ‚Äúfree town‚Äù. Between 1860 and 1874, the British, Germans, and Americans established businesses in Libreville, which for over a decade was the capital of French Equatorial Africa. Although Libreville remains now an important commercial and maritime center for the export of the colony’s products, with the colonial federative constitution of Equatorial Africa and the transfer of its capital to Brazzaville, and with the creation and development of Port-Gentil, the city has partially lost its importance as the capital of the French Congo.

However, since independence in 1960, Libreville has grown rapidly and is now Gabon’s educational center and home to one-third of the national population.