The area was inhabited by the Mpongwé tribe long before the French acquired the land in 1839. The city was founded (as Gabon) in 1843 as a trading station. Freed slaves were sent there from the ship L'Elizia, and in 1848 it was named Libreville (French for Freetown). It was the chief port of French Equatorial Africa from 1934 to 1946. Libreville was named in imitation of Freetown and grew only slowly as a trading post and a minor administrative centre to a population of 31,000 on independence in 1960. Since independence, the city has grown rapidly and now house ...

See also:

Libreville, Libreville - History, Libreville - Features

Read more here: » Libreville: Encyclopedia II - Libreville - History