Port-Gentil

History

In 1473, the Portuguese navigator Lopo Gonçalves sailed near Cape Lopez. In 1722, pirates led by Bartholomew Roberts fought a battle in the Cape Lopez Bay against the Royal Navy. The encounter ended in Roberts' death. The settlement was established on Mandji Island in the delta of the Ogooué River by the French, who signed a treaty with the Orungu people in 1873. It was used as a base for Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza's expeditions into the interior, then in 1894 a customs post was set up, becoming the nucleus of a trading center that included Hatton & Cookson, John Holt, Woermann, Société du Haut-Ogooué, and Compagnie d'Exploitations Forestières Africaines. The main products were initially rubber and ivory, gradually supplemented by wood, particularly okoumé for plywood. The town was named after the French colonial administrator Émile Gentil in 1900. After World War I it became a port for timber, but it grew rapidly only after Elf began oil exploration in the area. It received its first bank branch when Bank of West Africa (BAO) opened a branch there in 1928. The city was the location of the exile of Moroccan nationalist leader Allal al-Fassi who resided in the city between 1937 and 1946. A 1947 population of 4,500 grew to 21,000 by 1960. An oil refinery was established by SOGARA in the 1960s, with natural gas added in 1968. The town is now known for its hotels and its nightlife, while attractions include the St Louis Church (built in 1927), a zoo, a casino, beaches and a golf course, as well as the wildlife in local swamps.

Most-observed species

• Slender-billed Weaver

  Ploceus pelzelni (Shelley, 1887) · Aves
  32
• Red-eyed Dove

  Streptopelia semitorquata (Rüppell, 1837) · Aves
  32
• African Palm-Swift

  Cypsiurus parvus (M.H.K.Lichtenstein, 1823) · Aves
  27
• Common Bulbul

  Pycnonotus barbatus (Desfontaines, 1789) · Aves
  27
• Woodland Kingfisher

  Halcyon senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  26
• Cattle Egret

  Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  25
• African Jacana

  Actophilornis africanus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  24
• Laughing Dove

  Spilopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  24