The Kru, Krao, Kroo, or Krou are a West African ethnic group who are indigenous to western Ivory Coast and eastern Liberia. European and American writers often called Kru men who enlisted as sailors or mariners Krumen. They migrated and settled along various points of the West African coast, notably Freetown, Sierra Leone, but also the Ivorian and Nigerian coasts. The Kru-speaking people are a large ethnic group that is made up of several sub-ethnic groups in Liberia and Ivory Coast. In Liberia, there are 48 sub-sections of Kru tribes, including the Jlao Kru. These tribes include Bété, Bassa, Krumen, Guéré, Grebo, Klao/Krao, Dida, Krahn people and Jabo people.
Kru canoers depicted by French engraver Alluaud
Didier Drogba (1978-) Ivorian football player.[citation needed]
George Weah (1966–present) 25th President of Liberia
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (1938-) 24th President of Liberia
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. With 30.9 million inhabitants in 2023, Ivory Coast is the third-most populous country in West Africa. Its official language is French, and indigenous languages are also widely used, including Bété, Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 different languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The country has a religiously diverse population, including numerous followers of Islam, Christianity, and traditional faiths like Animism.
Prehistoric polished stone celt from Boundiali in northern Ivory Coast, photo taken at the IFAN Museum of African Arts in Dakar, Senegal
Pre-European kingdoms
Louis-Gustave Binger of French West Africa in 1892 treaty signing with Famienkro leaders, in present-day N'zi-Comoé Region, Ivory Coast
Arrival in Kong of new French West Africa governor Louis-Gustave Binger in 1892.