A republic in west equatorial Africa, south of CAMEROON and west of CONGO. Its capital is Libreville. It was the first part of French Equatorial Africa to be settled in 1841. Gabon achieved independence from France in 1960. Gabon was named for the Gabon River, whose estuary was discovered by the Portuguese in the late 15th century: gabao is the word for hood, probably with reference to its shape. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p423 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p198).
