A republic in western africa, south of mali and burkina faso. Its capital is abidjan. It was formerly called ivory coast. From 1842 the french had a treaty with the native rulers. By 1889 a french protectorate was established and in 1893 it was made a colony. Cote d'ivoire achieved self-government in 1958 and became an independent republic in 1960. It is named for the ivory first traded by the portuguese there in the 16th century.