The Federal Republic of Ambazonia represents the independence aspirations of the English speaking peoples of the former British Southern Cameroons. After World War One the League of Nations divided the German colony of Kamerun between France and Britain.

The southern British administered portion, known as Southern Cameroons, developed its own institutions, legal systems, and educational structures distinct from those of French Cameroon.  In 1961 Southern Cameroons voted in a plebiscite to join the Republic of Cameroon in a federal arrangement. Many communities expected a partnership of equals, but federal protections were gradually dismantled. By 1972 Cameroon became a centralized unitary state, and English speaking regions increasingly felt politically and culturally marginalized. These grievances included underrepresentation, erosion of the common law system, and restrictions on English language education.  In the 1990s organized movements emerged calling for autonomy or the restoration of the original federal structure. As tensions deepened, some groups proclaimed the independence of a Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The name Ambazonia derives from Ambas Bay, a historic point of British contact. The movement claims continuity with the legal personality of Southern Cameroons prior to union.

Ambazonian identity today draws upon shared language, legal heritage, and historical memory of separate administration. While the region remains under Cameroonian control, the idea of Ambazonia has become a focal point in debates about self determination, minority protection, and the unresolved legacies of decolonisation.