The Mpongwé tribe lived in the area long before the French took control of the land in 1839. The city was founded (as Gabon) in 1843 as a trading station. Freed slaves were sent there from the ship L'Elizia. In 1848 it was named Libreville (French for "Freetown"). It was the chief port of French Equatorial Africa from 1934 to 1946.