--- title: Equatorial Guinea — English Wikipedia · full text with trees description: Wikipedia's «Equatorial Guinea», whole, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics, CC BY-SA 4.0. It begins: Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa and the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Equatorial_Guinea/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [wikipedia](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/) / [en](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/) / Equatorial Guinea # Equatorial Guinea From Wikipedia, [«Equatorial Guinea»](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_Guinea), revision of the 2026-09-01 dump, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The trees and pragmatics of these pages, Mova's parse of that text, are CC BY-SA 4.0 too. The English Wikipedia article «Equatorial Guinea», whole: 34 sections, 375 sentences and 7906 words, its 171 notes at the end. The marks in brackets «[n]» are Wikipedia's own, each leading to its note and source; the small number after every sentence leads to the sentence's own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Equatorial_Guinea/page/2/) [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Equatorial_Guinea/page/3/) [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Equatorial_Guinea/page/4/) | Facts | | | --- | --- | | | **Republic of Equatorial Guinea** | | | **Motto:** Unidad, Paz, Justicia; "Unity, Peace, Justice" | | | **Anthem:** Himno Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial; "[National Anthem of Equatorial Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Anthem_of_Equatorial_Guinea)" | | Capital | [Ciudad de la Paz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciudad_de_la_Paz) [corpus](../Ciudad_de_la_Paz/ "in our corpus"); 1°35′20″N 10°49′21″E [\[1\]](page/4/#ref-1 "note 1") [\[2\]](page/4/#ref-2 "note 2") [\[3\]](page/4/#ref-3 "note 3") | | Largest city | [Bata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bata,_Equatorial_Guinea) | | Official languages | [Spanish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatoguinean_Spanish) (Main language); [French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language)[\[4\]](page/4/#ref-4 "note 4"); [Portuguese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatoguinean_Portuguese)[\[5\]](page/4/#ref-5 "note 5") | | [Ethnic groups](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_group) (2020[\[6\]](page/4/#ref-6 "note 6")) | 85.7% [Fang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fang_people); 6.5% [Bubi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubi_people); 3.6% [Ndowe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Equatorial_Guinea#Peoples_considered_as_natives); 1.6% Annobon; 1.1% [Bujeba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwasio_people); 1.1% others | | [Demonym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonym) | [Equatoguinean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Equatorial_Guinea); [Equatorial Guinean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Equatorial_Guinea) | | Government | Unitary [presidential republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_republic) under an authoritarian [hereditary dictatorship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasty#Hereditary_dictatorship)[\[7\]](page/4/#ref-7 "note 7")[\[8\]](page/4/#ref-8 "note 8")[\[9\]](page/4/#ref-9 "note 9") | | • [President](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_Equatorial_Guinea) | [Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teodoro_Obiang_Nguema_Mbasogo) | | • [Vice President](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_Equatorial_Guinea) | [Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teodoro_Nguema_Obiang_Mangue) | | • [Prime Minister](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Equatorial_Guinea) | [Manuel Osa Nsue Nsua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Osa_Nsue_Nsua) | | • Chief Justice | Joaquín Asong Owono Mbang | | Legislature | [Parliament](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Equatorial_Guinea) | | • [Upper house](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_house) | [Senate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_%28Equatorial_Guinea%29) | | • [Lower house](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_house) | [Chamber of Deputies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamber_of_Deputies_%28Equatorial_Guinea%29) | | **Independence from [Spain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francoist_Spain)** | | | • Declared | 12 October 1968 | | • [1979 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Equatorial_Guinea_coup_d%27état) | 3 August 1979 | | **Area** | | | • Total | 28,050 km² (10,830 sq mi) ([141st](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area)) | | • Water (%) | negligible | | **Population** | | | • 2025 estimate | 1,795,834[\[10\]](page/4/#ref-10 "note 10") ([154th](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population)) | | • Density | 67/km² (174/sq mi) ([147th](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population_density)) | | [GDP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product) ([PPP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity)) | 2025 estimate | | • Total | $33.003 billion[\[11\]](page/4/#ref-11 "note 11") ([149th](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29)) | | • Per capita | $20,017[\[11\]](page/4/#ref-11 "note 11") ([92nd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28PPP%29_per_capita)) | | [GDP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product) (nominal) | 2025 estimate | | • Total | $12.680 billion[\[11\]](page/4/#ref-11 "note 11") ([149th](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29)) | | • Per capita | $7,750[\[11\]](page/4/#ref-11 "note 11") ([95th](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29_per_capita)) | | [Gini](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient) (2022) | 38.5[\[12\]](page/4/#ref-12 "note 12"); medium inequality | | [HDI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index) (2023) | 0.674[\[13\]](page/4/#ref-13 "note 13"); medium ([133rd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index)) | | Currency | [Central African CFA franc](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_African_CFA_franc) ([XAF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217)) | | Time zone | [UTC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time)+1 ([WAT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa_Time)) | | Calling code | [+240](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/+240) | | [Internet TLD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_code_top-level_domain) | [.gq](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.gq) | | | Including [Equatoguinean Spanish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatoguinean_Spanish) (Español ecuatoguineano) | Equatorial Guinea,[\[14\]](page/4/#ref-14 "note 14") officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea,[\[15\]](page/4/#ref-15 "note 15") is a country on the west coast of [Central Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Africa) and the only [Spanish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language)-speaking country in Africa.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") It has an area of 28000 km2.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") Formerly the colony of [Spanish Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Guinea), its post-independence name refers to its location both near the [Equator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equator) and in the [African region of Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_%28region%29). as of 2025, the country has a population of 1,853,559,[\[10\]](page/4/#ref-10 "note 10") over 85% of whom are members of the [Fang people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fang_people), the country's dominant ethnic group.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") The [Bubi people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubi_people), indigenous to [Bioko Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioko), are the second largest group at approximately 6.5% of the population.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") The capital, since January 2026, is [Ciudad de la Paz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciudad_de_la_Paz) [corpus](../Ciudad_de_la_Paz/ "in our corpus"), and [Bata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bata,_Equatorial_Guinea) is the largest city.[\[16\]](page/4/#ref-16 "note 16")[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") Equatorial Guinea consists of two parts.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") The mainland region, [Río Muni](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Río_Muni), is bordered by [Cameroon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameroon) [corpus](../Cameroon/ "in our corpus") to the north and [Gabon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabon) [corpus](../Gabon/ "in our corpus") to the south and east.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") It has the majority of the population.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") Río Muni's small offshore islands include [Corisco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corisco), [Elobey Grande](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elobey_Grande), and [Elobey Chico](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elobey_Chico).[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") The [insular region](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islands_of_Equatorial_Guinea) consists of the islands of [Bioko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioko) (formerly Fernando Po) in the [Gulf of Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Guinea) and [Annobón](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annobón_Province).[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") Bioko Island is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea and is the site of [Malabo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malabo).[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") The Portuguese-speaking island nation of [São Tomé and Príncipe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/São_Tomé_and_Príncipe) [corpus](../São_Tomé_and_Príncipe/ "in our corpus") is located between Bioko and Annobón.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") The Equator runs through Equatorial Guinea's territorial waters, about 1.4° north of Annobón.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") [Pygmies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Pygmies) are the first confirmed inhabitants to settle in the area of present-day Equatorial Guinea, followed by a migration of [Bantu-speaking groups](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu_expansion) in the 6th century BC.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") Portuguese explorer [Fernando Pó](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernão_do_Pó) explored the area in 1472.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") Via the 1778 [Treaty of El Pardo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_El_Pardo_%281778%29), [Portugal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Empire) ceded territories in the [Bight of Biafra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bight_of_Biafra) to [Spain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Empire); the territory was declared [Spanish Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Guinea) during the [Scramble for Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scramble_for_Africa).[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") Nearly 200 years later, it gained independence in 1968 under the bloody dictatorship of President [Francisco Macías Nguema](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Macías_Nguema).[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") He declared himself [president for life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_for_life) in 1972 but was overthrown in a [coup in 1979](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Equatorial_Guinea_coup_d%27état) by his nephew, [Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teodoro_Obiang_Nguema_Mbasogo), who has served as the country's president since.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") Obiang's regime has been widely characterized as a dictatorship by foreign observers.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") Since the mid-1990s, Equatorial Guinea has become one of [Sub-Saharan Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Saharan_Africa)'s largest oil producers.[\[17\]](page/4/#ref-17 "note 17")[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") It has subsequently become one of the richest countries per capita in Africa;[\[18\]](page/4/#ref-18 "note 18") this wealth is extremely unevenly distributed, with few people benefiting from the oil riches.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") However, the country has the second-highest [Human Development Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index)[\[13\]](page/4/#ref-13 "note 13") among Sub-Saharan countries (rank 133rd), and 7.7% of children dying before the age of five in 2021, a continuous reduction from 17.9% in 1990.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") Since Equatorial Guinea is a former Spanish colony, Spanish is the main official language.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") French and (as of 2010) Portuguese have also been made official.[\[19\]](page/4/#ref-19 "note 19")[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") Apart from the Spanish provinces in Africa (Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla), Equatorial Guinea is one of the two countries (the other being the partially recognized [Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahrawi_Arab_Democratic_Republic) [corpus](../Sahrawi_Arab_Democratic_Republic/ "in our corpus")) and the only sovereign country in Africa where Spanish is an official language.[\[20\]](page/4/#ref-20 "note 20")[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") Spain supports education and research for citizens, including cooperation on teachers training and postgraduate/doctoral education.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") The education was highly influenced by the Spanish system, and Equatorial Guinea has had one of the highest literacy rates among Sub-Saharan African countries.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") Since the United States oil companies are the main operators of the oil industry, they are the main supporters of revenue.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") Guinea's government is [authoritarian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism) and [sultanist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultanism)[\[21\]](page/4/#ref-21 "note 21") and has one of the [worst human rights records in the world](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Equatorial_Guinea), consistently ranking among the "worst of the worst" in [Freedom House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_House)'s [annual survey of political and civil rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_in_the_World).[\[22\]](page/4/#ref-22 "note 22")[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") [Reporters Without Borders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders) ranks Obiang among its "predators" of press freedom.[\[23\]](page/4/#ref-23 "note 23")[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") [Human trafficking in the country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_Equatorial_Guinea) is a significant problem, with the U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report identifying Equatorial Guinea as a source and destination country for [forced labour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfree_labor) and sex trafficking.[\[24\]](page/4/#ref-24 "note 24")[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") The country is a member of the [United Nations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations), [African Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Union), [Francophonie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_internationale_de_la_Francophonie), [OPEC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPEC), and the [CPLP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Portuguese_Language_Countries).[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") ## History Main article: [History of Equatorial Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Equatorial_Guinea) [Pygmies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Pygmies) likely once lived in the continental region but are today found only in isolated pockets in southern [Río Muni](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Río_Muni).[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") [Bantu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu_languages) migrations likely started around 2,000 BC from between south-east Nigeria and north-west Cameroon (the Grassfields).[\[25\]](page/4/#ref-25 "note 25")[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") They must have settled continental Equatorial Guinea around 500 BC at the latest.[\[26\]](page/4/#ref-26 "note 26")[\[27\]](page/4/#ref-27 "note 27")[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") The earliest settlements on [Bioko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioko) are dated to AD 530.[\[28\]](page/4/#ref-28 "note 28")[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") The [Annobón](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annobonese_Creole) population, originally native to [Angola](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola) [corpus](../Angola/ "in our corpus"), was introduced by the Portuguese via [São Tomé island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/São_Tomé_%28island%29).[\[29\]](page/4/#ref-29 "note 29")[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") ### First European contact and Portuguese rule (1472–1778) Portuguese explorer [Fernando Pó](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernão_do_Pó), seeking a path to India, is credited as being the first European to see the island of Bioko in 1472.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") He called it Formosa ("Beautiful"), but it quickly took on the name of its European discoverer.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") The island of Fernando Pó and [Annobón](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annobón) were colonized by Portugal in 1474.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") The first factories were established on the islands around 1500 as the Portuguese recognized the positives of the islands including volcanic soil and disease-resistant highlands.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") Despite natural advantages, initial Portuguese efforts in 1507 to establish a sugarcane plantation and town on Fernando Pó failed due to [Bubi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubi_people) hostility and fever.[\[30\]](page/4/#ref-30 "note 30")[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") ### Early Spanish rule and lease to Britain (1778–1844) In 1778, Spain and Portugal signed the [Treaty of El Pardo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_El_Pardo_%281778%29).[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") The treaty ceded Bioko and adjacent islets along with commercial rights to the [Bight of Biafra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bight_of_Biafra) between the [Niger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger_River) and [Ogooué](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogooué_River) rivers to Spain in exchange for large areas of modern-day western Brazil being ceded to Portugal.[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") Brigadier Felipe José, Count of Arjelejos of the [Spanish Navy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Navy) formally took possession of Bioko from Portugal on 21 October 1778.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") While sailing to Annobón to take possession of it, Arjelejos died from a tropical disease contracted on Bioko, and his fever-ridden crew mutinied.[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") The crew, after having lost over 80% of their men to sickness, instead landed on [São Tomé](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/São_Tomé_%28island%29) where they were imprisoned by Portuguese colonial authorities.[\[31\]](page/4/#ref-31 "note 31")[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") As a result of this disaster, Spain was subsequently hesitant to invest heavily in its new possession.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") However, despite such a setback, Spanish merchants began to use the island as a base for engaging in the [Atlantic slave trade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade).[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") Between 1778 and 1810, the territory of what became Equatorial Guinea was administered by the [Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viceroyalty_of_the_Río_de_la_Plata), based in [Buenos Aires](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires) [corpus](../Buenos_Aires/ "in our corpus").[\[32\]](page/4/#ref-32 "note 32")[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") From 1827 to 1843 the Spanish leased a base in Bioko to the [United Kingdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland), which the British had sought as part of their efforts to suppress the slave trade.[\[33\]](page/4/#ref-33 "note 33")[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") In 1827 Britain unilaterally moved the headquarters of the [Mixed Commission for the Suppression of Slave Traffic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_Commission_for_the_Suppression_of_Slave_Traffic) to Fernando Pó, before moving it back to [Sierra Leone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone) [corpus](../Sierra_Leone/ "in our corpus") under an agreement with Spain in 1843.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") Spain's decision to abolish its involvement in the slave trade under British pressure in 1817 damaged the colony's perceived value to the Spanish and so leasing naval bases was an effective revenue earner from an otherwise unprofitable possession.[\[32\]](page/4/#ref-32 "note 32")[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") Plans by Spain to sell its African colony to Britain were cancelled in 1841 due to opposition from Spanish politicians and the public.[\[34\]](page/4/#ref-34 "note 34")[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") ### Late 19th century (1844–1900) In 1844, the British returned the island to Spanish control and the area became known as the "Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea".[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") Due to epidemics, Spain did not invest much in the colony, and in 1862, an outbreak of [yellow fever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_fever) killed many of the whites that had settled on the island.[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") Despite this, plantations continued to be established by private citizens through the second half of the 19th century.[\[35\]](page/4/#ref-35 "note 35")[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics") The [plantations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantation) of [Fernando Pó](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioko) were mostly run by a black [Creole elite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creole_elite), later known as [Fernandinos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernandino_peoples).[58](58/ "tree and pragmatics") The British settled some 2,000 Sierra Leoneans and freed slaves there during their rule, and a trickle of immigration from West Africa and the West Indies continued after the British left.[59](59/ "tree and pragmatics") A number of freed Angolan slaves, Portuguese-African creoles and immigrants from Nigeria, and Liberia also began to be settled in the colony, where they quickly began to join the new group.[\[36\]](page/4/#ref-36 "note 36")[60](60/ "tree and pragmatics") To the local mix were added Cubans, Filipinos, Jews and Spaniards of various colours, many of whom had been deported to Africa for political or other crimes, as well as some settlers backed by the government.[\[37\]](page/4/#ref-37 "note 37")[61](61/ "tree and pragmatics") By 1870, the prognosis of whites that lived on the island was much improved after recommendations that they live in the highlands, and by 1884 much of the minimal administrative machinery and key plantations had moved to [Basile](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pico_Basilé) hundreds of meters above sea level.[62](62/ "tree and pragmatics") [Henry Morton Stanley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morton_Stanley) had labelled Fernando Pó "a jewel which Spain did not polish" for refusing to enact such a policy.[63](63/ "tree and pragmatics") Despite the improved survival chances of Europeans living on the island, [Mary Kingsley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kingsley), who was staying on the island, still described Fernando Pó as "a more uncomfortable form of execution" for Spaniards appointed there.[\[35\]](page/4/#ref-35 "note 35")[64](64/ "tree and pragmatics") There was also a trickle of immigration from the neighbouring Portuguese islands, escaped slaves, and prospective planters.[65](65/ "tree and pragmatics") Although a few of the [Fernandinos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernandino_peoples) were Catholic and Spanish-speaking, about nine-tenths of them were Protestant and English-speaking on the eve of the First World War, and [pidgin English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin_English) was the [lingua franca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca) of the island.[66](66/ "tree and pragmatics") The Sierra Leoneans were particularly well placed as planters while labour recruitment on the [Windward coast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_Coast) [corpus](../Ivory_Coast/ "in our corpus") continued.[67](67/ "tree and pragmatics") The Fernandinos became traders and middlemen between the natives and Europeans.[\[36\]](page/4/#ref-36 "note 36")[68](68/ "tree and pragmatics") A freed slave from the West Indies by way of [Sierra Leone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone) [corpus](../Sierra_Leone/ "in our corpus") named William Pratt established the cocoa crop on Fernando Pó.[\[38\]](page/4/#ref-38 "note 38")[69](69/ "tree and pragmatics") ### Early 20th century (1900–1945) Main article: [Spanish Guinea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Guinea) Spain had not occupied the large area in the [Bight of Biafra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bight_of_Biafra) to which it had right by [treaty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty), and the French had expanded their occupation at the expense of the territory claimed by Spain.[70](70/ "tree and pragmatics") Madrid only partly backed the explorations of men like [Manuel Iradier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Iradier) who had signed treaties in the interior as far as Gabon and Cameroon, leaving much of the land out of "effective occupation" as demanded by the terms of the 1885 [Berlin Conference](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Conference).[71](71/ "tree and pragmatics") Minimal government backing for mainland annexation came as a result of public opinion and a need for labour on Fernando Pó.[\[39\]](page/4/#ref-39 "note 39")[72](72/ "tree and pragmatics") The eventual [treaty of Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_%281900%29) in 1900 left Spain with the continental [enclave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclave_and_exclave) of Río Muni, only 26,000 km out of the 300,000km stretching east to the [Ubangi river](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubangi_River) which the Spaniards had initially claimed.[\[40\]](page/4/#ref-40 "note 40")[73](73/ "tree and pragmatics") The humiliation of the Franco-Spanish negotiations, combined with the disaster in Cuba led to the head of the Spanish negotiating team, [Pedro Gover y Tovar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Gover_y_Tovar), committing suicide on the voyage home on 21 October 1901.[\[41\]](page/4/#ref-41 "note 41")[74](74/ "tree and pragmatics") Iradier himself died in despair in 1911; decades later, the port of [Cogo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogo,_Equatorial_Guinea) was renamed Puerto Iradier in his honour.[75](75/ "tree and pragmatics") Land regulations issued in 1904–1905 favoured Spaniards, and most of the later big planters arrived from Spain after that.[76](76/ "tree and pragmatics") An agreement was made with Liberia in 1914 to import cheap labour.[\[42\]](page/4/#ref-42 "note 42")[77](77/ "tree and pragmatics") Due to malpractice however, the Liberian government eventually ended the treaty after revelations about the state of Liberian workers on Fernando Pó in the Christy Report which brought down the country's president [Charles D. B. King](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_D._B._King) in 1930.[\[43\]](page/4/#ref-43 "note 43")[78](78/ "tree and pragmatics") **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Equatorial_Guinea/page/2/) [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Equatorial_Guinea/page/3/) [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Equatorial_Guinea/page/4/) - next →: [page 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/Equatorial_Guinea/page/2/) - ↑ back to [English Wikipedia](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/wikipedia/en/)