Bioko - History

History

The island was inhabited in the middle of the first millennium BC by Bantu tribes from the mainland who formed the Bubi ethnic group. Unlike other islands in the area, Bioko had an indigenous African population. Still a distinct ethnic group on the island today, these indigenous people, the Bubi, speak a Bantu language. The island was probably inhabited by this or other Bantu-speaking groups since before the 7th century BC.

In 1472, the Portuguese navigator Fernão do Pó was the first European to visit the island. He named it Formosa Flora ('Beautiful Flower'), but in 1494 it was renamed after it was claimed by the Portuguese (Fernando Pó). The Portuguese developed the island for sugarcane crops, and while considered poor quality, the refineries' output was such that Fernando Po sugar briefly dominated the trade centres in Europe.

In 1642, the Dutch East India Company established trade bases on the island without Portuguese consent, temporarily centralizing from there its slave trade in the Gulf of Guinea. The Portuguese appeared again on the island in 1648, replacing the Dutch Company with one of their own, also dedicated to slave trading and established in its neighbour island Corisco.

Parallel with this establishment, the Bubi clans began the slow process of establishing the core of a new kingdom on the island, especially after the activity of some local chiefs such as Molambo (approx. 1700–1760). During a period when enslavement was increasing in the region, local clans abandoned their coastal settlements and settled in the safer hinterland.

Under the Treaty of El Pardo in 1778, Portugal ceded to Spain Fernando Po, Annobón and the Guinea coast, Rio Muni, together forming modern Equatorial Guinea. The treaty was signed by Queen Mary I of Portugal and King Charles III of Spain, in exchange for territory on the American continent. Spain then mounted an expedition to Fernando Po, led by the Conde de Argelejos, who stayed for four months. In October 1778, Spain installed a governor on the island who stayed until 1780, when the Spanish mission left the island.

Chief Molambo was succeeded by another local leader, Lorite (1760–1810), who was succeeded by Lopoa (1810–1842). After abolishing their slave trade, from 1827 to 1843 the British leased bases at Port Clarence (modern Malabo) and San Carlos for their anti-slavery patrols. The settlement at Port Clarence (named after the Duke of Clarence) was constructed under the supervision of William Fitzwilliam Owen, who had previously mapped most of the coasts of Africa and was a zealous anti-slaver. During his three year command, his forces detained 20 ships and liberated 2,500 slaves. The Court of Mixed Commission was moved from Freetown to Clarence to hasten the legal process.

In March 1843, Juan José Lerena planted the Spanish flag in Malabo, starting the decline of British influence on the island. The British lease was finally revoked in 1855. Madabita (1842–1860) and Sepoko (1860–1875) were principal local chiefs during the reestablishment of Spanish rule on the island. This period was also marked by the immigration of several hundred Afro-Cubans as well as tens of Spanish scholars and politicians.

In 1923–30 the League of Nations investigated the transportation of migrant labour between Liberia and the Spanish colony of Fernando Po. Although the League concentrated its attention on Liberia, a closer examination revealed labour abuse as the product of conditions on Fernando Po. In the last quarter of the 19th century, black planters on the island had shifted from palm oil trading to cocoa cultivation. Their dependence on migrant labour and increasing competition with Europeans resulted in an economic crisis in the first years of the twentieth century. Planters detained labour but failed to pay contracts, resulting in a situation akin to slavery.

During the Nigerian civil war in the 20th century, relief agencies used the island as a base for flights into Biafra.