Equatorial Wales - Background

Present

Equatorial Wales is essentially Bioko, a 2017 sq km volcanic island which is located off the western coast of Africa in the Bight of Biafra (Bonny), although the name Equatorial Wales is only a recent politically-inspired invention. The island of Bioko is mountainous and thickly wooded, with a steep, rocky coast. Together with the small island of Annobón, lying about 640 km about 400 mi) to the southwest, it comprises the Bioko Region of Equatorial Guinea.

The 1995 estimated population of Equatorial Guinea is 400,000, with many thousands more believed to be living abroad due to political conditions in the country. The overall population density is about 14 persons per sq km (about 37 per sq mi). The population is composed almost entirely of black Africans. The Fang, indigenous to the mainland but now also living on Bioko Island, constitute more than 80 percent of the population. The Bubis, indigenous to Bioko Island, make up about 15 percent of the population. Several smaller ethnic groups live along the mainland coast. Spanish is the official language; however, Fang, a Bantu language, is the most widely spoken. The climate is tropical; the average 25° C (about 77° F) and the annual rainfall is more than 2000 mm (more 80 in). The wettest season is December through February.

About 90 percent of the people are members of the Roman Catholic church, although traditional beliefs are also widely practiced. The capital, largest city, and principal port of Equatorial Guinea is Malabo, formerly Santa Isabel (population, 1989 estimate, 38,000), on the northern coast of Bioko; Bata (1983, 24,100) is the largest town on the mainland.

Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in Equatorial Guinea. The principal export crop is cacao, which is grown almost entirely on Bioko. Coffee is grown on the mainland, which also produces tropical hardwood timber, the leading export in value, accounting for 54 percent of earnings in the early 1990s. Cassava and sweet potatoes are the staple foods. Local manufacturing industries include the processing of oil and soap, cocoa, yucca, coffee, and seafood. The currency is the CFA franc (284.6 CFA francs equal U.S.$1; 1993).

History

The island of Bioko (named Fernando Po) was sighted in 1471 by Fernão do Po, a Portuguese navigator. They referred to it as Formosa (the beautiful) and Po described it as "A beautiful tropical paradise of forest and mountains". It must have been this similarity to Wales and the parallel struggle for freedom of the locals which drew the Welsh here. They arrived in the Eighteenth Century and settled in some areas of the island of Bioko, but they practiced none of the usual colonial rituals. After all, how could they colonise when they were not even kings at home? Portugal ceded the island to Spain in 1778 and, in 1844, the Spanish settled in the mainland area that became the province of Río Muni. However, neither the Spanish nor the Portuguese ever settled on Bioko and, although they laid claim to the territory, this was never physically followed through. Thus, Bioko remained largely unchanged during the colonial era and a remarkable kinship developed between the Welsh settlers and the local Bubi people, something which has never been forgotten on Bioko.

In 1904, Bioko and Río Muni were organized into the Western African Territories, later known as Spanish Guinea, by the Spanish colonisers. However, the link between the two parts of this colony was tenuous; certainly the Bubi people of Bioko were very different from the Fang of Rio Muni. This rearrangement was simply handy for the Spanish, but the post-independence problems this was to create were enormous.

On October 12, 1968, the territory became the independent republic of Equatorial Guinea, with Francisco Macías Nguema as president. Although a large proportion of the country's population, power and economy resided in Rio Muni, or perhaps because of this, the capital was located at Malabo on Bioko. It was not then the largest city, but has since developed incredibly rapidly and increasingly being the hub of Equatorial Guinea's activity. The problem with this is that power and control has lain firmly in the hands of the mainland Fang people, even in Malabo. This has in small part been due to Nguema's (a Fang) leadership. In 1972 Nguema appointed himself president for life. Extreme dictatorial and repressive policies in both Bioko and the mainland led to the flight of an estimated 100,000 refugees to neighboring countries; at least 50,000 of those who remained were killed, and another 40,000 were sent into forced labor.

In 1979 Nguema was overthrown in a military coup, tried for treason, and executed. Lieutenant Colonel Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, another Fang who led the coup, then became president. Parliamentary elections, based on a single slate of candidates, were held in 1983 and 1988. Although the first multiparty elections took place in November 1993, they were internationally condemned and boycotted by at least half of the eligible voters. Opposition forces called for the boycott after the Obiang Nguema government refused to prepare an accurate electoral roll and guarantee the right to campaign without harassment.

The Bubi of Bioko have resented the political climate of Equatorial Guinea ever since Independence and have ironically experienced their first colonisation in this era at the hands of the Fang people. Although Nguema's policies were not specifically targetted at them, his bloody regime ensured that the divide between Bubi ang Fang could never be bridged. Equatorial Guinea is now essentially two countries with the capital situated in the poorer relative's back garden but its control lying elsewhere.

The last 20 years, since the fall of Nguema, has seen a resistance develop within Bioko to this colonisation with the aim of achieving independence. To this end, the name Equatorial Wales has been used as an opposition to Equatorial Guinea and in tribute to the happiness of the 'Welsh Era'. The movement has been largely peaceful so far, but the position of Malabo remains a major obstacle to the freedom of the Equatorial Welsh. Some success has been achieved in the form of local autonomous institutions, a greater recognition nationally and internationally, and most notably the successful national football team. The history of the football team is intrinsically tied to the politics of the area and the name was one of the first institutional recognitions of Equatorial Wales as a separate entity.

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