HISTORY
The first inhabitants of the
region that is now Equatorial Guinea are believed to have been
Pygmies, of whom only isolated pockets remain in northern Rio
Muni. Bantu migrations between the 17th and 19th centuries brought
the coastal tribes and later the Fang. Elements of the latter
may have generated the Bubi, who emigrated to Bioko from Cameroon
and Rio Muni in several waves and succeeded former neolithic populations.
The Annobon population, native to Angola, was introduced by the
Portuguese via Sao Tome.
The Portuguese explorer, Fernando
Po (Fernao do Poo), seeking a route to India, is credited with
having discovered the island of Bioko in 1471. He called it Formosa
("pretty flower"), but it quickly took on the name of its European
discoverer. The Portuguese retained control until 1778, when the
island, adjacent islets, and commercial rights to the mainland
between the Niger and Ogoue Rivers were ceded to Spain in exchange
for territory in South America (Treaty of Pardo). From 1827 to
1843, Britain established a base on the island to combat the slave
trade. Conflicting claims to the mainland were settled in 1900
by the Treaty of Paris, and periodically, the mainland territories
were united administratively under Spanish rule.
Spain lacked the wealth and
the interest to develop an extensive economic infrastructure in
what was commonly known as Spanish Guinea during the first half
of this century. However, through a paternalistic system, particularly
on Bioko Island, Spain developed large cacao plantations for which
thousands of Nigerian workers were imported as laborers. At independence
in 1968, largely as a result of this system, Equatorial Guinea
had one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa. The Spanish
also helped Equatorial Guinea achieve one of the continent's highest
literacy rates and developed a good network of health care facilities.
In 1959, the Spanish territory
of the Gulf of Guinea was established with status similar to the
provinces of metropolitan Spain. As the Spanish Equatorial Region,
it was ruled by a governor general exercising military and civilian
powers. The first local elections were held in 1959, and the first
Equatoguinean representatives were seated in the Spanish parliament.
Under the Basic Law of December 1963, limited autonomy was authorized
under a joint legislative body for the territory's two provinces.
The name of the country was changed to Equatorial Guinea. Although
Spain's commissioner general had extensive powers, the Equatorial
Guinean General Assembly had considerable initiative in formulating
laws and regulations.
In March 1968, under pressure
from Equatoguinean nationalists and the United Nations, Spain
announced that it would grant independence to Equatorial Guinea.
A constitutional convention produced an electoral law and draft
constitution. In the presence of a UN observer team, a referendum
was held on August 11, 1968, and 63% of the electorate voted in
favor of the constitution, which provided for a government with
a General Assembly and a Supreme Court with judges appointed by
the president.
In September 1968, Francisco
Macias Nguema was elected first president of Equatorial Guinea,
and independence was granted in October. In July 1970, Macias
created a single-party state and by May 1971, key portions of
the constitution were abrogated. In 1972 Macias took complete
control of the government and assumed the title of President-for-Life.
The Macias regime was characterized by abandonment of all government
functions except internal security, which was accomplished by
terror; this led to the death or exile of up to one-third of the
country's population. Due to pilferage, ignorance, and neglect,
the country's infrastructure--electrical, water, road, transportation,
and health--fell into ruin. Religion was repressed, and education
ceased. The private and public sectors of the economy were devastated.
Nigerian contract laborers on Bioko, estimated to have been 60,000,
left en masse in early 1976. The economy collapsed, and skilled
citizens and foreigners left.
In August 1979, Macias' nephew
from Mongomo and former director of the infamous Black Beach prison,
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, led a successful coup d'etat; Macias
was arrested, tried, and executed. Obiang assumed the Presidency
in October 1979. Obiang initially ruled Equatorial Guinea with
the assistance of a Supreme Military Council. A new constitution,
drafted in 1982 with the help of the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights, came into effect after a popular vote on August
15, 1982; the Council was abolished, and Obiang remained in the
presidency for a 7-year term. He was reelected in 1989. In February
1996, he again won reelection with 98% of the vote; several opponents
withdrew from the race, however, and the election was criticized
by international observers. Subsequently, Obiang named a new cabinet,
which included some opposition figures in minor portfolios.
Despite the formal ending of one-party rule in 1991, President Obiang and a circle of advisors (drawn largely from his own family and ethnic group) maintain real authority. The president names and dismisses cabinet members and judges, ratifies treaties, leads the armed forces, and has considerable authority in other areas. He appoints the governors of Equatorial Guinea's seven provinces. The opposition had few electoral successes in the 1990s. By early 2000, President Obiang's PDGE party fully dominated government at all levels. In December 2002, President Obiang won a new seven-year mandate with 97% of the vote. Reportedly, 95% of eligible voters voted in this election, although many observers noted numerous irregularities. The next presidential election is scheduled for 2010.
