Annobón

Annobón (; ) is a province of Equatorial Guinea. The province consists of the island of Annobón and its associated islets in the Gulf of Guinea. Annobón is the smallest province of Equatorial Guinea in both area and population. According to the 2015 census, Annobón had 5,323 inhabitants, a small population increase from the 5,008 registered by the 2001 census. The official language is Spanish but most of the inhabitants speak a creole form of Portuguese. The island's main industries are fishing and forestry.

Annobón is the only island of the country located in the Southern Hemisphere of the Atlantic Ocean. The provincial capital is San Antonio de Palé on the north side of the island; the other town is Mabana, formerly known as San Pedro. The roadstead is relatively safe, and some passing vessels take advantage of it in order to obtain water and fresh provisions, of which Annobón has offered an abundant supply. However, there is no regular shipping service to the rest of Equatorial Guinea, and ships call as infrequently as every few months.

Name

Annobón derives its name from Portuguese ' . The island was named for the date of its discovery by the Portuguese on New Year's Day in 1473. The province was formerly known as ''Anno Bom'' or ''Annabona''.

During the final years of the Francisco Macías Nguema administration, the island was called ''Pigalu'' or ''Pagalu'', from the Portuguese ' .

History

The island was discovered by the Portuguese on 1 January 1473; it obtained its name from that date ("New Year"). However, Spanish explorer Diego Ramirez de la Diaz first spotted the island in 1470 and named it San Antonio. It was apparently uninhabited until colonized under the Portuguese from 1474, primarily by enslaved Africans from Angola via São Tomé Island. These slaves (who the Portuguese called ''escravos de regate'') are considered the first members of Annobonese society.

Beginning in the early 16th century, many of these slaves who were now marrying Europeans gave birth to the next generations of Annobonese who were called ''forros'' (slaves about to be free). Forros began to develop a distinct identity and socio-economic powers. This period also saw the emergence of the Annobonese Creole language.

The island was passed to Spain by the 1778 Treaty of El Pardo. The treaty granted Spain control of the Portuguese islands of Annobón and Fernando Po (now Bioko) and the Guinea coast between the Niger and the Ogooué in exchange for Spanish acceptance of the Portuguese occupation of territories in Brazil west of the line established by the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Spanish colony thus formed would eventually be known as Spanish Guinea.

The island's populace was opposed to the arrangement and hostile toward the Spaniards. After the handover and when the Spanish flag was hoisted to affirm Spanish sovereignty, the islanders revolted against the newcomers, in part because they were considered heretical for placing dogs on their flag (the actual design represents lions). They expelled them according to a tradition of throwing witches to the sea. A state of anarchy ensued, leading to an arrangement by which the island was administered by a body of five natives, each of whom held the office of governor during the period that elapsed until ten ships landed at the island. This autonomous government continued, with the island claimed by both Spain and Portugal, until the authority of Spain was re-established in the latter part of the 19th century. The island briefly became part of the Elobey, Annobón and Corisco colony until 1909.

The British erected a fort at "St Antony" in 1801, eventually legalized through a lease from the Spanish government in 1827. The base was used by the British to suppress the Atlantic slave trade.

During the final years of the administration of Francisco Macías Nguema, the first president of Equatorial Guinea, the island was called Pigalu or Pagalu. The population felt prejudice against them in Equatorial Guinea and some began advocating separatist movements. In 1993, the central government isolated the island, expelling foreigners including humanitarian organizations. The population rebelled and attacked the governor's residence. The government replied with two extrajudicial executions. International pressure eased hostilities, and political prisoners were released.

It was mostly due to this small island that Equatorial Guinea asked for observer status just after the Community of Portuguese Language Countries was formed in 1996, which led to a visit to Equatorial Guinea, in 1998, by the Portuguese foreign minister, Jaime Gama. Its historic, ethnographic, and religious identity is reflected in its provincial flag. In 2006, Equatorial Guinea achieved observer status with the hand of São Tomé and Príncipe. It kept lobbying to become a full member, contrary to international pressure that wanted to isolate the country due to human rights violations, becoming a full member in 2014 with the very active support of Portuguese-speaking Africa, with the Portuguese language being restored as an official language.

Geography and geology

Annobón is an extinct volcano, part of the Cameroon line, about west of Cape Lopez in Gabon and southwest of São Tomé Island. The main island measures about long by wide, with an area of about , but a number of small rocky islets surround it, including Santarém to the south. Its central crater lake is named Lago A Pot and its highest peak is Quioveo, which rises . The island is characterized by a succession of lush valleys and steep mountains, covered with rich woods and luxuriant vegetation.

Annobón is often described as being "in the Gulf of Guinea", like the neighboring islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, but the formal boundary line for the Gulf of Guinea established by the International Hydrographic Organization actually runs north of it.

Flora and fauna

Originally, this small equatorial island from the Gabonese coast was uninhabited and had great biological diversity. With colonisation, islanders used rafts or "cayucos" (canoe-like boats) to hunt humpback whales and their calves, and other cetaceans, with harpoons near to the island.

The Annobón white-eye and Annobón paradise flycatcher are endemic songbirds, as is the Sao Tome bronze-naped pigeon. There are also breeding black noddies. There are 29 species of bird (e.g. the Annobón scops owl) on the island, which has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International.

There are also two bat species (one endemic); reptiles (five endemics): one snake, three geckos, two scincid lizards, three marine turtles; river fish: 18 species (one endemic); mosquitoes, scorpions, and huge centipedes. Introduced animals include fish, guinea fowl, rats, dogs, and cats. The island has no indigenous mammalian predators. Sharks are found in the surrounding sea.

There are 208 species of vascular plant (of which 15% are endemic) including the "point up" baobab, ceiba (used for cayuco construction), ficus, ferns and tree ferns, and great moss masses.

Administration

The capital of the province is San Antonio de Palé (formerly St Antony). The island has three community councils (''Consejos de Poblados''): Anganchi, Aual, and Mabana.

Demographics

The island had an estimated population of 3000 through most of the 19th century. In 2013, Annobón had a population of 5323 inhabitants.

Languages

The island's main language is a Portuguese creole known as Annobonese, ''Fa d'Ambu'', or ''Falar de Ano Bom'' (Portuguese for ''Annobón speech''). The Portuguese creole has vigorous use in Annobón. It is common in all domains except government and education where Spanish is used. Spanish is not much spoken in Annobón. Non-creolized Portuguese is used as a liturgical language by local Catholics.

In February 2012, Equatorial Guinea's foreign minister signed an agreement with the International Portuguese Language Institute (IPLI) on the promotion of the Portuguese language in Equatorial Guinea. This note contains a link to the text of the protocol in PDF format. The adoption of Portuguese followed the announcement on 13 July 2007 by the President of Equatorial Guinea and a 2010 Constitutional Law which established Portuguese as an official language of the Republic.

A sociolinguistic study by the IPLI in Annobón revealed strong connections with Portuguese creole-speaking communities in São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau.

Ethnicity

The island's inhabitants are of mixed Portuguese and Angolan descent, with some Spanish admixture. The early anti-Spanish sentiment, combined with the isolation from mainland Equatorial Guinea and the proximity of São Tomé and Príncipe—which is just from the island—has helped preserve the island's cultural ties with Portugal. Its culture is very similar to that of São Tomé and the Afro-Portuguese peoples throughout Africa. The population is Catholic, although with some form of syncretism, and religiosity remains a central feature of local lifestyle.

Religion

Like Equatorial Guinea in general, Annobón has a majority of people who adhere to Christianity, especially Roman Catholics who are strongly influenced by the Portuguese culture. Places of worship on the island include a Roman Catholic mission, and an Assemblies of God church.

Economy

Annobón is of strategic importance to Equatorial Guinea as through its ownership the Equatorial Guinean government claims extensive maritime territory to the south of its neighbour, São Tomé and Príncipe (which itself lies to the south of Equatorial Guinea's main land mass). Oil in the Gulf of Guinea represents more than 80% of Equatorial Guinea's economy, though supplies from current reserves were predicted by some sources to run out before 2020. Although no drilling is currently taking place in São Tomé, there are estimated to be of oil within its marine borders. Equatorial Guinea claims the right to explore for and produce hydrocarbons in a huge area of sea surrounding Annobón that stretches from 1°N to almost 5°S, and from 2°E to 7°E, an area larger than the entire land and sea borders of the rest of Equatorial Guinea.

The island has a 55-room hotel for tourists travelling in from mainland Equatorial Guinea.

Infrastructure

The island has only one school, and essential services like electricity and clean drinking water are scarce or inconsistent. Most residents can only afford to leave the island by taking a weekly ferry or securing a berth on a ship that visits once or twice a month.

Annobón Airport and Annobón Port were opened at the northern tip of the island in 2010.

In 2015, a group of companies installed solar panels on the island to provide electricity to towns and the airport as part of the cross Equatorial Guinea development project 'Horizon 2020'. The electricity needs of the island are otherwise supplied by imported diesel fuelling diesel generators.

Environment

Annobón has been used as a dumping ground for toxic waste, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1988, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatorial Guinea's president, came to an agreement with a British company to host 10 million drums of toxic waste on Annobón. ''Der Spiegel'' reported on 28 August 2006 that Equatorial Guinea was being paid to bury nuclear waste there.

Separatism

In July 2022, two Annobón residents in exile in Spain founded a separatist movement they named Ambô Legadu. Both individuals had previously participated in 1993 protests. One of them, Orlando Cartagena Lagar, named himself the island's prime minister. In May 2025, the group petitioned for the island to become an associated state or province of Argentina.

After the creation of Ambô Legadu, arbitrary arrests by the Equatorial Guinean government increased. According to ''The Guardian'', many locals viewed the July 2024 arrests of dozens of people as part of a broader campaign to suppress dissent.

On 14 May 2024, the Republic of Annobón was admitted as a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO).

See also

* Provinces of Equatorial Guinea

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

Gulf of Guinea Conservation Group




Ghuty Mamae: La esencia de Annobón


La isla de Pagalu o Pagalú
in Spanish)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annobon

Gulf of Guinea
Islands of Equatorial Guinea
Provinces of Equatorial Guinea
Volcanoes of Equatorial Guinea
Former colonies in Africa
Former Portuguese colonies
Former Spanish colonies
Portuguese colonisation in Africa
Spanish Africa
States and territories established in 1474
15th-century establishments in Africa
Important Bird Areas of Equatorial Guinea
Ramsar sites in Equatorial Guinea
Proposed countries