Guinea-Bissau

“ Political parties and leaders: African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior] ; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY] ; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES] ; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES] ; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president] ”

“ Deeply deplores the loss of life and heavy damage to several Guinean villages inflicted by the Portuguese military authorities operating from bases in Guinea (Bissau) ;
2. Calls upon Portugal to desist forthwith from violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Guinea;
3. Calls upon the Portuguese authorities in Guinea (Bissau) to immediately release the Guinean civilian plane which was captured on 26 March 1968 together with the pilots thereon ”

“ Guinea-Bissau recently decided to retain the binational party title despite its formal break with Cape Verde
Communists: a few Communists, some sympathizers
Member of: FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto) , IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ISCON, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
ECONOMY GDP: $200 million (1980) , $333 per capita, real growth rate 1.5% (1980)
Agriculture: main crops—palm products, root crops, rice, coconuts, peanuts
Fishing: catch 3,724 metric tons (1979 est.)
Electric power: 11,000 kW capacity (1980) ”

“ Total fertility rate: 5.51 children born/woman (1994 est.) Nationality: noun: Guinea-Bissauan (s) adjective: Guinea-Bissauan Ethnic divisions: African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%) , European and mulatto less than 1% Religions: indigenous beliefs 65%, Muslim 30%, Christian 5% Languages: Portuguese (official) , Criolo, African languages Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 36% male: 50% female: 24% Labor force: 403,000 (est.) ”

“ Although it is highly probable that in a country which is more than three thousand miles in extent from north to south, and as much from east to west, there will be barren parts, and many inhabitants more uncivilized and barbarous than others; as is the case in all other countries: yet, from the most authentic accounts, the inhabitants of Guinea appear, generally speaking, to be an industrious, humane, sociable people, whose capacities are naturally as enlarged, and as open to improvement, as those of the Europeans ”

“ As to religion, these people believe there is a God, the efficient cause of all things; but, like the rest of the Guineans, they are superstitiously and idolatrously inclined.
The last division of Guinea from which slaves are imported, are the kingdoms of Kongo and Angola: these lie to the South of Benin, extending with the intermediate land about twelve hundred miles on the coast. Great numbers of the natives of both these kingdoms profess the christian religion, which was long since introduced by the Portugueze, who made early settlements in that country. ”

“ That ambition or avarice never drove them into foreign countries to subdue or cheat their neighbours. Thus they lived without toil or superfluities." "The antient inhabitants of Morocco, who wore coats of mail, and used swords and spears headed with iron, coming amongst these harmless and naked people, soon brought them under subjection, and divided that part of Guinea which lies on the rivers Senegal and Gambia into fifteen parts; those were the fifteen kingdoms of the Negroes, over which the Moors presided, and the common people were Negroes. ”

“ Several small governments depend on plunder and the slave trade.
That part of Guinea known by the name of the Grain, and Ivory Coast, comes next in course. This coast extends about five hundred miles. The soil appears by account, to be in general fertile, producing abundance of rice and roots; indigo and cotton thrive without cultivation, and tobacco would be excellent, if carefully manufactured; they have fish in plenty; their flocks greatly increase, and their trees are loaded with fruit. They make a cotton cloth, which sells well on the Coast. ”

“ In a word, the country is rich, and the commerce advantageous, and might be greatly augmented by such as would cultivate the friendship of the natives. These are represented by some writers as a rude, treacherous people, whilst several other authors of credit give them a very different character, representing them as sensible, courteous and the fairest traders on the coast of Guinea. ”

“ Here it may be necessary to observe, that the accounts we have of the inhabitants of Guinea, are chiefly given by persons engaged in the trade, who, from self-interested views, have described them in such colours as were least likely to excite compassion and respect, and endeavoured to reconcile so manifest a violation of the rights of mankind to the minds of the purchasers; yet they cannot but allow the Negroes to be possessed of some good qualities, though they contrive as much as possible to cast a shade over them. ”

“ In the CollectionA it is remarked as an excellency in the Guinea government, "That however poor they may be in general, yet there are no beggars to be found amongst them; which is owing to the care of their chief men, whose province it is to take care of the welfare of the city or village; it being part of their office, to see that such people may earn their bread by their labour; some are set to blow the smith's bellows, others to press palm oil, or grind colours for their matts, and sell provision in the markets. ”

“ James Barbot, agent general to the French African company, in his account of Africa, page 105, says, "The natives are seldom troubled with any distempers, being little affected with the unhealthy air. In tempestuous times they keep much within doors; and when exposed to the weather, their skins being suppled, and pores closed by daily anointing with palm oil, the weather can make but little impression on them."
That part of Africa from which the Negroes are sold to be carried into slavery, commonly known by the name of Guinea, extends along the coast three or four thousand miles. ”

“ They cook the food, which they carry to the communal house; they also do all the work required in cultivating the gardens of yams, bananas, and vegetables. War, hunting, and fishing are the only pursuits of the men.
Three nations, Holland, Great Britain, and Germany, have divided New Guinea among them. The Dutch have the eastern half of the island. The British and Germans possess each about one-quarter, British New Guinea being situated opposite to Queensland, Australia. The British own the Solomon Islands to the eastward of New Guinea, also. ”

“ That the "Arabs and Moors" of the early fifteenth century could give the Infant detailed and correct information, not only about the Barbary states and the trade-routes of the Sahara, but also about many of the Western and Central Sudan countries, and about the general course and direction of the "Guinea coast" both to the west and south of the great African hump. Especially could they describe the kingdom of Guinea, centreing round the town of Jenné on the Upper Niger, which was the chief market of their Negro trade in slaves, gold, and ivory. ”

“ Now on the mainland and in the islands plantations have been established and tobacco and cotton have been successfully grown. Three German mission societies formed settlements on New Guinea, with a branch one on the Gazelle peninsula. The protectorate is included in the Universal Postal Union; each harbour has its post office, also a leading official with a number of assistants to control the natives and the revenue. It is divided into two districts with separate administrations, New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago ”

“ William Smith, at page 28, says, "The Gambians abhor slavery, and will attempt any thing, tho' never so desperate, to avoid it," and Thomas Philips, in his account of a voyage he performed to the coast of Guinea, writes, "They, the Negroes, are so loth to leave their own country, that they have often leaped out of the canoe, boat, or ship, into the sea, and kept under water till they were drowned, to avoid being taken up." ”

“ The province of Rio Muni comprises, in addition to the territory of this name, the islands of Corisco, Big Elobey and Little Elobey and adjacent islets. The province of Fernando Poo comprises the island of this name, the island of Annobon and adjacent islets. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea guarantees the independence, integrity and security of its territory and protects the autonomy of its provinces, in accord with what is decreed in this constitution. Art. 2. The national sovereignty belongs to the Guinean people, who exercise it in the form and within the limits of the Constitution. ”

“ From the Mission a path—no made road or street—wanders along the bank to Herbertshöhe, which is a mere scattered collection of a few wooden houses and iron stores. It is not laid out in any way as a sort of encouragement to people to inhabit it or make a town of it. There are no shops—there is not a tailor, shoemaker, baker, or anythingelse in all the German possessions—merely here a store of the New Guinea Co. Every single thing wanted must come from Singapore, Australia, or from Germany. Anything to be repaired must be sent away. ”

“ The same cause has been the occasion of the ill treatment they have sometimes given to innocent strangers, who have attempted to trade with them. As the Europeans have no settlement on this part of Guinea, the trade is carried on by signals from the ships, on the appearance of which the natives usually come on board in their canoes, bringing their gold-dust, ivory, &c. which has given opportunity to some villainous Europeans to carry them off with their effects, or retain them on board till a ransom is paid. ”

“ The Ceramers are subjects, and likewise allies, of the Dutch Company, and for the most part expert sailors; and by them, and none else, is the coast of New Guinea visited. The inhabitants of New Guinea have for many years suffered from the treachery and murders of this people, who, not by force of arms but by cunning, have subdued the Papoos. Under the cloak of friendship they take their women (in which they are not very choice) for wives, and the children thus born, being very carefully instructed in the Mahomedan faith, are easily able to control these simple inhabitants of the woods. ”

“ The conditions for bringing about a war in connection with land, similar to that which occurred in New Zealand, are abundantly present in New Guinea, and unless the land transactions are controlled by Government, complications with the natives must arise. ”

“ There are, in all, about twenty white men now resident in New Guinea. The majority of these are traders, who are backed in a small way by merchants and firms in Australia. There are three stores at Port Moresby, and one settler has erected a sawmill. The traders, as a rule, live in their boats, but a few native houses at Hula and Killerton Island have been erected by Europeans. In consequence of the recent murders that have been committed in the islands, and the disturbed state of the natives generally on the South-East Coast, warnings were sent round to as many traders as possible. ”

“ But after various fluctuations of fortune, when the general peace took place in 1763, he found himself possessed of two thousand guineas prize-money, with the reputation of being one of the best merchant captains in the Port of London.
About that time, a Company there resolved to make an attempt to form a settlement on the west coast of Africa, by founding a harbour and town midway between the Cape de Verd and the river Senegal. In the London and other papers of the day we find many statements urging the advantage of opening up the Guinea-trade ”

“ In their own possessions they stagnate. They need more freedom, and the surety of profiting by their own enterprise.
Since the Government must do everything, it is very obvious here in New Guinea that a duty of the Government is to build roads straight out into the interior from each port, gradually extending these roads, from which in time other roads would branch off on either side. The natives of the interior would gradually and naturally avail themselves of these roads to bring their “trade” to the coast, and they and the roads would be constantly kept under observation and control. ”

“ I believe some attempt has been made at a road for a short distance inland, and there is one through Ralum, but at Herbertshöhe is nothing at all. There is a native hospital—a shed with bunks. I went through it and, disregarding doctors, gave the few patients cigarettes, and they were delighted. I then went into the New Guinea Co.'s store, but could find nothing to buy. Then I went to Frau Kolbe's store and bought a collection of New Guinea weapons, idols, and curios. These stores are full of red cloth, red paint; and red beads for trading with the natives. ”

“ According to the information I received from some inhabitants of Ceram-Laut, the natives of New Guinea are divided into two tribes, mountaineers and dwellers on the coast, who are continually waging war with each. The people occupying the sea-coast form by far the smaller portion, but from their warlike habits they find no difficulty in maintaining a superiority. The captives taken by the latter from the inferior tribes are sold to the foreign traders, by whom they are held in great esteem, so much so that their price is higher even than that given for slaves of Bali, Lombok, or Sumbawa. ”