Annobón
Annobón, also spelled Anabon and formerly as Anno Bom and Annabona, is a province of Equatorial Guinea consisting of the island of Annobón and its associated islets in the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean's Cameroon line. 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 Annobon 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. According to the 2015 census it had 5,314 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.
Name
Annobón derives its name from Ano Bom. It was named for the date of its discovery by the Portuguese on New Year's Day in 1473.During the final years of the Francisco Macías Nguema administration, the island was called Pigalu and Pagalu, from the Portuguese papagaio.
Geography
Annobón is an extinct volcano 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.
History
The island was discovered by the Portuguese on January 1, 1473; it obtained its name from that date. 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 Africans from Angola via São Tomé Island. These slaves are considered the first members of Annobonese society.Beginning in the early sixteenth century, many of these slaves who were now marrying Europeans gave birth to the next generations of Annobonese who were called forros. Forros began to develop a distinct identity and socio-economic powers. This period also saw the emergence of the Creole Annobonese 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 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. 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.
Flora and fauna
Originally, this small equatorial island from the Gabonese coast was uninhabited and had great biological diversity. With colonization, islanders used rafts or "cayucos", and hunted humpback whales, whale calves, and other cetaceans with harpoons near to the island.Today the Annobón white-eye and the Annobón paradise flycatcher are endemic passeri, as is the São Tomé Island or Malherbi pigeon. There are 29 species of bird on the island as well as 2 bat species ; reptiles : 1 snake, 3 geckos, 2 scincid lizards, 3 marine turtles; river fish: 18 species ; mosquitoes, scorpions, and huge centipedes. Introduced domestic 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 including the "point up" baobab, ceiba, ficus, ferns and tree ferns, and great moss masses.
Administration
The capital of the province is San Antonio de Palé. The island has three community councils : Anganchi, Aual, and Mabana.Demographics
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.The island had an estimated population of 3000 through most of the 19th century.
Language
The island's main language is a Portuguese creole known as the Annobonese language or Falar de Ano Bom. 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 IILP on the promotion of Portuguese in Equatorial Guinea. 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.The Annobonese Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel is a writer who has issued reflections on his home island. He writes in Spanish.