Once upon a time, Spain was all like "I'm gonna take over the Americas! Yeah!
That's where all my glory is gonna shine!
What? OK- Look, just go play with Western Sahara or something, okay? Just don't
bother me, okay? I'm investing in your bigger brother that I care so much more about!"
And that child grew up to be Equatorial Guinea.
[ Intro Plays ]
Hey everyone, I'm your host Barby. Hispanics of the world, say hi to your far-off
distant linguistic African cousins that you may not even know existed!
Seriously, Spanish-speaking Africans! Cool, huh? Yeah, and this is where you can find them.
So, if you've never heard of this place, that's okay.
Most people haven't. I mean, places like South Africa and Kenya are so in right
now that it's hard for anybody else to kind of get, like, three seconds in the spotlight.
First of all, although called Equatorial Guinea, the country is actually located a
few degrees north of the Equator. But it was kind of close enough so they're like,
"Eh, we'll just keep that name." Second the country has kind of like a strange
layout when it comes to its territory. There are two main parts: the mainland
and the offshore insular parts. The mainland part of Equatorial Guinea is
called Río Muni and is located in central Africa right at the Gulf of
Guinea under Cameroon and at the top of Gabon. The insular parts contain the
islands of Bioko, located north, off the coast of Cameroon, and Annobón which
lies about 660 kilometres southwest from Bioko, with São Tomé and Príncipe caught
right in between them, creating a nearly perfect diagonal chain of islands. Now,
just like we discussed in the Cameroon episode, these islands are on what is
called the Cameroon line, which is an area on the Gulf that has active
volcanic islands formed from tectonic activity. They also own the island of
Corisco, as well as the big and little Elobey islands just off the southwest
coast in Corisco Bay, where the Muni River empties into the ocean, making it
the border with Gabon. This is also the river where Río Muni gets its name
from. The country is divided into seven provinces, with the capital Malabo
located on Bioko island. Keep in mind though, they are currently constructing
an entirely new capital called Oyala in the future Wele-Nzas province
set to be complete in 2020. You know, despite some ongoing protests from
citizens, but hey, African politics typically aren't well known for being
legislatively accommodating in that field. Río Muni contains about eighty
percent of the entire country's population as well as the largest city
Bata, found off of the Atlantic coast. The country is kinda small at about 28,000
square kilometers.
It's just a little bit bigger than Burundi, but smaller than Albania. Now, due
to the recent oil boom Equatorial Guinea
has been able to invest heavily in infrastructure projects like upgrading
the two largest airports at Malabo and Bata, as well as adding three new
airports on Annobón and Corisco as well as inland near the still under
construction town of Oyala. Road construction has boomed in the past
three decades as well.
Towns in the remote eastern rain forest areas now have direct access to places
that were previously only accessible by river or a really long potentially deadly
walk where highly aggressive mandrills could attack and eat your face.
Speaking of wildlife, Equatorial Guinea may be small, but those scattered insular
islands give it quite the range of eco diversity. The country is of course mainly
tropical in its climate, humid and warm year-round. However, the rainy seasons
kind of switch off at different parts of the year for the islands vs Río Muni.
From June to August Río Muni is dry whereas Bioko is wet, and then it
switches to the opposite around December to Februari. Annobón island is typically
known for being somewhat cloudy all the time. There have been almost no cloudless
days registered in their recorded history. The coastal flat plains on Río
Muni rise to interior jungle hills which just like their other Congo
rainforest neighbors, is filled with minerals like tantalum, gold, diamonds, and
bauxite. Yeah, those jungles are loaded with bling.
Of course, this allows the country to be a cradle of biodiversity harboring a
monkey haven with dozens of primate species dominating the treetops all over.
Despite this the national animal is actually the giraffe. At about 3,000 meters,
the highest peak is Pico Basile, which is the only recorded active volcano in the
country, that actually erupted in 1932. Now, here's the thing: for most of their
history, their economy was heavily centered around forestry and fishing.
Nothing too crazy. Then 1995 came and they discovered a ton of oil off the
coast, and everything changed. Suddenly, they joined the ranks of becoming one of
the top 10 largest African oil exporters and today over ninety-five percent of
their exports are in crude oil or hydrocarbon production. And since the
population was so small they had an influx of revenue to disperse amongst the
country. Nonetheless they are very aware that it won't last forever, and the oil
is expected to run out around 2035, so the government actually instituted this
plan, called the 2020 plan: a strategic policy that will supposedly
allow the country to diversify their revenue sources and industries before
time runs out. Of course this new policy hasn't been shy of a few controversies
from the populace, and we'll dive into that right about now.
Equatorial Guinea may be going through some economic prosperity seasons but
there are some issues that stick. The people of Equatorial Guinea are unique
in that unlike most African nations they come from centuries of Spanish influence.
First of all, the country is made up of about 800,000 people and has the highest
per capita GDP in Africa as of 2016. Keep in mind this is due to the
very small population, hence PER CAPITA. Nigeria actually has the largest GDP
overall. The country is made up of numerous ethnic and tribal groups, the
largest ones being the Fang at about eighty-six percent, the Bubi (hehe, boobie)
at seven percent, five percent are made up of smaller groups like that in
Mdowe, Annobón, and Bujeba, and the rest are other groups like Spanish, Chinese and
other Europeans at around two percent, mostly Spanish. Although Spanish is the
official language, spoken by about seventy percent of the country, French is
commonly spoken as well, especially since they're kind of surrounded by, and are
forced to interact with, French-speaking neighbors. Portuguese is also spoken,
which allowed them to join the list of Lusophone Nations recently.
Nonetheless, most people identify with their specific ethnic group and language
first, and then speak Spanish as a second language. They became the first non-
Francophone nation to join the financial cooperation in central Africa, and use
the Central African CFA franc as their currency. They also use the type-C and E
electrical outlets at 50 Hertz, and drive on the right side of the road. In 1968
they gained a relatively smooth independence from Spain and then... well, you know how it
works in Africa. Term one: having fun. Term two: watching you.
Term three: Oh, you gonna get assassinated! No, seriously though, this
guy was insane.
He called himself God and the unique miracle of Africa, drove out a third of
his population, he stole the money from the Treasury, and on Christmas he made
his soldiers dress up like Santa Clauses and ordered them to execute 150
of his opponents in Malabo stadium, as Mary Hopkin's song "Those Were the Days"
blasted on the speakers. True story. Fun side note, his children were whisked away
to North Korea before his death, where they grew up and learned Korean. His
daughter Monique actually just wrote a memoir – look it up; it's fascinating.
Then his nephew rebelled and started a coup and destroyed the regime. To this day
they claim to be a multiparty democracy, however in practice it's more classified
as a dictatorship, as Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been president since
1979. And even though there's a controversy behind his rule, people are
kind of like, "well, at least he's not his uncle." I mean, he did kind of help build
the infrastructure, so...
Nonetheless, wealth distribution is still an ongoing issue. The majority, at around
eighty seven percent of the country, identifies as Catholic, which is why it
was a huge deal when former Pope John Paul II visited Bata in 1982, and
the rest are either Protestant or indigenous animist. Culture-wise,
Equatorial Guinea has a very vibrant artistic side, noted for their abstract
sculpture work dominated by the Fang and Bubi cultures. Especially in the capital
Malabo, artists like sculptor Gabriel Mokolo and cartoonists Ramón Esorio Ebalé
are well known. And international pop star Anfibio, who
toured across Europe, was also a cardiologist on the side, believe it or not!
Another notable figure would be "Eric the Eel" Mussambani who just didn't give up at
the 2000 Sydney Olympics. You'll typically see the Ibanga white powder dance happening
all over, as it is the national dance of the Fang people, typically done with
music played by drums, wooden xylophones and thumb pianos. Cassava is the staple
food, mashed up into a paste, and famous dishes include peanut cream chicken with
boiled plantain and fish with crushed pumpkin seeds served in a banana leaf.
And of course many of the dishes include Spanish-influenced ingredients and
techniques. You can totally find an interesting African-style paella or
coquetas. And that's not the only thing they share with Spain.
Once again, because of its linguistic properties, Equatorial Guinea is kind of like this
small anomaly that sticks out in Africa. First of all,
Gabon, Cameroon, and Nigeria are probably their closest African friends as they have
shared centuries of business and culture. Many Fang tribesmen can also be found in
these countries as well, which adds a whole other level of kinship. Cameroon
did recently shut the border, though, after some controversy with a fisherman
being killed and two missing immigrants. It's a tricky situation. China and the
US and South Korea were some of the first ones to jump on that oil boom and
invest in Equatorial Guinea in the nineties, and today have embassies for
each other. Their best friend, though, would probably have to be Spain.
Although European colonialism has always left a sour taste in people's mouths, the
Equatorial Guineans actually maintain a somewhat decent relationship with the
Spanish, and developed quite a close bond, even after they gained independence.
Spain still protects them at times of need, and tons of Guineans emigrated to
Spain, and the majority of the white population in Equatorial Guinea are
Spanish. In conclusion, while the rest of sub-Saharan Africa was squabbling in a
cacophony of French and English with a little bit of Portuguese on the side,
this little sliver of land was like "Eh, I'm gonna do my own little thing and I'm
here to stay.
Deal with it." Stay tuned, Eritrea is coming up next!