Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers 36,125 square kilometres (13,948 sq mi) with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to its north and Guinea to its southeast.
The economy of Guinea-Bissau comprises a mixture of state-owned and private companies. Guinea-Bissau is among the world's least developed nations and one of the 10 poorest countries in the world, and depends mainly on agriculture and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country ranked ninth in cashew production for the year 2019.
Portuguese Guinea, called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a Portuguese overseas province in West Africa from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as Guinea-Bissau.
The Bissagos Islands, also spelled Bijagós, are a group of about 88 islands and islets located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Guinea-Bissau.
Articles related to Guinea-Bissau include:
Buba is the largest city in southern Guinea-Bissau and the capital of the Quinara region. Itlies on the extreme end of the Rio Grande de Buba, near the Contanhez National Park, and has a population 6,815.
Bolama is the main town of Bolama Island and the capital of the Bolama Region. Though once the capital of Portuguese Guinea, it has a population of just 4,819 and much of its colonial era architecture is in a state of severe decay. The town is almost surrounded by mangrove swamps and is now mostly known for its production of cashew nuts.
Galinhas is an island in the Bijagós Archipelago of Guinea-Bissau. Galinhas is located about 25 km southwest of Bolama town. The Canal de Bolama separates it from Bolama Island, the easternmost island of the group that lies close to the mainland. The area of the island is 50 km2, its length is 10 km and its width is 6 km.
The Cacheu is a river of Guinea-Bissau also known as the Farim along its upper course. Its total length is about 257 km. One of its major tributaries is the Canjambari River.
The lançados were settlers and colonizers of Portuguese origin in Senegambia, Cabo Verde, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and other areas on the coast of West Africa. Many were Jews—often New Christians—escaping persecution from the Portuguese Inquisition.
Nuno Tristão was a 15th-century Portuguese explorer and slave trader, active in the early 1440s, traditionally thought to be the first European to reach the region of Guinea. Legend has it that he sailed as far as Guinea-Bissau, however, more recent historians believe he did not go beyond the Gambia River.
Bolama is an administrative region in Guinea-Bissau, consisting primarily of the Bijagós Archipelago of the country's southern coast, together with a small coastal strip centred on the coastal town of São João. It has an area of 2,624 km2. Its capital is Bolama, on the island of the same name. It is a coastal region covered with Mangrove swamps, rain forest and tangled forest and receives an annual rainfall of more than 1,000 mm (39 in).
The Desertas Islands are a small archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the larger Portuguese Madeira Archipelago.
Guinean Portuguese is the variety of Portuguese spoken in Guinea-Bissau, where it is the official language.
The Guinean mangroves are a coastal ecoregion of mangrove swamps in rivers and estuaries near the ocean of West Africa from Senegal to Sierra Leone.
Bissau-Guinean Americans are Americans of Bissau-Guinean descent. As was the case with almost all current West African coastal countries, the first people in the United States from present-day Guinea-Bissau were imported as slaves. Thus, in the 21st century, there are many African Americans who have discovered, through DNA analysis, they descend mainly or at least partly, from Bissau-Guinean enslaved people.
British Guinea or Colony of Bolama and Bolama River, was a colony of the United Kingdom in West Africa. Its capital was in the city of Bolama.
Richard Hancorn was a British Royal Navy officer, serving during the late eighteenth century.
Guinala or Quinara was an important Biafada kingdom in pre-colonial Guinea-Bissau situated between the Geba and Rio Grande de Buba rivers. The main port town, also called Guinala, was located on a tributary of the Buba, with the capital Bruco a short distance inland.
