Total population | |
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Spanish in Equatorial Guinea: 17,000 people | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Malabo, Río Muni | |
Languages | |
Equatoguinean Spanish, Fang, Bube, French, Portuguese | |
Religion | |
Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Spanish, Bubi people, Fang people, Fernandino peoples |
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Category Spainportal |
The Spanish diaspora in Equatorial Guinea is made of people of Spanish descent who are residents born or living in Equatorial Guinea. The population from Spain living in Equatorial Guinea numbers an estimated 17,000.[ citation needed ] This group is closely linked with the Fernandino people, a creole people who developed Spanish Guinea and Equatorial Guinea, mostly in Bioko island (historically named Fernando Po).
A group of prosperous plantations was set up by Castilian and above all Valencian landowners, whose cultural level was considerably above that of the Spaniards that continued to emigrate to the Americas, and since Spanish Guinea was never an attractive place for massive immigration, those Spaniards that chose to live in Spanish Guinea generally made this choice in view of superior salaries or perquisites, available only for the middle and professional classes.
Spaniards in Equatorial Guinea did not generally immigrate with the intent of permanently establishing themselves, but rather of working for a given time period, and nearly always returned to Spain. The result was a reduced sense of permanency, and a greater bilateral contact between Spain and expatriate Spaniards in Guinea. Even though a number of Spaniards were born in Spanish Guinea, few considered themselves as anything other than Spaniards, similar to their countrymen in the Canary Islands or Ifni, and there were few families that had lived continuously in Spanish Guinea for more than a single generation.
The amount of miscegenation was also considerably less in Guinea than in the Americas, as Spanish settlers brought a higher proportion of Spanish women, a fact visibly evident in the small number of mulatto Guineans (Fernandino), as opposed to the Caribbean region of Latin America. However, during the 1940s and 1950s an increased number of mulatto offspring were born to indigenous women and Spaniard men, mostly out of wedlock. These mulatto offspring were usually left be cared for by their mother and maternal family, and were more likely to identify as the tribe they were born into. Most married or procreated with other indigenous Africans. As a result of this era, as well as further interracial unions post-independence, a considerable amount of white Spaniard ancestry persists in the country, even among those with a black, or indigenous, phenotype. It's believed that some of the mixed ancestry resulted from rape, as forced servitude/slavery did, in fact, exist in the country through the course of Spanish domination there. It is further believed that some of the non-consent occurred through the corruption and coercion methods used by various Christian missionary organizations posted there, including those belonging to the Roman Catholic church, during the Spanish colonial era in the country.
From the earliest days of Spanish colonization, Santa Isabel contained numerous Europeans of various nations, as well as Kru, Mende, Ibo, Calabar, Hausa, Krio, Angolans, and Sao Tomenses, and even a small contingent of Asians. Furthermore, the island experienced small numbers of repatriated indentured slave-servants from Cuba and Brazil during the 17th century and 19th century. Most Spanish settlers left after Spanish Guinea became independent in 1968. Many more Spanish Equatoguineans left the country during the brutal rule of Masie Nguema Biyogo, but have returned since his overthrow and execution.
Since their ancestors ruled the country, they made Spanish the first national official language. They also speak the country's second official language, French, and any of the 2 main Bantu languages, Fang and Bubi. Indirect evidence of the cultural and educational level of the Spanish colonizers in Guinea is found in the particulars of Equatorial Guinean Spanish, which, while containing a number of significant differences from Peninsular Spanish, contains virtually no elements typical of uneducated Spanish usage, such as those common in Mexican Spanish. Analogical forms such as haiga, losotros, etc., are not found in Equatoguinean Spanish. The same goes for non-etymological prefixes such as arrecordar and entodavía. The only consistent phonetic deformations are those characteristic of middle-class Spaniards from central Spain: reduction of -ado to -ao, luego to logo, etc. In religion, most of them are Christians, mostly Roman Catholics and a few Protestants. Their ancestors brought Christianity to the nation and made it one of the largest Christian countries in Africa.
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa, with an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location near both the Equator and in the African region of Guinea. As of 2021, the country had a population of 1,468,777, over 85% of whom are members of the Fang people, the country's dominant ethnic group. The Bubi people, indigenous to Bioko, are the second largest group at approximately 6.5% of the population.
The History of Equatorial Guinea is marked by centuries of colonial domination by the Portuguese, British and Spanish colonial empires, and by the local kingdoms.
Demographic features of the population of Equatorial Guinea include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Malabo is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko. In 2018, the city had a population of approximately 297,000 inhabitants.
Mestizo is a person of mixed European and indigenous non-European ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though their ancestors are indigenous. The term was used as an ethno-racial exonym for mixed-race castas that evolved during the Spanish Empire. It was a formal label for individuals in official documents, such as censuses, parish registers, Inquisition trials, and others. Priests and royal officials might have classified persons as mestizos, but individuals also used the term in self-identification.
Mulatto is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Italian, Spanish and Portuguese it is not, and can even be a source of pride. A mulatta is a female mulatto.
The Bubi people are a Bantu ethnic group of Central Africa who are indigenous to Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Once the majority group in the region, the population experienced a sharp decline due to war and disease during Portuguese expeditions. By the end of Spanish colonial rule in the mid 20th century, and after substantial intermarriage with newly introduced populations, such as Afro-Cubans, Krio people, Portuguese people and Spaniards, the Bubi people, again, experienced a great decline in number. Seventy-five percent perished due to tribal/clan rooted political genocide during a civil war that led to Spanish Guinea's independence from Spain. This, too, sparked mass exodus from their homeland with most of the exiles and refugees immigrating into Spain. The indigenous Bubi of Bioko Island have since co-existed with non-indigenous Krio Fernandinos; and members of the Fang ethnic group, who have immigrated in large numbers from Río Muni. Once numbering approximately 3 million, the Bubi currently number around 100,000 worldwide.
Spanish Guinea was a set of insular and continental territories controlled by Spain from 1778 in the Gulf of Guinea and on the Bight of Bonny, in Central Africa. It gained independence in 1968 as Equatorial Guinea.
Hispanophone refers to anything related to the Spanish language.
Latin Americans are the citizens of Latin American countries.
The Fernandino people are creoles, multi-ethnic or multi-racial populations who developed in Equatorial Guinea. Their name is derived from the island of Fernando Pó, where many worked. This island was named for the Portuguese explorer Fernão do Pó, credited with discovering the region.
Central America is a subregion of the Americas formed by six Latin American countries and one (officially) Anglo-American country, Belize. As an isthmus it connects South America with the remainder of mainland North America, and comprises the following countries : Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.
Emancipado was a term used for an African-descended social-political demographic within the population of Spanish Guinea that existed in the early to mid 1900s. This segment of the native population had become assimilated into the former European society of Spanish Guinea which primarily existed along the coastline communities of the continental part of the country, as well as on the islands of Bioko and Annobón.
Equatoguinean Spanish is the variety of Spanish spoken in Equatorial Guinea. This is the only Spanish variety that holds national official status in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is regulated by the Equatoguinean Academy of the Spanish Language and is spoken by about 90% of the population, estimated at 1,170,308 for the year 2010, all of them second-language speakers.
Hispanic and Latin American Australians refers to Australians who are of Hispanic, and/or Latin American origin irrespective of their ancestral backgrounds, and their descendants. Brazilian Australians make up the largest proportion of Hispanic and/or Latin American Australians, followed by Chilean Australians and Salvadoran Australians. Most Hispanic and Latin American Australians speak English but many continue to use Spanish or Portuguese as well.
The Spanish diaspora consists of Spanish people and their descendants who emigrated from Spain. In the Americas, the term may refer to those of Spanish nationality living there; "Hispanic" is usually a more appropriate term to describe the general Spanish-speaking populations of the Americas together with those in Spain. The diaspora is concentrated in places that were part of the Spanish Empire. Countries with sizeable populations are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and, to a lesser extent, Brazil, Belize, Haiti, United States, Canada, the Philippines and the rest of Europe.
Afro-Spaniards are Spanish citizens of direct or indirect African descent namely Black or Black of mixed ancestry. The term may include Spaniards of any African background who are considered to be Black or of Black mixed ancestry mainly those of Afro-Caribbean, African American or Afro Latin American descent. The specific number of Afro-Spaniards is unknown due to the fact that the Spanish government does not collect data on ethnicity or racial self-identification.
Bioko is an island 32 km (20 mi) south of the coast of Cameroon, and 160 km (99 mi) northwest of the northernmost part of mainland Equatorial Guinea. Malabo, on the north coast of the island, is the capital city of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of 2,017 km2 (779 sq mi). The island is part of the Cameroon line of volcanoes and is located off the Cameroon coast, in the Bight of Biafra portion of the Gulf of Guinea. Its geology is volcanic; its highest peak is Pico Basile at 3,012 m (9,882 ft).
The Latin American diaspora refers to the dispersion of Latin Americans out of their homelands in Latin America and the communities subsequently established by them across the world.
Equatoguinean nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Equatorial Guinea, as amended; the Equatoguinean Nationality Regulation, and its revisions; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Equatorial Guinea. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Equatoguinean nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Equatorial Guinea, or jus sanguinis, born to parents with Equatoguinean nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalization.