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FERNANDO PO, or FERNANDO

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Originally appearing in Volume V10, Page 281 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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FERNANDO PO, or FERNANDO Poo, a See also:

SPANISH

Spanish See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

island on the See also:

west See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast of See also:

Africa, in the See also:

BIGHT (O. Eng. bight, bend; cf. Ger. Bucht, a bay, and beugen, to bend)

Bight of Biafra, about 20 m. from the mainland, in 3° 12' N. and 8° 48' E. It is of volcanic origin, related to the Cameroon See also:

SYSTEM

system of the adjacent mainland, is the largest island in the Gulf of See also:

GUINEA

Guinea, is 44 M. See also:

long from N.N.E. to S.S.W., about 20 M. broad, and has an See also:

AREA

area of about 78o sq. m. Fernando Po is noted for its beautiful aspect, seeming from a See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short distance to be a single See also:

mountain rising from the See also:

sea, its sides covered with luxuriant vegetation. The shores are steep and rocky and the coast See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain narrow. This plain is succeeded by the slopes of the mountains which occupy the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of the island and culminate in the magnificent See also:

CONE (Gr. Kwvos)

cone of See also:

CLARENCE, DUKES OF

Clarence See also:

PEAK, THE

Peak or See also:

PICO

Pico de See also:

SANTA

Santa See also:

ISABEL

Isabel (native name Owassa). Clarence Peak, about 1o,0oo ft. high,' is in the See also:

north-central See also:

PART

part of the island. In the See also:

south Musolo Mt. attains a height of 7400 ft. There are numerous other peaks between 4000 and 6000 ft. high. The mountains contain craters and See also:

CRATER

crater lakes, and are covered, most of them to their summits, with forests. Down the narrow intervening valleys See also:

rush torrential streams which have cut deep beds through the coast plains. The trees most characteristic of the See also:

FOREST

forest are oil palms and See also:

tree ferns, but there are many varieties, including See also:

EBONY (Gr. E(3evos)

ebony, See also:

MAHOGANY

mahogany and the See also:

AFRICAN

African See also:

OAK (O. Eng., (lc)

oak. The under-growth is very dense; it includes the See also:

SUGAR

sugar-See also:

CANE

cane and See also:

cotton and See also:

INDIGO (earlier indico, from Lat. indicum, the Indian sub-stance or dye; the Sans. name was niti, from nila, dark blue, and this through Arab. al-nil, annil, gives " aniline ")

indigo See also:

PLANTS

plants.

The See also:

FAUNA

fauna includes antelopes, monkeys, ' The heights given by explorers vary from 9200 to ro,800 ft. lemurs, the See also:

CIVET

civet See also:

cat, See also:

PORCUPINE (Fr., pore-epic, " spiny pig ")

porcupine, pythons and See also:

green tree-See also:

SNAKES

snakes, crocodiles and turtles. The See also:

CLIMATE

climate is very unhealthy in the See also:

LOWER

lower districts, where malarial See also:

FEVER (Lat. febris, connected with fervere, to burn)

fever is See also:

COMMON

common. The mean temperature on the coast is 78° Fahr. and varies little, but in the higher altitudes there is considerable daily variation. The rainfall is very heavy except during See also:

NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November-See also:

JANUARY

January, which is considered the dry See also:

SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season. The inhabitants number about 25,000. In addition to about 500 Europeans, mostly Spaniards and Cubans, they are of two classes, the Bubis or Bube (formerly also called Ediya), who occupy the interior, and the coast dwellers, a mixed See also:

NEGRO (from Lat. eager, black)

Negro See also:

RACE

race, largely descended from slave ancestors with an admixture of Portuguese and Spanish See also:

BLOOD

blood, and known to the Bubis as Portos "—a corruption of Portuguese. The Bubis are of See also:

BANTU

Bantu stock and See also:

early immigrants from the mainland. Physic-ally they are a finely See also:

DEVELOPED

developed race, extremely jealous of their See also:

independence and unwilling to take service of any See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind with Europeans. They go unclothed, smearing their bodies with a kind of pomatum. They stick pieces of See also:

wood in the lobes of their ears, See also:

WEAR

wear numerous armlets made of See also:

ivory, beads or grass, and always wear hats, generally made of See also:

palm leaves. Their weapons are mainly of wood; See also:

stone axes and knives were in use as See also:

LATE

late as 1858.

They have no knowledge of working See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron. Their villages are built in the densest parts of the forest, and care is taken to conceal the approach to them. The Bubis are See also:

sports-men and fishermen rather than agriculturists. The See also:

STAPLE

staple foods of the islanders generally are See also:

millet, See also:

rice, yams and bananas. See also:

ALCOHOL

Alcohol is distilled from the sugar-cane. The natives possess See also:

numbers of See also:

sheep, goats and fowls. The See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal See also:

settlement is See also:

PORT

Port Clarence (pop. 1500), called by the Spaniards Santa Isabel, a safe and commodious See also:

HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour on the north coast. In its graveyard are buried See also:

Richard See also:

LANDER, RICHARD LEMON (1804–1834)

Lander and several other explorers of West Africa. Port Clarence is unhealthy, and the seat of See also:

government has been removed to Basile, a small See also:

TOWN

town 5 M. from-Port Clarence and over loco ft. above the sea. On the west coast are the See also:

bay and port of See also:

San See also:

Carlos, on the See also:

east coast See also:

Concepcion Bay and town. The See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry until the See also:

close of the 19th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century was the collection of palm-oil, but the Spaniards have since developed plantations of See also:

COCOA

cocoa, See also:

COFFEE (Fr: cafe, Ger. Kaffee)

coffee, sugar, See also:

TOBACCO

tobacco, See also:

VANILLA

vanilla and other tropical plants.

The See also:

KOLA

kola See also:

nut is also cultivated. The cocoa plantations are of most importance. The amount of cocoa exported in 1905 was 1800 tons, being 370 tons above the See also:

AVERAGE

average export for the pre-ceding five years. The See also:

TOTAL

total value of the See also:

trade of the island (1900-1905) was about £250,000 a See also:

YEAR

year. See also:

HISTORY

History.—The island was discovered towards the close of the 15th century by a Portuguese navigator called Fernao do Po, who, struck by its beauty, named it See also:

Formosa, but it soon came to be called by the name of its discoverer' A Portuguese See also:

COLONY (Lat. colonia, from colonus, a cultivator)

colony was established in the island, which together with See also:

ANNOBON, or ANNO

Annobon was ceded to See also:

Spain in 1778. The first attempts of Spain to develop the island ended disastrously, and in 1827, with the consent of Spain, the See also:

ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to serve)

administration of the island was taken over by See also:

GREAT

Great See also:

BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain, the See also:

BRITISH

British " See also:

SUPERINTENDENT

superintendent " having a Spanish See also:

COMMISSION (from Lat. commissio, committere)

commission as See also:

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

governor. By the British Fernando Po was used as a See also:

NAVAL

naval station for the See also:

SHIPS

ships engaged in the suppression of the slave trade. The British headquarters were named Port Clarence and the adjacent promontory Cape See also:

William, in See also:

HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour of the See also:

DUKE (corresponding to Fr. duc, Ital. duca, Ger. Herzog)

duke of Clarence (William IV.). In 1844 the Spaniards reclaimed the island, refusing to sell their rights to Great Britain. They did no more at that See also:

time, however, than hoist the Spanish See also:

FLAG (or " FLAGGE," a common Teutonic word in this sense, but apparently first recorded in English)

flag, appointing a British See also:

RESIDENT

resident, See also:

John Beecroft, governor. Beecroft, who was made British See also:

consul in 1849, died in 1854. During the British occupation a considerable number of Sierra Leonians, West See also:

INDIANS, NORTH AMERICAN

Indians and freed slaves settled in the island, and See also:

ENGLISH

English became and remains the common speech of the coast peoples.

In 1858 a Spanish governor was sent out, and the Baptist missionaries who had laboured in the island since 1843 were compelled to withdraw. They settled in Ambas Bay on the 2 Some authorities maintain that another Portuguese See also:

SEAMAN, OWEN (1861– )

seaman, See also:

LOPES, FERNAO (138o?—1459?)

Lopes Gonsalves, was the discoverer of the island. The years 1469, 1471 and 1486 are variously given as those of the date of the See also:

DISCOVERY

discovery. neighbouring mainland (see CAMEROON). The See also:

JESUITS

Jesuits who succeeded the See also:

BAPTISTS

Baptists were also expelled, but See also:

MISSION

mission and educational See also:

WORK

work is now carried on by other See also:

ROMAN

Roman See also:

CATHOLIC (Gr. KcaBoXuK6s, general, universal)

Catholic agencies, and (since 187o) by the See also:

PRIMITIVE

Primitive Methodists. In 1879 the Spanish government recalled its officials, but a few years later, when the See also:

PARTITION

partition of Africa was being effected, they were re-placed and a number of Cuban See also:

POLITICAL

political prisoners were deported thither. Very little was done to develop the resources of the island until after the loss of the Spanish colonies in the West Indies and the Pacific, when Spain turned her See also:

ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention to her African possessions. Stimulated by the success of the Portuguese cocoa plantations in the neighbouring island of St See also:

Thomas, the Spaniards started similar plantations, with some measure of success. The strategical importance • and commercial possibilities of the island caused See also:

Germany and other See also:

POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers to approach Spain with a view to its acquisition, and in 1900 the Spaniards gave See also:

France, in return for territorial concessions on the mainland, the right of pre-emption over the island and her other West African possessions. The administration of the island is in the hands of a governor-See also:

general, assisted by a See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council, and responsible to the See also:

MINISTRY

ministry of See also:

FOREIGN

foreign affairs at See also:

MADRID

Madrid. The governor-general has under his authority the sub-See also:

GOVERNORS

governors of the other Spanish possessions in the Gulf of Guinea, namely, the Muni See also:

RIVER

River Settlement, See also:

CORISCO

Corisco and Annobon (see those articles). None of these possessions is self-supporting.

See E. d'Almonte, " Someras Notas . . . de la See also:

ISLA, JOSE FRANCISCO DE (1703-1781)

isla de Fernando Poo y de la Guinea See also:

CONTINENTAL

continental espaiiola," in Bol. Real. See also:

Soc. Geog. of Madrid (1902) ; and a further See also:

ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article in the Riv. Geog. See also:

Col. of Madrid (19o8); E. L. Vilches, " Fernando Poo y la Guinea espaiiola," in the Bol. Real. Soc. Geog.

(1901); San Javier, Tres See also:

ALIAS (Lat. for " at another time ")

Alias en Fernando No (Madrid, 1875); O. Baumann, Eine africanische Tropeninsel: Fernando Poo and See also:

die Babe (See also:

Vienna, 1888) ; See also:

Sir H. H. See also:

Johnston, See also:

George Grenfell and the See also:

CONGO

Congo . . . and Notes on Fernando Po (See also:

LONDON

London, 1908); See also:

Mary H. See also:

Kingsley, Travels in West Africa, ch. iii. (London, 1897) ; T. J. See also:

Hutchinson, sometime British Consul at Fernando Po, Impressions of Western Africa, chs. xii. and xiii. (London, 1858), and Ten Years' Wanderings among the Ethiopians, chs. xvii. and xviii. (London, 1861). For the Bubi See also:

LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language see J.

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