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running N.N.W. andS.S.E. from to° 5o' N. to 90 2' N., a distance, without reckoning the indentations, of 17o m., the colony extends eastward 45o m. in a straight See also:

LINE

line and attains a maximum width N. to S. of nearly 300 m., covering fully zoo,000 sq. m., and containing a See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population estimated at 2,000,000 to 2,500,000. See also:

PHYSICAL

Physical Features.—Though in one or two places rocky headlands jut into the sea, the coast is in See also:

general sandy, See also:

low, and much broken by See also:

rivers and deep estuaries, dotted with swampy islands, giving it the See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance of a vast See also:

DELTA (from the shape of the Gr. letter A, delta, originally used of the mouth of the Nile)

delta. In about 9° 30' N., off the promontory of Konakry, See also:

lie the Los Islands (q.v.), forming See also:

PART

part of the colony. The coast See also:

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

plain, formed of alluvial deposits, is succeeded about 30 M. inland by a line of cliffs, the Susu Hills, which See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form the first step in the See also:

TERRACE (Fr. terrace, terrasse, from It. terraccia, terrazzo, Lat. terra, earth)

terrace-like formation of the interior, culminating in the See also:

MASSIF

massif of Futa Jallon, composed chiefly of Archean and See also:

GRANITE (adapted from the Ital. granite, grained; Lat. granum, grain)

granite rocks. While the coast lands are either densely forested or covered with savannas or See also:

park-like See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country, the Futa Jallon tableland is mainly covered with See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short herbage. This tableland, the hydro-graphic centre of \Vest Africa, is most elevated in its See also:

SOUTHERN

southern parts, where heights of 5000 ft. are found. Near the Sierra Leone frontier this high See also:

LAND

land is continued westward to within 20 M. of the sea, where See also:

MOUNT, WILLIAM SIDNEY (1807-1868)

Mount Kakulima rises over 3300 ft. See also:

East and See also:

south of Futa Jallon the country slopes to the See also:

basin of the upper See also:

Niger, the greater part of which is included in French Guinea. The southern frontier is formed by the escarpments which See also:

SEPARATE

separate the Niger basin from those of the coast rivers of Liberia. Besides the Niger, See also:

GAMBIA

Gambia and Senegal, all separately noticed, a large number of streams running See also:

DIRECT

direct to the Atlantic rise in Futa Jallon.

Among them are the See also:

GREAT

Great and Little Scarcies, whose See also:

LOWER

lower courses are in Sierra Leone, and the Rio Grande which enters the sea in Portuguese Guinea. Those whose courses are entirely in French Guinea include the Cogon (or Componi), the Rio See also:

NUNEZ, PEDRO (PETRUS NoNlUS) (1492—1577)

Nunez, the Fatalla (which reaches the sea through an See also:

ESTUARY (from the Lat. aestuarium, a place reached by aestus, the tide)

estuary named Rio Pongo), the Konkure, whose estuary is named Rio Bramaya, the Forekaria and the Melakori. The Cogon, Fatallah and Konkure are all large rivers which descend from the plateaus through deep, narrow valleys in rapids and cataracts, and are only navigable for a few See also:

MILES, NELSON APPLETON (1839— )

miles from their mouth. See also:

CLIMATE

Climate.—The climate of the coast See also:

DISTRICT

district is hot, moist and unhealthy, with a 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 of heavy See also:

RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

rain lasting from May to See also:

NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November, during which See also:

time variable winds, calms and tornadoes succeed one another. The mean temperature in the dry season, when the " See also:

HARMATTAN

harmattan " is frequent, is 62° Fahr., in the wet season 86°. Throughout the See also:

YEAR

year the humidity of the See also:

air is very great. There is much rain in the Futa jallon See also:

HIGHLANDS, THE

highlands, but the Niger basin is some-what drier. In that region and in the highlands the climate is fairly healthy for Europeans and the See also:

HEAT (0. E. haktu, which like " hot," Old Eng. hat, is from the Teutonic type haita, hit, to be hot; cf. Ger. hitze, heiss; Dutch, hitte, heet, &c.)

heat somewhat less than on the coast. I Numerous remains of a See also:

stone See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age have been discovered, both on the coast and in the See also:

HINTERLAND (German for " the land behind ")

hinterland. See L. Desplagnes, " L'Archeologie prehistorique en Guinee francaise," in See also:

Butt. See also:

Soc.

Geog. See also:

COMM

Comm. de See also:

BORDEAUX

Bordeaux. See also:

March 1907, and the authorities there cited. export. Among See also:

minor products are See also:

COFFEE (Fr: cafe, Ger. Kaffee)

coffee, See also:

wax and ivory. Large herds of See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle and flocks of See also:

sheep are raised in Futa Jallon ; these are sent in considerable See also:

numbers to Sierra Leone, Liberia and French See also:

CONGO

Congo. The See also:

trade in hides is also of considerable value. The See also:

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

chief See also:

GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain raised is See also:

millet, the See also:

STAPLE

staple See also:

food of the See also:

PEOPLE

people. The See also:

RUBBER, INDIARUBBER

rubber is mainly exported to See also:

England, the See also:

palm products to See also:

Germany, and the ground-nuts to See also:

France. The See also:

PRINCIPAL

principal imports are See also:

cotton goods, of which 8o% come from Great See also:

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

Britain, See also:

rice, See also:

KOLA

kola nuts, chiefly from Liberia, See also:

SPIRITS

spirits, See also:

TOBACCO

tobacco, See also:

BUILDING

building material, and arms and See also:

AMMUNITION

ammunition, chiefly " trade guns." The See also:

AVERAGE

average See also:

ANNUAL

annual value of the trade for the See also:

period 1900–1907 was about £1,250,000, the annual export of rubber alone being See also:

worth £400,000 or more. The great bulk of the trade of the colony is with France and Great Britain, the last-named country taking about 45% of the See also:

TOTAL

total; Germany comes third. Since See also:

APRIL

April 1905 a surtax of 7% has been imposed on all goods of other than French origin.

Communications.—The railway from Konakry to the Niger at Kurussa, by the route chosen a distance of 342 m., was begun in 1900, and from 1902 has been built directly by the colony. The first See also:

section to Kindia, 93 m., was opened in 1904. The second section, to near Timbo in Futa Jallon, was completed in 1907, and the rails reached Kurussa in 1910. From Kurussa the Niger is navigable at high See also:

WATER

water all the way to Bamako in Upper Senegal, whence there is communication by See also:

RAIL

rail and See also:

RIVER

river with St See also:

Louis and See also:

TIMBUKTU (French spelling Tombouctou)

Timbuktu. Besides the railway there is an excellent road, about 390 M. See also:

long, from Konakry to Kurussa, the road in its lower part being See also:

close to the Sierra Leone frontier, with the See also:

OBJECT

object of diverting trade from that See also:

BRITISH

British colony. Several other See also:

main roads have been built by the French, and there is a very See also:

COMPLETE

complete telegraphic See also:

SYSTEM

system, the lines having been connected with those of Senegal in 1899. See also:

HISTORY

History.—T his part of the Guinea coast was made known by the Portuguese voyagers of the 15th See also:

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

century. In consequence, largely, of the dangers attending its See also:

NAVIGATION (from Lat. navis, ship, and agere, to move)

navigation, it was not visited by the See also:

EUROPEAN

European traders of the 16th-18th centuries so frequently as other regions See also:

north and east, but in the Rio Pongo, at Matakong (a diminutive See also:

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

island near the mouth of the Forekaria), and elsewhere, slave traders established themselves, and ruins of the strongholds they built, and defended with See also:

CANNON (a word common to Romance languages, from the Lat. canna, a reed, tube, with the addition of the augmentative termination -on, -one)

cannon, still exist. When driven from other parts of Guinea the slavers made this difficult and little known coast one of their last resorts, and many barracoons were built in the See also:

LATE

late years of the 18th century. It was not until after the restoration of See also:

GOREE

Goree to her at the close of the See also:

NAPOLEONIC

Napoleonic See also:

WARS

wars that France evinced any marked See also:

INTEREST

interest in this region. At that time the British, from their bases at the Gambia and Sierra Leone, were devoting considerable See also:

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

attention to these Rivieres du Sud (i.e. south of Senegal) and also to Futa Jallon. Rene Caillie, who started his See also:

JOURNEY (through O. Fr. jornee or journee, mod. Fr. journee, from med. Lat. diurnata, Lat. diurnus, of or belonging to dies, day)

journey to Timbuktu from Boke in 1827, did much to quicken French interest in the district, and from 1838 onward French See also:

NAVAL

naval See also:

OFFICERS

officers, Bouet-Willaumez and his successors, made detailed studies of the coast.

About the time that the British See also:

government became wearied of its efforts to open up the interior of West Africa, General See also:

FAIDHERBE, LOUIS LEON CESAR (1818–1889)

Faidherbe was appointed See also:

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

governor of Senegal (1854), and under his direction vigorous efforts were made to consolidate French See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence. Already in 1848 treaty relations had been entered into with the Nalu, and between that date and 1865 See also:

TREATIES

treaties of See also:

PROTECTORATE

protectorate were signed with several of the coast tribes. During 1876-188o new treaties were concluded with the chief tribes, and in 1881 the almany (or emir) of Futa Jallon placed his country under French See also:

PROTECTION

protection, the French thus effectually preventing the junction, behind the coast lands, of the British colonies of the Gambia and Sierra Leone. The right of France to the littoral as far south as the basin of the Melakori was recognized by Great Britain in 1882; Germany (which had made some See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to acquire.a protectorate at Konakry) abandoned its claims in 1885, while in 1886 the See also:

NORTHERN

northern frontier was settled in agreement with See also:

PORTUGAL

Portugal, which had See also:

ancient settlements in the same region (see PORTUGUESE GUINEA). In 1899 the limits of the colony were extended, on the dismemberment of the French See also:

SUDAN (Arabic Bilad-es-Sudan, country of the blacks)

Sudan, to include the upper Niger districts. In 1904 the Los Islands were ceded by Great Britain to France, in part return for the See also:

ABANDONMENT (Fr. abandonnement, from abandonner, to abandon, relinquish; abandonner was originally equivalent to mettred banddn, to leave to the jurisdiction, i.e. of another, bandon being from Low Latin bandum, bannum, order, decree, " ban ")

abandonment of French fishing rights in See also:

NEWFOUNDLAND

Newfoundland See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters. (See also SENEGAL: History.) French Guinea was made a colony See also:

INDEPENDENT

independent of Senegal in 1891, but in 1895 came under the supreme authority of the newly constituted governor-generalship of French West Africa. Guinea has a considerable measure of See also:

AUTONOMY (Gr. abr6s, self, and v6pos, law)

autonomy and a separate See also:

BUDGET (originally from a Gallic word meaning sack, latinized as bulga, leather wallet or bag, thence in O. Fr. bougette, from which the Eng. form is derived)

budget. It is administered by a See also:

LIEUTENANT

lieutenant-governor, assisted by a nominated See also:

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

council. See also:

Revenue is raised principally from customs and a capitation tax, which has replaced a hut tax. The See also:

LOCAL

local budget for 1907 balanced at £205,000. Over the greater part of the country the native princes retain their See also:

SOVEREIGNTY

sovereignty under the superintendence of French officials.

The development of See also:

agriculture and See also:

EDUCATION

education are See also:

OBJECTS

objects of See also:

SPECIAL

special solicitude to the French authorities. In general the natives are friendly towards their See also:

white masters. See M. Famechon, See also:

NOTICE

Notice sur la Guinee francaise (See also:

Paris, 1900) ; J. Chautard, Etude geophysique et geologique sur le Fouta-Djallon (Paris, 19o5); See also:

ANDRE, JOHN (1751-178o)

Andre Arcin, La Guinee francaise (Paris, 1906), a valuable monograph ; J. Machat, See also:

Les Rivieres du Sud et la Fouta-Diallon (Paris, 1906), another valuable See also:

WORK

work, containing exhaustive See also:

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

bibliographies. Consult also F. Rouget, La Guinee (Paris, 1908), an See also:

OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official publication, the annual Reports on French West Africa, published by the British See also:

FOREIGN

Foreign See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

Office, and the See also:

CARTE, THOMAS (1686-1754)

Carte de la Guinee francaise by A. See also:

MEUNIER, CONSTANTIN (1831-1905)

Meunier in 4 sheets on the See also:

scale 1: 500,000 (Paris, 1902).

End of Article: FRENCH GUINEA

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