{"id":5753,"date":"2020-08-06T04:00:22","date_gmt":"2020-08-06T04:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/?p=5753"},"modified":"2020-08-06T23:06:03","modified_gmt":"2020-08-06T23:06:03","slug":"guinea-bissau","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/guinea-bissau\/","title":{"rendered":"Guinea-Bissau"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/h2>\n

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 1,604,528. It borders Senegal<\/a> to the north and Guinea<\/a> to the south-east.<\/p>\n

Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Kaabu<\/a>, as well as part of the Mali Empire<\/a>. Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were under some rule by the Portuguese Empire<\/a> since the 16th century. In the 19th century, it was colonized as Portuguese Guinea<\/a>. Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognized in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country’s name to prevent confusion with Guinea (formerly French Guinea). Guinea-Bissau has a history of political instability since independence, and only one elected president (Jos\u00e9 M\u00e1rio Vaz<\/a>) has successfully served a full five-year term.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Guinea Bissau on the Globe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Only about 2% of the population speaks Portuguese, the official language, as a first language, and 33% speak it as a second language. However, Creole is the national language and also considered the language of unity. According to a 2012 study, 54% of the population speak Creole as a first language and about 52% speak it as a second language. The remainder speak a variety of native African languages. There are diverse religions in Guinea-Bissau with no one religion having a majority. In 2008, the CIA World Factbook estimated that the population was about 40% Muslim, 22% Christian, 15% Animist, and 18% unspecified or other, while a Pew Research survey in 2010 incidicates about 62% Christian, 38% Muslim, and 0% for traditional African religions and unaffiliated. The country’s per-capita gross domestic product is one of the lowest in the world.<\/p>\n

Guinea-Bissau is a member of the United Nations<\/a>, African Union<\/a>, Economic Community of West African States<\/a>, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation<\/a>, Community of Portuguese Language Countries<\/a>, La Francophonie<\/a>, and the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

History:<\/h2>\n

Pre-History Through Colonialism:<\/h3>\n

Archaeology has insufficiently explained the Guinea-Bissau pre-history. In 1000 ACE, there were hunter-gatherers in the area, hundreds of thousands of years after they traversed the rest of Africa. This was shortly followed, in the archaeological record by agriculturists, using iron tools.<\/p>\n

Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Kaabu, part of the Mali Empire in the 16th century. Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century. Other parts of the territory in the current country were considered by the Portuguese as part of their empire. Portuguese Guinea was known as the Slave Coast<\/a>, as it was a major area for the exportation of African slaves by Europeans to the western hemisphere.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A 1729 Map, Showing the Slave Coast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Early reports of Europeans reaching this area include those of the Venetian Alvise Cadamosto<\/a>‘s voyage of 1455, the 1479\u20131480 voyage by Flemish-French trader Eustache de la Fosse<\/a>, and Diogo C\u00e3o<\/a>. In the 1480s this Portuguese explorer reached the Congo River<\/a> and the lands of Bakongo<\/a>, setting up the foundations of modern Angola<\/a>, some 4200 km down the African coast from Guinea-Bissau.<\/p>\n

Although the rivers and coast of this area were among the first places colonized by the Portuguese, who set up trading posts in the 16th century, they did not explore the interior until the 19th century. The local African rulers in Guinea, some of whom prospered greatly from the slave trade, controlled the inland trade and did not allow the Europeans into the interior. They kept them in the fortified coastal settlements where the trading took place. African communities that fought back against slave traders also distrusted European adventurers and would-be settlers. The Portuguese in Guinea were largely restricted to the ports of Bissau and Cacheu<\/a>. A small number of European settlers established isolated farms along Bissau’s inland rivers.<\/p>\n

For a brief period in the 1790s, the British tried to establish a rival foothold on an offshore island, at Bolama<\/a>. But by the 19th century the Portuguese were sufficiently secure in Bissau to regard the neighboring coastline as their own special territory, also up north in part of present South Senegal.<\/p>\n

An armed rebellion<\/a>, begun in 1956 by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC)<\/a> under the leadership of Am\u00edlcar Cabral<\/a> gradually consolidated its hold on the then Portuguese Guinea.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Amilcar Cabral<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unlike guerrilla movements in other Portuguese colonies, the PAIGC rapidly extended its military control over large portions of the territory, aided by the jungle-like terrain, its easily reached borderlines with neighboring allies, and large quantities of arms from Cuba<\/a>, China<\/a>, the Soviet Union<\/a>, and left-leaning African countries. Cuba also agreed to supply artillery experts, doctors, and technicians. The PAIGC even managed to acquire a significant anti-aircraft capability in order to defend itself against aerial attack. By 1973, the PAIGC was in control of many parts of Guinea, although the movement suffered a setback in January 1973 when Cabral was assassinated.<\/p>\n

Independence (1973):<\/h3>\n

Independence was unilaterally declared on 24 September 1973, which is now celebrated as the country’s Independence Day, a public holiday. Recognition became universal following 25 April 1974 socialist-inspired military coup in Portugal, which overthrew Lisbon’s Estado Novo<\/a> regime.<\/p>\n

Lu\u00eds Cabral<\/a>, brother of Am\u00edlcar and co-founder of PAIGC, was appointed the first President of Guinea-Bissau.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lu\u00eds Cabral<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following independence, the PAIGC killed thousands of local Guinean soldiers who had fought alongside the Portuguese Army against the guerrillas. Some escaped to settle in Portugal or other African nations. One of the massacres occurred in the town of Bissor\u00e3<\/a>. In 1980 the PAIGC acknowledged in its newspaper N\u00f3 Pintcha (dated 29 November 1980) that many Guinean soldiers had been executed and buried in unmarked collective graves in the woods of Cumer\u00e1, Portogole, and Mansab\u00e1.<\/p>\n

The country was controlled by a revolutionary council until 1984. The first multi-party elections were held in 1994. An army uprising in May 1998 led to the Guinea-Bissau Civil War<\/a> and the president’s ousting in June 1999. Elections were held again in 2000, and Kumba Ial\u00e1<\/a> was elected president.<\/p>\n

In September 2003, a military coup was conducted. The military arrested Ial\u00e1 on the charge of being “unable to solve the problems”. After being delayed several times, legislative elections were held in March 2004. A mutiny of military factions in October 2004 resulted in the death of the head of the armed forces and caused widespread unrest.<\/p>\n

Vieira Years:<\/h3>\n

In June 2005, presidential elections were held for the first time since the coup that deposed Ial\u00e1. Ial\u00e1 returned as the candidate for the PRS, claiming to be the legitimate president of the country, but the election was won by former president Jo\u00e3o Bernardo Vieira<\/a>, deposed in the 1999 coup.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jo\u00e3o Bernardo Vieira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vieira beat Malam Bacai Sanh\u00e1<\/a> in a run-off election. Sanh\u00e1 initially refused to concede, claiming that tampering and electoral fraud occurred in two constituencies including the capital, Bissau.<\/p>\n

Despite reports of arms entering the country prior to the election and some “disturbances during campaigning”, including attacks on government offices by unidentified gunmen, foreign election monitors described the 2005 election overall as “calm and organized”.<\/p>\n

Three years later, PAIGC won a strong parliamentary majority, with 67 of 100 seats, in the parliamentary election held in November 2008. In November 2008, President Vieira’s official residence was attacked by members of the armed forces, killing a guard but leaving the president unharmed.<\/p>\n

On 2 March 2009, however, Vieira was assassinated by what preliminary reports indicated to be a group of soldiers avenging the death of the head of joint chiefs of staff, General Batista Tagme Na Wai<\/a>, who had been killed in an explosion the day before. Vieira’s death did not trigger widespread violence, but there were signs of turmoil in the country, according to the advocacy group Swisspeace<\/a>. Military leaders in the country pledged to respect the constitutional order of succession. National Assembly Speaker Raimundo Pereira<\/a> was appointed as an interim president until a nationwide election on 28 June 2009. It was won by Malam Bacai Sanh\u00e1 of the PAIGC, against Kumba Ial\u00e1 as the presidential candidate of the PRS.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Raimundo Pereira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On 9 January 2012, President Sanh\u00e1 died of complications from diabetes, and Pereira was again appointed as an interim president. On the evening of 12 April 2012, members of the country’s military staged a coup d’\u00e9tat and arrested the interim president and a leading presidential candidate. Former vice chief of staff, General Mamadu Ture Kuruma<\/a>, assumed control of the country in the transitional period and started negotiations with opposition parties.<\/p>\n

Geography:<\/h2>\n

Guinea-Bissau is bordered by Senegal<\/a> to the north and Guinea<\/a> to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean<\/a> to its west.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Map of Guinea-Bissau<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At 36,125 square kilometres (13,948 sq mi), the country is larger in size than Taiwan<\/a> or Belgium<\/a>. The highest point is 300 metres (984 ft). Its terrain is mostly low coastal plains with swamps of the Guinean mangroves<\/a> rising to the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic<\/a> in the east. Its monsoon-like<\/a> rainy season alternates with periods of hot, dry harmattan<\/a> winds blowing from the Sahara<\/a>. The Bijagos Archipelago<\/a> lies off of the mainland.<\/p>\n

Economy:<\/h2>\n

Guinea-Bissau’s GDP per capita is one of the lowest in the world, and its Human Development Index is one of the lowest on earth. More than two-thirds of the population lives below the poverty line. The economy depends mainly on agriculture; fish, cashew nuts, and ground nuts<\/a> are its major exports.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Freshly Harvested Bambara Nuts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A long period of political instability has resulted in depressed economic activity, deteriorating social conditions, and increased macroeconomic imbalances. It takes longer on average to register a new business in Guinea-Bissau (233 days or about 33 weeks) than in any other country in the world except Suriname<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Guinea-Bissau has started to show some economic advances after a pact of stability was signed by the main political parties of the country, leading to an IMF-backed structural reform program. The key challenges for the country in the period ahead are to achieve fiscal discipline, rebuild public administration, improve the economic climate for private investment, and promote economic diversification. After the country became independent from Portugal in 1974 due to the Portuguese Colonial War<\/a> and the Carnation Revolution<\/a>, the rapid exodus of the Portuguese civilian, military, and political authorities resulted in considerable damage to the country’s economic infrastructure, social order, and standard of living.<\/p>\n

After several years of economic downturn and political instability, in 1997, Guinea-Bissau entered the CFA franc monetary system<\/a>, bringing about some internal monetary stability. The civil war that took place in 1998 and 1999, and a military coup in September 2003 again disrupted economic activity, leaving a substantial part of the economic and social infrastructure in ruins and intensifying the already widespread poverty. Following the parliamentary elections in March 2004 and presidential elections in July 2005, the country is trying to recover from the long period of instability, despite a still-fragile political situation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
CFA Franc Map<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Beginning around 2005, drug traffickers based in Latin America began to use Guinea-Bissau, along with several neighboring West African nations, as a transshipment point to Europe for cocaine<\/a>. The nation was described by a United Nations official as being at risk for becoming a “narco-state<\/a>“. The government and the military have done little to stop drug trafficking, which increased after the 2012 coup d’\u00e9tat<\/a>. The government of Guinea-Bissau continues to be ravaged by illegal drug distribution, according to The Week magazine.<\/p>\n

Transportation:<\/h2>\n

Transport infrastructure in Guinea-Bissau is basic, with most roads outside the capital Bissau<\/a> being unpaved (453 km paved and 3,947 unpaved). The Trans\u2013West African Coastal Highway<\/a> crosses Guinea-Bissau, connecting it to Banjul<\/a> (the Gambia<\/a>), Conakry<\/a> (Guinea<\/a>), and eventually to 11 other nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dakar Lagos Highway Map 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are no railways in Guinea-Bissau. In 1998 an agreement was signed between Portugal and Guinea-Bissau for construction of a railway to Guinea, but the outbreak of the Guinea-Bissau Civil War<\/a> in 1998 made these plans impossible.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Osvaldo Vieira International Airport<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The main airport serving the country, and the only one with scheduled commercial service, is Osvaldo Vieira International Airport<\/a> in Bissau.<\/p>\n

Flag of Guinea-Bissau:<\/h2>\n

The national flag of Guinea-Bissau was adopted in 1973 when independence from Portugal<\/a> was proclaimed.<\/p>\n

Like the former flag of Cape Verde<\/a>, the flag is based on that of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC)<\/a>. It is still the dominant party in Guinea-Bissau. The PAIGC party flag was derived from that of Ghana, which was the first design to use the Pan-African combination of red, yellow, green, and black in 1957.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Flag of Guinea Bissau<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The flag features the traditional Pan-African<\/a> colors of gold, green, red, and also the Black Star of Africa<\/a>. The flag’s design is heavily influenced by the flag of Ghana<\/a>. The colors have the same meanings: specifically, the red is for the blood of martyrs, green for forests, and gold for mineral wealth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The national flag of Guinea-Bissau was adopted in 1973 when independence from Portugal was proclaimed.<\/p>\n

Like the former flag of Cape Verde, the flag is based on that of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). It is still the dominant party in Guinea-Bissau. The PAIGC party flag was derived from that of Ghana, which was the first design to use the Pan-African combination of red, yellow, green, and black in 1957.<\/p>\n

The flag features the traditional Pan-African colors of gold, green, red, and also the Black Star of Africa. The flag’s design is heavily influenced by the flag of Ghana. The colors have the same meanings: specifically, the red is for the blood of martyrs, green for forests, and gold for mineral wealth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[19,66,59,5,6,7,29,18,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5753"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}