Guinea-Bissau is a state in West Africa, a former Portuguese
colony, an independent state since September 24, 1973. In addition
to the mainland, it includes the island of Bolama and the Bizhagos
archipelago. It borders Senegal to the north and Guinea to the
southeast.
Guinea-Bissau was once part of the Kaabu Kingdom
and also part of the Mali Empire. Part of its territories existed in
their composition until the 18th century, while some others were
under the rule of the Portuguese Empire from the 16th century. In
the 19th century they became part of Portuguese Guinea.
Guinea-Bissau has had a history of political instability since
independence, with only one elected president (Jose Mario Vaz)
having successfully served a full five-year term. The current
president is Umaru Shisoku Embalo, who was elected on December 29,
2019.
For 2% of the population, Portuguese is their mother
tongue, and for 33% it is their second language. Guinean Creole is
also widely spoken. According to a 2012 study, for 54% of the
population it is native, and for about 40% the second. The rest
speak various indigenous African languages. The main religions are
Christianity and Islam. The country's per capita gross domestic
product is one of the lowest in the world.
Guinea-Bissau is a
member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic
Community of West Africa, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,
the Commonwealth of Portuguese Speaking Countries, the International
Organization of Francophone Countries and the South Atlantic Zone of
Peace and Cooperation, and was also a member of the now defunct
Latin Union.
During the colonial period, the country was part of Portuguese Guinea. After independence was declared in 1973, the country became known as Guinea-Bissau. This toponym consists of the components Guinea - the name of the geographical area where the country is located, and, to distinguish it from the neighboring state of the same name, Bissau - the name of its own capital.
The ancient history of Guinea-Bissau is not well understood. According to archaeologists, hunter-gatherers lived in this area around 1000 AD, later they mastered agriculture using iron tools, millet and legumes. They lived in a primitive communal system, moving to slavery.
In 1446, a Portuguese expedition led by Nuno
Trishtan, who landed on the coast of Africa, called the newly discovered
land Guinea. Nunu Trishtan and part of the members of this expedition
were killed by local residents. For the next 20 years, the Portuguese
did not land on the coast. In 1466, the King of Portugal granted his
subjects, who were developing the nearby Cape Verde Islands (now the
state of Cape Verde), the right to develop Guinea.
The Portuguese
from the Cape Verde Islands began to actively explore the territory of
Guinea in 1471-1475 and build fortified trading posts there to defend
against the natives. Later, French, English and Dutch corsairs
established their bases on this coast. By the 17th century, there were
several European settlements on the coast of Guinea. The most
significant of them were Farin, Cacheu, Bissau, where Europeans bought
slaves from local tribal leaders in exchange for metal products
(household utensils, tools, jewelry). Purchased slaves were sent to the
sugar and tobacco plantations of Brazil.
Despite the established
trade, the natives repeatedly made attempts to capture the settlements
of Europeans in order to take possession of their property. So, only
during the 1840s, the natives tried three times to capture the largest
base of the Portuguese - Bissau, and even the natives who converted to
Christianity ("grumetash") participated in this.
The territory of
Guinea was governed by the Governor of the Cape Verde Islands. In 1879,
Guinea was transformed into a separate colony of Portuguese Guinea.
Under the Franco-Portuguese Treaty of 1886, a significant part of the
territory was ceded to France (modern Guinea).
From the beginning
of the 20th century, the Portuguese colonialists began to create cities
on the territory of present-day Guinea-Bissau (Bisoran, Mansaba,
Fulakunda, etc.). Portuguese trading companies bought agricultural
products from the natives (mainly peanuts, palm fruits), selling
industrial products in return.
In 1951, the colonial status was
abolished, the territory became an overseas province of Portugal. Part
of the natives received the rights of citizens of the metropolis
(“asimilados” - who can write in Portuguese, profess Catholicism and
wear European clothes).
Since the early 1960s, in Portuguese
Guinea, as well as in two other large Portuguese overseas provinces in
Africa, Angola and Mozambique, an insurrectionary war has unfolded
against Portugal under the leadership of the Marxist PAIGC party,
ideologically close to the MPLA and FRELIMO.
The hostilities
launched on the orders of the PAIGC in January 1963 proceeded in general
with the advantage of the rebels. Even the assassination of PAIGC leader
Amilcar Cabral on 20 January 1973 did not change this situation.
On September 24, 1973, in the territory under the control of the PAIGC,
by that time accounting for 50 to 70 percent of the territory of the
overseas province, in the liberated region of Madina do Boe, the
National People's Assembly of Guinea-Bissau proclaimed the independent
Republic of Guinea-Bissau. Luis Cabral was elected Chairman of the State
Council, and Francisco Mendes was elected Chairman of the Council of
State Commissioners (Prime Minister).
After a revolution took
place in Portugal in April 1974, the new government of the republic on
September 10, 1974 recognized the independence of Guinea-Bissau.
After the country gained independence, a
one-party political and command-planned economic system was established
in it, united with the Republic of Cape Verde, since PAIGC was the
common single ruling party in both states.
Guinea-Bissau adhered to a
generally pro-Soviet orientation in foreign policy, provided airfields
for the transit of Cuban troops to Angola, although it refused the
proposal of the Soviet side to create a naval base in the estuary of the
Zheba River. At the same time, Guinea-Bissau sent a military contingent
to Angola to support the government in the war with South Africa and the
armed opposition.
In 1977, PAIGC introduced a monopoly on the purchase and export
of palm oil, and established uniform purchase prices for rice and
peanuts. As a result, the economic and financial situation of
Guinea-Bissau has deteriorated sharply.
On November 14, 1980, a
bloodless coup d'état took place: the chairman of the Council of
State Commissioners (government) of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau,
Juan Bernardo Vieira, removed the chairman of the State Council
(parliament) of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Luis Cabral (who was
arrested), other PAIGC functionaries were also removed from power
from among the mulattos - immigrants from Cape Verde, who were
forced to leave Guinea-Bissau.
After 1986, the liberalization
of the economy began, in 1989 a new constitution was adopted, which
allowed the creation of alternative political parties. In the 1990
elections, the PAIGC won by an overwhelming number of votes, but the
1990s were marked by increasing instability. In June 1998, a
military coup attempt was made, clashes broke out between the rebels
and government forces. The government managed to stay in power
largely due to the presence in Guinea-Bissau of troops from
neighboring countries - Guinea and Senegal.
In May 1999, Vieira
resigned as president of the country.
In February 2000, the
interim government handed over power to opposition leader Kumba
Yala.
In September 2003, K. Yala was ousted in a bloodless
military coup, and businessman Enrique Rosa became interim
president.
In 2005, João Bernardo Vieira became president again.
After the March 1, 2009, explosion at the army headquarters
building, which mortally wounded the Chief of Staff, General Tagme
Na Waye, his supporters in the army stated that President Vieira
“was one of the main figures responsible for the death of Tagme ".
Street riots began, the military accused the president of the death
of the general. On the morning of March 2, soldiers loyal to the
deceased chief of staff attacked the presidential palace. João
Bernardo Vieira was killed by them when he tried to leave the
building of his residence.
Following these events, Malam
Bakai Sanya, representing the largest PAIGC in Parliament, won the
election of a new president.
On December 26, 2011, a new coup
was attempted: the military attacked the General Staff building and
a number of other facilities in order to seize weapons. Arrests were
made among senior officers who are suspected of being involved. The
head of the Navy, Admiral José Amerigo Bubo Na Chuto, who was
considered the main "think tank of past performances", was arrested.
In January 2012, the seriously ill President Sagna, who for many
personified a stabilizing force, died in a Paris hospital. With the
death of the incumbent president, the chronic domestic political
crisis and the struggle for power escalated with renewed vigor,
which led to a new crisis.
In the first round of the presidential
elections on March 18, the head of the ruling PAIGC, Carlos Gomes
Júnior, who at the time of voting held the post of prime minister,
received 49% of the vote and confidently went to victory. The second
place was taken by the oppositionist, the leader of the Social
Renewal Party, Mohamed Yalu Embalua, who had already held the
presidency since 2000, was replaced by the military in 2003, and in
2008 converted to Islam and a new name. Yalu announced massive fraud
and refused to participate in the second round of elections.
However, the second round, scheduled for April 29, did not take
place.
On April 13, 2012, a military coup took place in
Guinea-Bissau[17]. The military, led by Mamadou Toure Kuruma,
arrested the interim president of the country, Raymondo Pereira, and
former prime minister, presidential candidate Carlos Gomes Júnior,
who were subsequently released and transported to Côte d'Ivoire. The
junta announced the formation of the Transitional Council. Some
politicians in Guinea-Bissau and international organizations,
including the UN (on May 18, the UN Security Council adopted a
resolution banning all members of the Military Council from leaving
the country), the Commonwealth of Portuguese-speaking countries, the
European Union, the African Union, ECOWAS, condemned the actions of
the junta and called for the restoration the country has a
constitutional order.
An agreement was signed under which, from
May 11, the speaker of the National Assembly, Manuel Serif Namaggio,
became interim president, who took third place in the elections.
It was expected that new elections would be held in 2014, and before
them the country will be ruled by an interim government.
On
October 22, 2012, a new coup attempt was announced. 7 people were
killed, the government announced that Portugal and the Commonwealth
of Portuguese-speaking countries were behind the attack.
On
May 18, 2014, the candidate from the largest party, the African
Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), José
Mario Vash, became the winner of the presidential election in the
2nd round.
A week after taking the oath as president, Vash
appointed the leader of the PAIGC party that won the parliamentary
elections, Domingos Simões Pereira, as the new head of government.
However, the crisis continued to worsen in the country, and due to
increased disagreements with the Prime Minister on the issue of
crossing their duties after the transition to civilian rule, on
August 20, 2015, the Pereira government was dissolved. Basiro Dha
became the new prime minister, but his candidacy was met with
disapproval among some members of the ruling PAIGC party, who called
for protests in the capital. In this regard, on September 17, a new
prime minister was appointed - Carlos Correia, who had already held
this post three times before.