Malabo
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, formerly known as Bubis, by its autochthonous inhabitants, as Etulá and as Fernando Poo by the Europeans. The city has a population of approximately 187,302 inhabitants.
The official languages of the city, as well as across the country, are Spanish (main language and practically the only one used), French and Portuguese.
Malabo is the oldest city in Equatorial Guinea. Many buildings within the city are built in the style of colonial architecture from the times of Spanish rule, coexisting with modern buildings built since independence. The downtown streets, with a square design, reveal the ancient conception of modern city with pedestrian areas at all. The city also offers numerous green areas and leisure. This phenomenon causes a feeling of architecture attenuated by the low height of buildings in a combination of architectural Westernization and Africanism.
Oyala is a planned city currently under construction, designed to replace Malabo as the capital.
In 1472, in an attempt to find a new route to the India, the Portuguese navigator Fernão do Pó, discovered the island of Bioko, which He called "Fermosa". Later the island was named after its discoverer, Fernando Poo. At the beginning of 16th century, specifically in 1507, the Portuguese Ramos de Esquivel made a first attempt at colonization on the island of Fernando Poo. He established a factory in Concepción (current Riaba) and developed plantations of sugarcane, but the hostility of the insular Bubi people and diseases ended this experience quickly.
With the treaties of San Ildefonso in 1777 and El Pardo in 1778, during the reign of the Spanish King Carlos III the Portuguese gave to the Spanish island of Fernando Poo, Annobón and the right to conduct trade in the mainland, an area of influence approximately of 800 000 km² in Africa, in exchange for the Colonia del Sacramento in the River Plate and the Santa Catalina Island off the Brazilian coast (occupied by the Spaniards). The area stretching from the Niger Delta to the mouth of Ogüé River -in the current Gabon- and included, besides the islands of Fernando Poo and Annobon, the islets of Corisco and Elobeyes. Failed its various unsuccessful attempts to colonize these lands, Spain for its internal problems, lost interest in Spanish Guinea in 1827 and authorized the British use the island as a base for the work of persecution of the Slave Trade.
In 1821, the British captain Nelly approached the island of Fernando Poo. He found it abandoned and founded the establishments of Melville Bay (Riaba) and San Carlos (Luba). Some years later, another British captain, William Fitzwilliam Owen decided to colonize the island and set in the north of it -in the site of the present capital- a base for British ships chasing European dealers of slaves. Thus arises, the 25 December 1827 Port Clarence on the ruins of a previous Portuguese settlement. The name was chosen in honor of the Duke of Clarence, who later became King William IV. The Bubis indigenous to the island called it "Ripotó (place of the foreigners). The population of the capital was increased by the arrival of slaves freed by the British. The settlement of the freedmen in Port Clarence preceded the formation of Sierra Leone as a colony for freed slaves. The descendants of these people enslaved and freed remain on the island. At they joined other migrants arrived as free workers from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon, constituting the population group called Creole or fernandinos, and whose own language the Pidgin Bantu-English with Spanish elements.
During the period of the British presence, British consuls automatically became governors of the colony. Including Governor John Beecroft, a British mulatto sailor who modernized the capital, whose work was recognized later by Spain erecting a monument which is located in Punta Fernanda.
In 1844, when Queen Elizabeth II ruled after the regency of her mother Maria Cristina and Baldomero Espartero, in an attempt to modernize Spain and rescuing its heritage, Spain let him know the UK its desire to be of regain control of the colony and thus the island. It took another decade to implement this direct control. The capital already had more dynamic and Protestant religious missions were very successful. Both factors helped to change the attitude of Spain, in addition to internal reasons already alluded.
Spain again took control of the island in 1855 and the capital Port Clarence was renamed Santa Isabel, in honor of the queen Isabel II of Spain. The capital of the island of Fernando Poo became the capital of Equatorial Guinea.
Its present name was given in 1973 as part of the campaign of President Macías Nguema to replace the place names of European origin with African names properly, honoring Malabo Lopelo Melaka, the last Bubi king. Malabo, son of King Moka, surrendered to the Spaniards, while his uncle Sas Ebuera, head of the Bubi warriors, claimed the legitimacy of Bubi rule and continued resistance. After the murder of Sas Ebuera by the Spanish, Malabo became king unopposed, but without authority. Bubi clans and localities were slow to accept Spanish sovereignty over the island, and even 1912 was not achieved by conquest and pacification of the whole island.
During the so-called Reign of Terror of Macías Nguema, the dictator suppressed much of the intelligentsia of the country, initiating the process of taking over the positions of the public administration by part of the natives of Mongomo and clan Esangui. Many city residents had to leave. In the last years of his mandate, almost a fifth of the population fled. At that time (1968-1979), Equatorial Guinea received monies from the Soviet Union in return for, inter alia, affording port facilities for Soviet naval craft, particularly submarines. Still today Malabo tries to heal its wounds from that period, while the successor as head of state, Teodoro Obiang Nguema with his Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea, dictator from 1979 by a coup that overthrew Macías has not made improvements of any kind.
The infamous Black Beach Prison also known as Blay Beach prison (or Playa Negra prison) sits at the mouth of the Cónsul River, beside the black beach and behind the Governor's Palace and barracks. Several people have been jailed in the over the 35 years of dictatorship. Among those imprisoned and tortured are many political leaders as Fabián Nsue (UP), Felipe Ondo Obiang (FDR), Martín Puye of Movement for the Self-Determination of Bioko Island (MAIB) or Plácido Micó of the Social Democratic Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS).
Malabo is situated north of the island of Bioko, at coordinates 3° 45' 7.43" North and 8° 46' 25.32" East. The south of Malabo is limited by the Cónsul River and just across the river, south-west, is the hospital. West of the city, located about 9 km from the center of Malabo, is renewed Malabo International Airport. In the coastal region north of the city are the bays and capes. The elder is the punta de la Unidad Africana located just behind the Presidential Palace and which occupies the entire eastern part of the Bay of Malabo. Another cape of importance is punta Europa located in the west of the city near to the airport.
Malabo features a tropical monsoon climate. Malabo sees on average 1,800 mm of rain per year. The city has a pronounced, albeit short dry season from December through February. February is normally its driest with 33 mm (0.2 in) of rain falling on average. It also has a very lengthy wet season that covers the remaining nine months. On average, the months hit hardest by the wet season are from September to October, with 500 millimetres (20 in) of rain falling between them.
Daytime temperatures do not vary at all day to day, and only vary a few degrees throughout the entire year. At night, the average low temperature is 21–22 degrees in every month of the year, apart from January when average low is 19 degrees). January has cooler nights and hotter days because it has clearer weather. Nonetheless, Malabo, with only 1,180 hours of sunshine per year, is one of the gloomiest capitals in the world and experiences much fog even when it is not raining.
