Guinala or Quinara was an important Biafada kingdom in pre-colonial

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

situated between the Geba and Rio Grande de Buba rivers. The main port town, also called Guinala, was located on a tributary of the Buba, with the capital Bruco (or Buduco) a short distance inland.

History

The kingdom was a regional power and important center of trade well before the arrival of Europeans. In the middle of the 15th century the kingdom defeated a large

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Fula alpha ...

armed migration from

Futa Toro Futa Toro (Wolof language, Wolof and , , ; ), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River. This region, along the border of Senegal and Mauritania, is historically significant as the center of several F ...

led by Dulo Demmba that had cut its way through several

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

and

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states. The port of Guinala was the primary center of Euro-African trade in the region throughout the 16th century, exporting on average 3000 slaves a year to the Americas. The kingdom also boasted the region's largest weekly market at Bijorei. In the 1580s the ''

lançados The ''lançados'' (literally, ''the launched ones'') were settlers and colonizers of Portuguese origin in Senegambia, Cabo Verde, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and other areas on the coast of West Africa. Many were Jews—often New Christians—escaping ...

'' built a fort nearby, called Porto da Cruz, in order to defend against

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pirates as well as potential conflict with their Biafada hosts. With this rejection of the pre-existing host-guest relationship, the Afro-Portuguese faced higher prices and rude, sometimes violent, treatment. Guinala's economic importance waned in the early decades of the 17th century. In 1610 raiders from the Bijagos islands attacked Porto da Cruz and disrupted trade there. As the market of Bijorei waned, the ''lançados'' abandoned the fort and moved upstream to Bolola, near modern-day

Buba Buba is the largest city in southern Guinea-Bissau and the capital of the Quinara region. Itlies on the extreme end of the Rio Grande de Buba, near the Contanhez National Park, and has a population 6,815 (2008 est). History The area that is n ...

. The slow decline of the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

in the 18th and 19th centuries reinforced the trend.

Government

The king was a subject of the

mansa ''MANSA'' is a scale used to assess quality of life. Its name is short for ''Manchester, Short Assessment of Quality of Life''. It was developed by Priebe et al. References Notes References Further reading * * External links * {{Latin ...

Kaabu Kaabu (1537–1867), also written Gabu, Ngabou, and N'Gabu, was a federation of Mandinka kingdoms in the Senegambia region centered within modern northeastern Guinea-Bissau, large parts of today's Gambia, and extending into Koussanar, Kou ...

, and at times the overlord of the Papel state of

Bissau Bissau () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. it had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, its administr ...

. He had seven chiefs under him, and so exerted absolute authority only in the town of Guinala itself. The king ruled with the help of a Privy Council which, according to

John Ogilby John Ogilby, Ogelby, or Oglivie (17 November 16004 September 1676) was a Scottish translator, impresario, publisher and cartographer. He was probably at least a half-brother to James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Airlie, though neither overtly acknowl ...

's late 17th century atlas, was composed of the vassal chiefs as well as a "main governor." Ogilby also claimed that, upon the king's death, his wives, servants, horses, and court favorites would be killed and buried alongside him to serve him in the afterlife.

Legacy

The modern Quinara region is named after the kingdom.

References

{{Reflist Kingdoms