Spanish Equatoguineans
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The Spanish diaspora in Equatorial Guinea is made of people of Spanish ancestral origin who are residents born or living in
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
. This group is closely linked with the Fernandino people, a creole people who developed
Spanish Guinea Spanish Guinea () was a set of Insular Region (Equatorial Guinea), insular and Río Muni, continental territories controlled by Spain from 1778 in the Gulf of Guinea and on the Bight of Bonny, in Central Africa. It gained independence in 1968 a ...
and
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
, mostly in
Bioko Bioko (; ; ; historically known as Fernando Pó, ) is an island of Equatorial Guinea. It is located south of the coast of Cameroon, and northwest of the northernmost part of mainland Equatorial Guinea. Malabo, on the north coast of the is ...
island (historically named ''Fernando Po'').


Settlement

A group of prosperous plantations was set up by Castilian and above all
Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...
landowners, whose cultural level was considerably above that of the
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...
that continued to emigrate to the Americas, and since Spanish Guinea was never an attractive place for massive immigration, those Spaniards that chose to live in Spanish Guinea generally made this choice in view of superior salaries or perquisites, available only for the middle and professional classes. Spaniards in Equatorial Guinea did not generally immigrate with the intent of permanently establishing themselves, but rather of working for a given time period, and nearly always returned to Spain. The result was a reduced sense of permanency, and a greater bilateral contact between Spain and expatriate Spaniards in Guinea. Even though a number of Spaniards were born in
Spanish Guinea Spanish Guinea () was a set of Insular Region (Equatorial Guinea), insular and Río Muni, continental territories controlled by Spain from 1778 in the Gulf of Guinea and on the Bight of Bonny, in Central Africa. It gained independence in 1968 a ...
, few considered themselves as anything other than Spaniards, similar to their countrymen in the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
or
Ifni The Territory of Ifni () was a Spanish province on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, south of Agadir and across from the Canary Islands. It had a total area of , and a population of 51,517 in 1964. The main industry was fishing. The present-day Mor ...
, and there were few families that had lived continuously in Spanish Guinea for more than a single generation. The amount of miscegenation was also considerably less in Guinea than in the Americas, as Spanish settlers brought a higher proportion of Spanish women, a fact visibly evident in the small number of
mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...
Guineans ( Fernandino), as opposed to the Caribbean region of Latin America. However, during the 1940s and 1950s an increased number of mulatto offspring were born to indigenous women and Spaniard men, mostly out of wedlock. These mulatto offspring were usually left be cared for by their mother and maternal family, and were more likely to identify as the tribe they were born into. Most married or procreated with other indigenous Africans. As a result of this era, as well as further interracial unions post-independence, a considerable amount of white Spaniard ancestry persists in the country, even among those with a black, or indigenous, phenotype. It's believed that some of the mixed ancestry resulted from rape, as forced servitude/slavery did, in fact, exist in the country through the course of Spanish domination there. It is further believed that some of the non-consent occurred through the corruption and coercion methods used by various Christian missionary organizations posted there, including those belonging to the
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church, during the Spanish colonial era in the country. From the earliest days of Spanish colonization, Santa Isabel contained numerous Europeans of various nations, as well as Kru, Mende, Ibo,
Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari, Cali and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language, as the Efik people dominate this area. The city is adjac ...
, Hausa, Krio,
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
ns, and Sao Tomenses, and even a small contingent of Asians. Furthermore, the island experienced small numbers of repatriated indentured slave-servants from
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
during the 17th century and 19th century. Most Spanish settlers left after Spanish Guinea became independent in 1968. Many more Spanish Equatoguineans left the country during the brutal rule of Masie Nguema Biyogo, but have returned since his overthrow and execution.


Language and religion

Since their ancestors ruled the country, they made Spanish the first national official language. They also speak the country's second official language, French, and any of the 2 main
Bantu languages The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...
, Fang and Bubi. Indirect evidence of the cultural and educational level of the Spanish colonizers in Guinea is found in the particulars of Equatorial Guinean Spanish, which, while containing a number of significant differences from Peninsular Spanish, contains virtually no elements typical of uneducated Spanish usage, such as those common in
Mexican Spanish Mexican Spanish () is the variety of dialects and sociolects of the Spanish language spoken in Mexico and its bordering regions. Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, more than double any other country in the world. Spanish is spo ...
. Analogical forms such as ''haiga'', ''losotros'', etc., are not found in Equatoguinean Spanish. The same goes for non-etymological prefixes such as ''arrecordar'' and ''entodavía''. The only consistent phonetic deformations are those characteristic of
middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
Spaniards from central Spain: reduction of ''-ado'' to ''-ao'', ''luego'' to ''logo'', etc. In religion, most of them are
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
, mostly
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and a few
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
. Their ancestors brought Christianity to the nation and made it one of the largest Christian countries in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
.


See also

* Equatoguinean Spanish (language) * Equatorial Guinea–Spain relations * Fernandino people * Afro-Spaniards *
Emancipados Emancipado () was a term used for an African-descended social-political demographic within the population of Spanish Guinea (modern day Equatorial Guinea) that existed in the early to mid 1900s. This segment of the native population had become as ...


References

{{Ethnic groups in Equatorial Guinea Ethnic groups in Equatorial Guinea People of former Spanish colonies
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
Spanish diaspora in Africa Equatorial Guinea–Spain relations