Portuguese Guinea (), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a Portuguese overseas province in West Africa from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as Guinea-Bissau.
Early Portuguese period
The Portuguese Crown commissioned its navigators to explore the Atlantic coast of West Africa in the 1430s, to find sources of gold. At that time the gold trade was controlled by Morocco. Muslim caravans across the Sahara also carried salt, kola, textiles, fish, grain, and slaves.A.L. Epstein, Urban Communities in Africa – Closed Systems and Open Minds, 1964. The navigators first passed the obstruction of Cape Bojador in 1437 and were able to explore the West African coast as far as Sierra Leone by 1460 and colonize the Cape Verde islands beginning in 1456.C.R. Boxer, (1977). The Portuguese seaborne empire, 1415–1825, pp. 26–7, 30 London, Hutchinson & Co.
The gold ultimately came from the upper reaches of the Niger and Volta Rivers and the Portuguese crown wanted to divert the gold trade to the coast. To control the gold trade, the Portuguese king ordered a castle built, called São Jorge da Mina (now Elmina Castle), on the Portuguese Gold Coast in 1482 along with other trading posts. The Portuguese government founded the Company of Guinea to trade and set the prices of goods, including gold and ivory, Melegueta pepper and slaves. The Atlantic slave trade transported an estimated eleven million people from Africa between 1440 and 1870, including two million from Senegambia and Upper Guinea.H Thomas, (1997). The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1440–1870, pp. 804–5, New York (NY), Simon and Schuster,
This area was the source of an estimated 150,000 African slaves transported by the Portuguese before 1500, mainly from Upper Guinea. Some were used to grow cotton and indigo in the previously uninhabited Cape Verde islands. Portuguese traders and exiled criminals penetrated the rivers and creeks of Upper Guinea, forming a mulatto population speaking a Portuguese-based Creole language as a lingua franca. However, after 1500 most Portuguese interest, both for gold and slaves, centered further south in the Gold Coast.C.R. Boxer, (1977). The Portuguese seaborne empire, pp. 30–1
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Portuguese exported slaves from Upper Guinea from Santiago in Cape Verde, and those from the Gulf of Guinea from São Tomé Island. In the 1630s and 1640s, the Dutch drove the Portuguese from most of the Gold Coast. The Portuguese did retain a foothold at São João de Ajuda in Benin, now called Ouidah, since before the 1750s they preferred to acquire slaves from the Gulf of Guinea rather than Upper Guinea. In the 17th century, the French established bases at Saint-Louis, Senegal, the English at Kunta Kinteh Island on the Gambia River and Dutch at Gorée.C.R. Boxer, (1977). The Portuguese seaborne empire, pp. 97, 112, 170–2
The very weak Portuguese position in Upper Guinea was strengthened by the first Marquess of Pombal who promoted the supply of slaves from this area to the provinces of Grão-Pará and Maranhão in northern Brazil. Between 1757 and 1777, over 25,000 slaves were transported from the “Rivers of Guinea”, which approximated Portuguese Guinea and parts of Senegal, even though this area had been largely neglected by the Portuguese for the previous 200 years. Bissau, founded in 1687 and re-established as a fortified post in the mid-18th century, became the centre of Portuguese control.C.R. Boxer, (1977). The Portuguese seaborne empire, pp. 192
British interest in the area led to a brief attempt in the 1790s to establish a base on the island of Bolama, which showed no evidence of continuous Portuguese presence. The British settlers pulled back in 1793 and the Portuguese officially occupied the island in 1837. Even after the Portuguese claim in 1837, Afro-Portuguese lived and worked there alongside Afro-British from Sierra Leone, since Britain did not relinquish its claim to Bolama until 1870.P. E. H. Hair, (1997). '"Elephants for Want of Towns": The Interethnic and International History of Bulama Island, 1456–1870', History in Africa, Vol. 24, pp. 183, 186
The abolition of the slave trade by Britain in 1807 gave the slave traders of Guinea a virtual monopoly over the West Africa slave trade with Brazil. Although the Brazilian and Portuguese governments agreed in the 1830s to stop this traffic, it probably continued at 18th-century levels until after 1850, when the British pressured Brazil to enforce its existing ban on the import of slaves. The last significant consignment of West African slaves reached Brazil in 1852.W. G. Clarence-Smith, (1975). The Third Portuguese Empire, 1825–1975, Manchester University Press, pp. 30–1
Later colonial period
Britain's interest in the Upper Guinea region declined with the end of the British slave trade in 1807 and became focused on Sierra Leone after the Boloma Island settlement was abandoned. At the start of the 19th century, the Portuguese felt reasonably secure in Bissau and regarded the neighboring coastline as their own.B Gascoigne, (From 2001, ongoing). “History of Portuguese Guinea”, HistoryWorld Their control was tenuous: for much of the 19th century the Portuguese presence in Guinea was mainly limited to the rivers of Guinea, the settlements of Bissau, Cacheu and Ziguinchor (the last now in Senegal). Elsewhere it was preserved, with little official assistance, by local Creole people and Cape Verde islanders, who owned small plantations.J. L Bowman (1987) “Legitimate Commerce” and peanut production in Portuguese Guinea 1840s–1880s, The Journal of African History Vol. 28 No. 1, pp 89, 96.W G Clarence-Smith, (1975). The Third Portuguese Empire, p 22
The existence of plantations run by the French and Senegalese brought a risk of French claims south of the Casamance River. After the Berlin Conference of 1885 introduced the principle of effective occupation, negotiations with France led to the loss of the valuable Casamance region to French West Africa. In exchange, the French agreed to Portuguese Guinea's boundaries.J. L Bowman (1987) “Legitimate Commerce” and peanut production in Portuguese Guinea 1840s–1880s, The Journal of African History Vol. 28 No1 pp 89, 96.W G Clarence-Smith, (1975). The Third Portuguese Empire,
Portugal occupied half a dozen coastal or river bases, controlling some maritime trade, but not much of the population. However, in 1892, Portugal made Guinea a separate military district, to promote its occupation.J Barreto, (1938). História da Guiné 1418–1918, Lisbon, Published by the author, p 316 The Portuguese abandoned their policy of trade and neutrality and became militarily involved in the region, as part of the Portuguese campaigns of pacification and occupation. The years between 1879 and 1891 were marked by riverine and amphibious operations against hostile coastal kingdoms. All the Muslim Fula kingdoms in the interior recognized Portuguese sovereignty over the territory in 1892 in exchange for autonomous rule, and from there on the Portuguese were able to recruit great numbers of Muslim auxiliaries to annex the remaining polities in the interior, who were animistic.
Had the doctrine of effective occupation been as prominent in 1870 as after 1884, Portugal might also have lost Bolama to Britain. However, Britain and Portugal agreed in 1868 to international arbitration. President Ulysses S. Grant of the United States of America acted as arbiter, and in 1870 awarded the island to Portugal.P. E. H. Hair, (1997). "Elephants for Want of Towns", p. 186.
Portugal's precarious financial position and military weakness threatened its ability to retain its colonies. In 1891, António José Enes, Minister of Marine and Colonies, rationalized taxes and granted concessions in Guinea, mainly to foreign companies, to increase its exports.W G Clarence-Smith, (1975). The Third Portuguese Empire, pp. 82–3, 85 The increased revenue was intended to fund a gradual expansion of control that would give Portugal tax revenue from trade and the indigenous people.J L Bowman, (1987). "Legitimate Commerce and peanut production in Portuguese Guinea", pp. 98–99 The modest increase in government income between 1895 and 1910 did not cover the cost of the troops used to impose the taxes, however. Enes' policies largely failed; resistance continued in the interior, on the islands, and at the coast. However, once military occupation had begun, Portugal persisted, hoping for future benefits.R Pélissier, (1989). História da Guiné: portugueses e africanos na senegambia 1841–1936 Volume II, Lisbon, Imprensa Universitária pp 25–6, 62–4.R E Galli & J Jones (1987). Guinea-Bissau: Politics, economics, and society, London, Pinter pp. 28–9.
After the Portuguese monarchy fell in 1910, the new republic set up a ministry for colonial administration. Guinea's income increased as peanut prices rose, tax collection improved and its budget showed a surplus.R Pélissier, (1989). História da Guiné, pp. 140–1 Between 1913 and 1915, João Teixeira Pinto used native troops to impose Portuguese rule and crush resistance to the hut tax by destroying villages and seizing cattle, causing many to flee to Senegal or into the forests. The cost of maintaining his forces and the resulting budget deficits led to his recall in 1915.J Barreto, (1938). História da Guiné, pp. 374–6, 379–82.J Teixeira Pinto A occupação militar da Guiné Lisbon 1936, Agência Geral das Colónias pp 85–6, 120
Although the First World War increased world demand for tropical products and stimulated Guinea's economy, a post-war slump, and frequent political crises created a deep recession. By the 1926 military uprising in Portugal, most of Guinea was occupied, administered, and taxed, but its revenue was not enough to pay for its administration, much less to expand it.W G Clarence-Smith, (1975). The Third Portuguese Empire, pp 114–7 When the Estado Novo imposed police on the Bissagos Islands in 1935–36, it completed its control of Guinea.R Pélissier, (1989). História da Guiné, pp 229–30, 251–61
Between the 1930s and 1960s, the colony was a neglected backwater, whose only economic significance was to supply Portugal with about one-third of its vegetable oil, from peanuts. It was unclear if its population of about 500,000 in 1950 was large enough to grow enough peanuts to pay for its imports and administration, and still grow food for its population.W G Clarence-Smith, (1975). The Third Portuguese Empire, pp 151–2J Mettas (1984) La Guineé portugaise au XXe siècle, Paris, Académie des sciences d'outre-mer. p 19 In 1951, because of anti-colonialist criticism in the United Nations, the Portuguese government renamed all of Portugal's colonies, including Portuguese Guinea, as overseas provinces.G. J. Bender (1978), Angola Under the Portuguese: The Myth and the Reality, Berkeley, University of California Press p.xx.