#历史 #
Guinea, one of the least developed countries in the world, usually has no sense of existence, but in recent days it has frequently appeared on the hot search because of military coups. Today, the gunfire has gradually stopped, and I hope that the people there will soon return to a peaceful life.
There was a military coup d'état in Guinea
When you open the world map, you'll be surprised to see that there's more to guinea than just one in the world. It is also surrounded by a Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea, and further afield, Oceania has a Papua New Guinea. With so many "Guineas", what is the difference between them?
"Black Land" Guinea
Beginning in the 7th century, Muslims in the Arab world began rapid foreign expansion, reaching Morocco on the west coast of Africa and taking over the entire Northern Sahara region. When they stopped, they called the large area of land in southern Sahara "Bilad Sultan", which means "negro land". However, the local Berbers in Morocco prefer to call the land "Guinea" in Berber.
Fast forward to the 12th century, when the Kingdom of Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula flourished and began a journey of discovery. Their initial target was North Africa, intending to invade Morocco, but in contact with the Moroccans, the Portuguese changed their minds and decided to look for "Guinea" further south.
The legendary region of Guinea
In 1415, when the Portuguese army captured the North African city of Ceuta, the king appointed his son Prince Henry as governor of Ceuta, and the famous navigator Henry began to send convoys of ships south along the coast. In 1418, the Madeira Archipelago was discovered, the home of the famous star Cristiano Ronaldo. In 1434, Cape Bohador was discovered. In 1444, the Portuguese sailboats arrived at the mouth of the Senegal River.
In order to ask Henry for his credit, Díaz, who led the fleet, captured several local blacks and claimed to have found the fabled "Guinea", and the Portuguese king immediately declared this area Portuguese territory, and the local area gradually developed into what is now Guinea-Bissau.
Henry the Navigator
With regard to the origin of the name of Guinea-Bissau, it is widely said that the Portuguese, after disembarkation, asked a black man for the name of the place. The negro said impatiently in the tribal language, "Bissau! It means "go forward," so they called it Guinea-Bissau.
The scramble of the great powers
When the colonists came, so did the catastrophe of the Negroes. Relying on the rich local gold and slave trade, the Portuguese made a lot of money, and their neighbor Spain was very enthusiastic and immediately asked the Portuguese: "Dude, can you share my land, I also want to engage in black slave trade." ”
The vast west coast of Africa
Portugal almost monopolized the black slave trade at that time, how can it be said to give, and you Spaniards occupy so much of the Americas, and they did not give it to me. The two countries quarreled until the 18th century, when the Spaniards bought a small island of Bioco at the expense of some land in western Brazil. Bioko Island and the land near the mainland became later Equatorial Guinea. However, Equatorial Guinea today is much smaller than before, and has not crossed the equator for a long time.
Later, the Iberian brothers gradually weakened, and the boss of West Africa was replaced by France. France to see, your brothers this place is very good, also give me a piece! Thus, in 1884, 15 colonial powers met in Berlin, and one of the outcomes of the discussion was that the lands of Guinea, where guinea, which had recently taken place in the coup, were divided up to France. In this way, the three "guineas" in Africa were divided.
Three brothers of Guinea in Africa
To sum up, Portuguese Guinea, which later became Guinea-Bissau, was declared its independence on 24 September 1973.
Flag of Guinea-Bissau
Spanish Guinea, later equatorial Guinea, with its capital in Malabo on the island of Bioko, became independent on 12 October 1968.
Flag of Equatorial Guinea
French Guinea, later Guinea, was proclaimed a republic on October 2, 1958, in Conakry, the capital.
Flag of Guinea
Different colonization histories have also created different national conditions, just like the three brothers of "Guinea", although they are all called "Guinea", one speaks French, one speaks Spanish, and the other speaks Portuguese.
Distant New Guinea
Although the three "Guineas" in Africa have slightly different cultures, they are not far away, so why is there another "Guinea" in distant Oceania?
In 1511, Portuguese navigators discovered a new island in Oceania and found that the natives had brown skin and curly hair, so they named it "New Guinea", which is also the second largest island in the world. In 1526, another wave of seafarers came to the vicinity to escape the wind and waves in an unnamed land, which was named "Papua" according to the Malay language, meaning "land of curly hair".
Island of New Guinea
After operating for a while, the Portuguese felt that there was nothing good here, that they could not make money, and slowly they did not care. After the Portuguese left, the Dutch, the British, and the Germans followed, and the three countries divided the island of New Guinea and the surrounding islands. Dutch New Guinea in the west later became Indonesian territory, and the German and British lands in the east underwent several changes, and finally became independent on September 16, 1975, forming the independent state of Papua New Guinea. This is also another English-speaking "Guinea" after the French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking "Guinea".
Flag of Papua New Guinea
The only bond
The four "Guineas", in the era of the former indigenous peoples, should not be called Guinea. It was only because of the later colonial invasions that the names that are similar to today were formed. While continuing the tradition, they more or less retained the habits of the colonists, and perhaps the name "Guinea" is the only link that can bind them together.
The Berlin Conference on the division of land