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With
the increasing traffic in slaves headed to the colonial empires
of America, transit ports along the route to the Indies multiplied
and the islands of Fernando Poo, Corisco and Annobón
profited from these events. The enormous returns from slave
trade resulted in increased competition among Spaniards, Portuguese
and Dutch for the possession of the transit ports located
in the territory of Equatorial Guinea.
By the treaties of San Ildefonso in 1777 and of Pardo in
1778, the Portuguese seated in Fernando Poo gave to the Spaniards
an area of influence of 800.000 km2 (310,000 square miles)
in Africa, in exchange for the colony of Sacramento on the
Silver River and Catalina's Island off the coasts of Brazil
(occupied by the Spaniards).
The area extended from the Niger Delta to the mouth of the
River Ogooué (Gabon) and included the islands of Fernando
Poo and Annobón. Having failed in its attempts to colonize
these lands, Spain lost interest in African colonies, leaving
the door open to the other powerful nations like Great Britain.
In 1821, the British captain Nelly approached the island Fernando
Poo, that had belonged to Spain since end of the 18th century.
He found it abandoned and so founded the trading posts of
Melville Bay (Riaba) and San Carlos (Luba).
Some years later, another British captain, Fitz William Owen,
decided to colonize the island and to establish in the north
of the island (in the location of the current capital) a base
for the English ships that pursued the European traffickers
of slaves. On 25 of December 1827 he found Port Clarence.
Besides the hunt for slaves traffickers, the Britons assigned
themselves the task of converting the Africans. In 1841, the
Baptist Missionary Society based in London was established
in Fernando Poo, while protestant missionaries settled in
Corisco, with the goal to convert the Rio Muni region. Up
to 1858, the different governors of the island installed in
Port Clarence were British.
The best known was John Beecroft, who occupied this position
from 1833 to his death in 1854. His authority extended beyond
the island and included all British territories in the Gulf
of Guinea. He regulated the exchanges of the region, organized
consular mercantile tribunals, established on the island customs
duties and promoted the development of factories in Port Clarence.
When the Spanish commandant Lerena y Barry arrived at Fernando
Poo in 1843 to put all the African territories again under
the Spanish tutelage, as specified under the old 1777 treaty
of Pardo, he found Beecroft´s activities so beneficial
that he ratified gubernatorial position. Bary´s successor,
Manterol would later do the same.
However, when the Spanish frigate captain, Carlos Chacón,
disembarked in Port Clarence in 1858, he tried to substitute
the evidence of British presence with a Spanish one. He started
by changing the name of Port Clarence to Santa Isabel, in
honor of the Spanish Queen Isabel II. Later on, he imposed
Catholicism as the official religion and demanded the exit
of the Protestant missionaries.
With the proclamation of the Autonomy of the Spanish provinces
in the Gulf of Guinea, on June 21 1960, Wilwardo Jones Niger
was named as the first mayor of the city.
National Independence was achieved on October 12 1968. In
1973, Santa Isabel city was renamed Malabo, by presidential
decree, in memory of the autochtonous king that governed this
northern area of the island.
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