The island of Annobón, a small land lost in the middle of the Gulf of Guinea, has a rich and original history: its population, of varied origins and status, experienced slavery and Portuguese colonization in the 16th century, but also decolonization and the abolition of slavery in the early 18th century.
This united people fought for their freedom, developing diverse strategies until the end of the 19th century. During this period, the Annobonais suffered several droughts and famines, which weakened them considerably. Spanish missionaries, the Claretians, opened a mission in the main village of the island. With their presence and their actions, they achieved the recognition of the Spanish colonization of this territory. Although the islanders were no longer officially slaves, some were still subjected to forced labor and had to leave their land. Nevertheless, they continued to show resistance whenever they were victims of abuses of power by the colonial government and missionaries.
They know how to express in words their love for their island and their culture. His written and oral testimonies are rich and numerous. This literary heritage is increasingly promoted through various editions of stories, legends and compilations of memories of the oldest members of the community, as well as other initiatives taken by the local population itself. Not to mention the writers whose fame does not stop at the border with Equatorial Guinea. Such is the case of Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel.
Delimitation
African continent, Gulf of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Annobon Island
Sources
AHU (Lisbon)
AN (Paris)
ANOM (Aix-en-Provence)
Propaganda Fide
Various missionary archives
Bibliography (by way of example)
Pedro Bodipo Lisso, Annobon : su tradicion, usos y costumbres, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2015.
Valérie de Wulf, Les Annobonais, un peuple africain original (Guinée Equatoriale, XVIIIe-XXe siècles), Tome II, Ed. l’Harmattan et Association France-Guinée Equatoriale, 2014, 232p.
Juan Tomas Avila Laurel, Poemas, Malabo, Centro Cultural Hipano Guineano, 1994
Juan Tomas Avila Laurel, Dans la nuit, la montagne brûle, Solanhets, 2019
Etc…
The other coordinators are in the process of being appointed.
