Annobón (or Annabon or Anabon; from Ano bom Portuguese for Good Year) is an island south of São Tomé Island (São Tomé and Príncipe), in the Gulf of Guinea, 1° 24' S. and 5° 35' E., belonging to Equatorial Guinea. It is 110 miles southwest of St Thomas. Its length is about 4 miles, its breadth 2, and its area 6-¾ square miles. The island is an extinct volcano of which just the 650 metre peak rises above sea level. It presents a succession of beautiful valleys and steep mountains, covered with rich woods and luxuriant vegetation. It has a central crater lake and has a population of around 2,500 people. The island's main industries are fishing and timber.

The island constitutes the small Annobón Province, its capital the northern village of San Antonio de Palé, the island's other main settlement being the similarly-named San Antonio. The roadstead is tolerably safe, and passing vessels take advantage of it in order to obtain water and fresh provisions, of which Annobon contains an abundant supply.

The island was discovered by the Portuguese on January 1, 1473, from which circumstance it received its name. Apparently uninhabited until colonised by the Portuguese in 1474, primarily by Africans from Angola via São Tomé Island. The island was passed with Fernando Po and the Guinea coast (modern Equatorial Guinea) to Spain in 1778, as part of an exchange where Portugal received Uruguay. Spain wished to acquire territory in Africa, while Portugal wished to further enlarge the territory that they saw as the "New Portugal" (Brazil). Nevertheless, the populace of Ano Bom was against the shift and was hostile toward the Spaniards.

The islanders revolted against their new masters and a state of anarchy ensued, leading, it is averred, to an arrangement by which the island was administered by a body of five natives, each of whom held the office of governor during the period that elapsed till ten ships touched at the island. In the latter part of the 19th century the authority of Spain was re-established. Today, Spanish language is the official language, and its inhabitants are of mixed Portuguese, Spanish, and Angolan descent.

Nevertheless, the early anti-Spanish sentiment combined with the isolation of mainland Equatorial Guinea and the proximity of São Tomé and Príncipe — just 400 km from the island — has helped preserve the island's cultural ties with Portugal.

The island's main language is the Annobonese language (Fá d'Ambô), a Portuguese creole.

Annobon represents strategic importance to Equatorial Guinea. The existence of Annobon allows the Equaotguinean government to lay claim to extensive maritime boundaries beneath its southernly neighbour, São Tomé and Príncipe. Oil in the Gulf of Guinea represents more than 80% of Equatorial Guinea's economy, and supplies from current reserves are predicted by some sources to run out in just ten years. Although no drilling currently takes place in São Tomé, there are estimated to be 34,000,000,000 barrels of oil within the marine borders. Equatorial Guinea has claimed drilling rights to a huge field of sea surrounding Annobón that stretches from 1°N to almost 5°S, and from 2°E to 7°E; an area larger than the entire land and sea borders of the rest of Equatorial Guinea.

The island briefly became part of the Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco colony until 1909. It was briefly named Pigalu or Pagalu during the last years of the reign of Francisco Macías Nguema.

References

External links

• Gulf of Guinea Conservation Group

Islands of Equatorial Guinea | Provinces of Equatorial Guinea | Former Portuguese colonies

Annobón | Annobón | Annobón | Annobon | アンノボン島 | Pagalu | Ano Bom | Annobón