History of Guinea-Bissau: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:10, 19 October 2004

Revision as of 10:52, 24 March 2005

Line 2:

==Portuguese rule==

The rivers of [[Guinea]] and the islands of [[Cape Verde]] were among the first areas in [[Africa]] explored by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]], notably [[Nuno Tristão]], in the [[15th century]]. Portugal claimed Portuguese Guinea in [[1446]], but few trading posts were established before 1600. In [[1630]], a "captaincy-general" of [[Portuguese Guinea]] was established to administer the territory. With the cooperation of some local tribes, the Portuguese entered the [[slave trade]] and exported large numbers of Africans to the Western Hemisphere via the Cape Verde Islands. [[Cacheu]] became one of the major slave centers, and a small fort still stands in the town. The slave trade declined in the 19th century, and [[Bissau]], originally founded as a military and slave-trading center in [[1765]], grew to become the major commercial center.

==19th and 20th centuries==