Fernandino

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Fernandinos
Regions with significant populations
Bioko Island, Sao Tome and Principe
Languages

Fernando Poo Creole English, Krio, Pichinglis, Bube, Igbo, Spanish, French, Portuguese, English
Religion

Christianity
Related ethnic groups

Bubi, Krios, Emancipados, Saros, Americo-Liberian, African Americans, Black African, Mulattos, Creole people

Fernandinos are creole, multi-ethnic or multi-race groups of Equatorial Guinea and former Spanish Guinea with distinct ethnic, social, cultural and linguistic histories. These groups were responsible for building and expanding the cocoa farming industry on Fernando Po during the 1880s and 1890s. [1] The Fernandinos of Fernando Po were closely related to each other as well as to members of communities in Freetown, Cape Coast, and Lagos.[2]

Contents

[edit] I. Los Fernandinos (Mulattos)

The indigenous group of Fernandinos, also referred to as Emancipados or Los Fernandinos, were mixed race descendants of the pre-existing indigenous population of Spanish Guinea originating from the island of Fernando Pó (modern day Bioko Island), and island discovered by Fernão do Pó. This group consisted of mulattoes of female Bubi and white male Spaniard parentage. Incidentally, many offspring born to this type of union were not claimed by the father; however some couples did marry under Roman Catholic law. It was not uncommon for offspring of such unions to be accepted into the indigenous tribe and identify as such.

Native Fernandinos spoke a colloquial form of Spanish, French, Bube and a form of pidgin English called pichinglis. Pichinglis may have varied slightly per region. The dialect was stigmatized during the Franco regime.

There are also mulatto descendants of Portuguese and Bubi unions from the colonial era. Similarity, the Portuguese-Indigenous descended mulatto population of Sao Tome and Principe, an island also discovered by explored Fernão do Pó, were also referred to as Fernandinos at one point.

[edit] II. Fernandinos (Krios)

The other Fernandinos of Equatorial Guinea descended from English speaking freed slaves of Sierra Leone (likely Sierra Leone Krio people) and Liberia. The Krios arrived on the island of Fernando Po in 1827, a year after Great Britain leased the island of Fernando Po for fifty years. Thus the Krios joined an influx of several hundred freed Creole African descended immigrants from Cape Coast and other groups from British colonized Africa. The Krios began populating an area known as Clarence Cove - a harbor. The first inhabitants purchased dwelling for $3,000 to $5,000, with a handful of large plantation owners who'd engaged in cocoa and yam farming industry which was controlled by English and Spanish factory owners. Krios have been noted for their scholastic achievement and business acumen. [3]

Throughout the generations they have managed to maintain their own language, Fernando Poo Creole English. Krio Fernandinos are exclusively concentrated around Malabo. Although they comprise a distinct ethnic group in Equatorial Guinea, their pidgin dialect is spoken in only six communities (Musola, Las Palmas, Sampaca, Basupu, Fiston and Balveri de Cristo Rey). In 1998 it was estimated that the number of fluent Equatoguinean speakers of this language was at 5,000. For 1,000 of those 5,000 speakers this was their only language. Up to 70,000 EquatoGuineans may currently use it as a trade language.

The majority of Krio Fernandinos are Christian.[4] Most families have intermarried into indigenous families of the island.

[edit] Notable Fernandino families

[edit] See also

formerly part of the island front named Fernando Pó or Fernando Poo which included Bioko Island.

[edit] External links

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[edit] References

  1. ^ [African and European Cocoa Producers on Fernando Póo, 1880s to 1910s, W. G. Clarence-Smith, The Journal of African History, Volume 35, Issue 02, Jul 1994, pp 179-199, doi: 10.1017/S0021853700026384, Published online by Cambridge University Press 22 Jan 2009]
  2. ^ From slaving to neoslavery: the bight of Biafra and Fernando Po in the era of abolition, 1827-1930; by I. K. Sundiata; Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1996; ISBN:0299145107, 9780299145101; p.152
  3. ^ [Glimpses of Africa, West and Southwest coast. By Charles Spencer Smith; A.M.E. Sunday School Union, 1895; p. 164
  4. ^ [Glimpses of Africa, West and Southwest coast. By Charles Spencer Smith; A.M.E. Sunday School Union, 1895
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