[1] Berlin Act of 1885; Brussels conference of 1890 (see AFRICA:
_History_).
[2] Louis Eugene Henri Dupont, marquis de Compiegne (1846-1877), on
his return from the West coast replaced Georg Schweinfurth at Cairo
as president of the geographical commission. Arising out of this
circumstance de Compiegne was killed in a duel by a German named
Mayer.
[3] A Franco-Belgian agreement of the 23rd of Dec. 1908 defined
precisely the frontier in the lower Congo. Bamu Island in Stanley
Pool was recognized as French.
FRENCH GUINEA, a French colony in West Africa, formerly known as
Rivieres du Sud. It is bounded W. by the Atlantic, N. by Portuguese
Guinea and Senegal, E. by Upper Senegal and the Ivory Coast, and S. by
Liberia and Sierra Leone. With a sea-board running N.N.W. and S.S.E.
from 10 deg. 50' N. to 9 deg. 2' N., a distance, without reckoning the
indentations, of 170 m., the colony extends eastward 450 m. in a
straight line and attains a maximum width N. to S. of nearly 300 m.,
covering fully 100,000 sq. m., and containing a population estimated at
2,000,000 to 2,500,000.
_Physical Features._--Though in one or two places rocky headlands jut
into the sea, the coast is in general sandy, low, and much broken by
rivers and deep estuaries, dotted with swampy islands, giving it the
appearance of a vast delta. In about 9 deg. 30' N., off the promontory of
Konakry, lie the Los Islands (q.v.), forming part of the colony. The
coast plain, formed of alluvial deposits, is succeeded about 30 m.
inland by a line of cliffs, the Susu Hills, which form the first step
in the terrace-like formation of the interior, culminating in the
massif of Futa Jallon, composed chiefly of Archean and granite rocks.
While the coast lands are either densely forested or covered with
savannas or park-like country, the Futa Jallon tableland is mainly
covered with short herbage. This tableland, the hydrographic centre of
West Africa, is most elevated in its southern parts, where heights of
5000 ft. are found. Near the Sierra Leone frontier this high land is
continued westward to within 20 m. of the sea, where Mount Kakulima
rises over 3300 ft. East and south of Futa Jallon the country slopes
to the basin of the upper Niger, the greater part of which is included
in French Guinea. The southern frontier is formed by the escarpments
which separate the Niger basin from those of the coast rivers of
Liberia. Besides the Niger, Gambia and Senegal, all separately
noticed, a large number of streams running direct to the Atlantic rise
in Futa Jallon. Among them are the Great and Little Scarcies, whose
lower courses are in Sierra Leone, and the Rio Grande which enters the
sea in Portuguese Guinea. Those whose courses are entirely in French
Guinea include the Cogon (or Componi), the Rio Nunez, the Fatalla
(which reaches the sea through an estuary named Rio Pongo), the
Konkure, whose estuary is named Rio Bramaya, the Forekaria and the
Melakori. The Cogon, Fatallah and Konkure are all large rivers which
descend from the plateaus through deep, narrow valleys in rapids and
cataracts, and are only navigable for a few miles from their mouth.
_Climate._--The climate of the coast district is hot, moist and
unhealthy, with a season of heavy rain lasting from May to November,
during which time variable winds, calms and tornadoes succeed one
another. The mean temperature in the dry season, when the "harmattan"
is frequent, is 62 deg. Fahr., in the wet season 86 deg.. Throughout the year
the humidity of the air is very great. There is much rain in the Futa
Jallon highlands, but the Niger basin is somewhat drier. In that
region and in the highlands the climate is fairly healthy for
Europeans and the heat somewhat less than on the coast.
_Flora and Fauna._--The seashore and the river banks are lined with
mangroves, but the most important tree of the coast belt is the
oil-palm. The dense forests also contain many varieties of lianas or
rubber vines, huge bombax and bamboos. Gum-producing and kola trees
are abundant, and there are many fruit trees, the orange and citron
growing well in the Susu and Futa Jallon districts. The cotton and
coffee plants are indigenous; banana plantations surround the
villages. The baobab and the karite (shea butter tree) are found only
in the Niger districts. The fauna is not so varied as was formerly the
case, large game having been to a great extent driven out of the coast
regions. The elephant is rare save in the Niger regions. The lion is
now only found in the northern parts of Futa Jallon; panthers,
leopards, hyenas and wild cats are more common and the civet is found.
Hippopotamus, otter and the wild boar are numerous; a species of wild
ox of small size with black horns and very agile is also found. The
forests contain many kinds of monkeys, including huge chimpanzees;
antelope are widespread but rather rare. Serpents are very common,
both venomous and non-venomous; the pythons attain a great size.
Fights between these huge serpents and the crocodiles which infest all
the rivers are said to be not uncommon. Turtles are abundant along the
coasts and in the Los Islands. Oysters are found in large numbers in
the estuaries and fixed to the submerged parts of the mangroves.
Freshwater oysters, which attain a large size, are also found in the
rivers, particularly in the Niger. Fish are abundant, one large-headed
species, in the Susu tongue called _khokon_, is so numerous as to have
given its name to a province, Kokunia. Birds are very numerous; they
include various eagles, several kinds of heron, the egret, the
marabout, the crane and the pelican; turacos or plantain-eaters, are
common, as are other brilliantly plumaged birds. Green and grey
parrots, ravens, swallows and magpies are also common.
_Inhabitants._--On the banks of the Cogon dwell the Tendas and Iolas,
primitive Negro tribes allied to those of Portuguese Guinea (q.v.).
All other inhabitants of French Guinea are regarded as comparatively
late arrivals from the interior who have displaced the aborigines.[1]
Among the earliest of the new comers are the Baga, the Nalu, the
Landuman and the Timni, regarded as typical Negroes (q.v.). This
migration southward appears to have taken place before the 17th
century. To-day the Baga occupy the coast land between the Cogon and
the Rio Pongo, and the Landuman the country immediately behind that of
the Baga. The other tribes named are but sparsely represented in
French Guinea, the coast region south of the Nunez and all the
interior up to Futa Jallon being occupied by the Susu, a tribe
belonging to the great Mandingan race, which forced its way seaward
about the beginning of the 18th century and pressed back the Timni
into Sierra Leone. Futa Jallon is peopled principally by Fula (q.v.),
and the rest of the country by Malinke and other tribes of Mandingo
(q.v.). The Mandingo, the Fula and the Susu are Mahommedans, though
the Susu retain many of their ancient rites and beliefs--those
associated with spirit worship and fetish, still the religion of the
Baga and other tribes. In the north-west part of Futa Jallon are found
remnants of the aborigines, such as the Tiapi, Koniagui and the
Bassari, all typical Negro tribes. The white inhabitants number a few
hundreds only and are mainly French. Many of the coast peoples show,
however, distinct traces of white blood, the result chiefly of the
former presence of European slave traders. Thus at the Rio Pongo there
are numerous mulattos. South of that river the coast tribes speak
largely pidgin English.
_Towns._--The principal towns are Konakry the capital, Boke, on the
Rio Nunez, Dubreka, on the coast, a little north of Konakry, Benty, on
the Melakori, Timbo and Labe, the chief towns of Futa Jallon,
Heremakono and Kindia, on the main road to the Niger, Kurussa and
Siguiri, on a navigable stretch of that river, and Bissandugu,
formerly Samory's capital, an important military station east of the
Niger. Konakry, in 9 deg. 30' N., 13 deg. 46' W., population about 20,000, is
the one port of entry on the coast. It is built on the little island
of Tombo which lies off the promontory of Konakry, the town being
joined to the mainland by an iron bridge. During the administration of
Noel Ballay (1848-1902), governor of the colony 1890-1900, Konakry was
transformed from a place of small importance to one of the chief ports
on the west coast of Africa and a serious rival to Freetown, Sierra
Leone. It has since grown considerably, and is provided with wharves
and docks and a jetty 1066 ft. long. There is an ample supply of good
water, and a large public garden in the centre of the town. In front
of Government House is a statue of M. Ballay. Konakry is a port of
call for French, British and German steamship companies, and is in
telegraphic communication with Europe. It is the starting-point of a
railway to the Niger (see below). The retail trade is in the hands of
Syrians. The town is governed by a municipality.
_Products and Industry._--French Guinea possesses a fertile soil, and
is rich in tropical produce. The chief products are rubber, brought
from the interior, and palm oil and palm kernels, obtained in the
coast regions. Cotton is cultivated in the Niger basin. Gum copal,
ground-nuts and sesame are largely cultivated, partly for export.
Among minor products are coffee, wax and ivory. Large herds of cattle
and flocks of sheep are raised in Futa Jallon; these are sent in
considerable numbers to Sierra Leone, Liberia and French Congo. The
trade in hides is also of considerable value. The chief grain raised
is millet, the staple food of the people. The rubber is mainly
exported to England, the palm products to Germany, and the ground-nuts
to France.
The principal imports are cotton goods, of which 80% come from Great
Britain, rice, kola nuts, chiefly from Liberia, spirits, tobacco,
building material, and arms and ammunition, chiefly "trade guns." The
average annual value of the trade for the period 1900-1907 was about
L1,250,000, the annual export of rubber alone being worth L400,000 or
more. The great bulk of the trade of the colony is with France and
Great Britain, the last-named country taking about 45% of the total;
Germany comes third. Since April 1905 a surtax of 7% has been imposed
on all goods of other than French origin.
_Communications._--The railway from Konakry to the Niger at Kurussa,
by the route chosen a distance of 342 m., was begun in 1900, and from
1902 has been built directly by the colony. The first section to
Kindia, 93 m., was opened in 1904. The second section, to near Timbo
in Futa Jallon, was completed in 1907, and the rails reached Kurussa
in 1910. From Kurussa the Niger is navigable at high water all the way
to Bamako in Upper Senegal, whence there is communication by rail and
river with St Louis and Timbuktu. Besides the railway there is an
excellent road, about 390 m. long, from Konakry to Kurussa, the road
in its lower part being close to the Sierra Leone frontier, with the
object of diverting trade from that British colony. Several other main
roads have been built by the French, and there is a very complete
telegraphic system, the lines having been connected with those of
Senegal in 1899.
_History._--This part of the Guinea coast was made known by the
Portuguese voyagers of the 15th century. In consequence, largely, of the
dangers attending its navigation, it was not visited by the European
traders of the 16th-18th centuries so frequently as other regions north
and east, but in the Rio Pongo, at Matakong (a diminutive island near
the mouth of the Forekaria), and elsewhere, slave traders established
themselves, and ruins of the strongholds they built, and defended with
cannon, still exist. When driven from other parts of Guinea the slavers
made this difficult and little known coast one of their last resorts,
and many barracoons were built in the late years of the 18th century. It
was not until after the restoration of Goree to her at the close of the
Napoleonic wars that France evinced any marked interest in this region.
At that time the British, from their bases at the Gambia and Sierra
Leone, were devoting considerable attention to these Rivieres du Sud
(i.e. south of Senegal) and also to Futa Jallon. Rene Caillie, who
started his journey to Timbuktu from Boke in 1827, did much to quicken
French interest in the district, and from 1838 onward French naval
officers, Bouet-Willaumez and his successors, made detailed studies of
the coast. About the time that the British government became wearied of
its efforts to open up the interior of West Africa, General Faidherbe
was appointed governor of Senegal (1854), and under his direction
vigorous efforts were made to consolidate French influence. Already in
1848 treaty relations had been entered into with the Nalu, and between
that date and 1865 treaties of protectorate were signed with several of
the coast tribes. During 1876-1880 new treaties were concluded with the
chief tribes, and in 1881 the almany (or emir) of Futa Jallon placed his
country under French protection, the French thus effectually preventing
the junction, behind the coast lands, of the British colonies of the
Gambia and Sierra Leone. The right of France to the littoral as far
south as the basin of the Melakori was recognized by Great Britain in
1882; Germany (which had made some attempt to acquire a protectorate at
Konakry) abandoned its claims in 1885, while in 1886 the northern
frontier was settled in agreement with Portugal, which had ancient
settlements in the same region (see PORTUGUESE GUINEA). In 1899 the
limits of the colony were extended, on the dismemberment of the French
Sudan, to include the upper Niger districts. In 1904 the Los Islands
were ceded by Great Britain to France, in part return for the
abandonment of French fishing rights in Newfoundland waters. (See also
SENEGAL: _History_.)
French Guinea was made a colony independent of Senegal in 1891, but in
1895 came under the supreme authority of the newly constituted
governor-generalship of French West Africa. Guinea has a considerable
measure of autonomy and a separate budget. It is administered by a
lieutenant-governor, assisted by a nominated council. Revenue is raised
principally from customs and a capitation tax, which has replaced a hut
tax. The local budget for 1907 balanced at L205,000. Over the greater
part of the country the native princes retain their sovereignty under
the superintendence of French officials. The development of agriculture
and education are objects of special solicitude to the French
authorities. In general the natives are friendly towards their white
masters.
See M. Famechon, _Notice sur la Guinee francaise_ (Paris, 1900); J.
Chautard, _Etude geophysique et geologique sur le Fouta-Djallon_
(Paris, 1905); Andre Arcin, _La Guinee francaise_ (Paris, 1906), a
valuable monograph; J. Machat, _Les Rivieres du Sud et la
Fouta-Diallon_ (Paris, 1906), another valuable work, containing
exhaustive bibliographies. Consult also F. Rouget, _La Guinee_ (Paris,
1908), an official publication, the annual _Reports_ on French West
Africa, published by the British Foreign Office, and the Carte de la
Guinee francaise by A. Meunier in 4 sheets on the scale 1:500,000
(Paris, 1902).