Fernando Pó

Fernando Pó is a volcanic island off the coast of Cameroon, rising from the Gulf of Guinea to a high forested peak. It is the homeland of the Bubi, whose communities lived here long before Portuguese ships reached the island. Its European name commemorates the navigator Fernão do Pó, who sighted it in 1472.

Portuguese claims brought sugar cultivation and contact with Atlantic traders. In 1642 the Dutch East India Company established bases on the island and used them in the regional slave trade; Portuguese traders returned in 1648. As enslavement spread around the gulf, some Bubi communities moved from the coast into the interior. Local chiefs including Molambo helped build the foundations of an island kingdom. Portugal ceded the island to Spain in 1778, though the first Spanish expedition soon withdrew. In 1827 Britain established bases at Port Clarence and San Carlos for its squadron suppressing the slave trade. Under William Fitzwilliam Owen, Port Clarence became a place where ships were detained and people liberated from captivity.

The later city of Malabo lies here.