FLAG OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The flag of Equatorial Guinea is the most important national symbol of this republic located on the African Atlantic coast. It is made up of three horizontal stripes of equal size, green, white and red. On the left side there is a blue triangle. In addition, in the center of the flag is positioned the country's coat of arms, with the silk cotton tree.

The knowledge of the arrival of the flags to the current Equatoguinean territory came from the hand of the Europeans. Equatorial Guinea was a Spanish colony until 1968 and throughout this period it used the flags of the European country.

Equatorial Guinea flag. (Open Clip Art Library via Wikimedia Commons)

Since its independence, a flag very similar to the current one was approved, with the only difference that it did not have the national shield. During the dictatorship of Francisco Macías, the shield was incorporated into the flag, which was modified in 1979 after his fall.

The colors of the flag have ascribed meanings. Generally, green is associated with the Equatorial Guinean jungle. White is related to peace, while red is the blood shed for independence. Finally, blue is the sea that connects the islands of the country with the mainland.

History of the flag

Various African tribes occupied the current Equatoguinean territory before the first contact with Europeans. In the Rio Muni area, present-day continental part of the country, several Bantu tribes populated the area.

The insular part began to be populated through the nearby Corisco Island in the Iron Age. Bioko, the largest island in the country today, received humans for the first time between the 5th and 6th centuries.

The Portuguese were the first to make contact with the islands. The navigator Fernando Poo located what is now called Bioko Island in the cartography for the year 1471.

Subsequently, the island acquired the name of the navigator. Portugal tried to colonize the island in the early 16th century, but failed. However, their influence in the area was maintained and they continued to discover and occupy islands such as Annobón.

Flag of the Portuguese Empire. (1640). (myself, based on ancient national symbol., via Wikimedia Commons).

The islands were still under the influence of Portugal, but that changed between 1641 and 1648 when the Dutch East India Company occupied the territory, taking advantage of the war between Portugal and Spain. In 1648, Portugal returned with its flag to the Guinean islands.

Flag of the Dutch Company of the West Indies. (Flag_of_the_Dutch_West_India_Company.png: * Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg: Zscout370derivative work: Fentener van Vlissingen (talk) work: Mnmazur, via Wikimedia Commons).

Spanish colonization

Spanish sovereignty came as a consequence of the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1777 and of El Pardo, in 1778. In them, the Portuguese Queen María I and the Spanish King Carlos III exchanged several territories in South America and Africa, among which was the coast of the Gulf of Guinea.

Since that year, the Spanish occupation of the territory began through the creation of the Government of Fernando Poo y Annobón, which depended on the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, with capital in Buenos Aires. Spain controlled the territory through different local tribal chiefs.

Between 1826 and 1832, the islands were occupied by the British, with the excuse of fighting against the slave trade. Although the British withdrew, they kept trying to control the territory, invading it in 1840 and trying to buy it later. Spain objected and sent an expedition in 1843 that raised the red-and-yellow flag.

Reddish flag

The symbol that the Spanish brought to Guinea was their red-and-yellow flag. This was approved by King Carlos III in 1785, and consists of three horizontal stripes.

The two at the ends, smaller in size, were red, while the central one, which occupied half the flag, was yellow. A simplified version of the Spanish shield was imposed on the left side.

Flag of Spain (1785-1873) (1875-1902). (By previous version User: Ignaciogavira; current version HansenBCN, designs from SanchoPanzaXXI, via Wikimedia Commons).

The Guinean colony began to be occupied by black mulattoes brought from Cuba, which was one of the few colonies that Spain maintained in the middle of the 19th century.

In 1858 the first Spanish governor arrived who controlled the internal struggles between the tribes. The Spanish focused on maintaining relationships with the African tribal monarchs of the Bubi clans.

First Spanish Republic

A political change took place in Spain in 1873. The abdication of King Amadeo of Savoy generated an unprecedented situation, with the proclamation of a republic. However, this state was extremely short-lived, lasting just under two years. Its completion occurred in December 1874.

The Spanish flag, which was hoisted in Spanish Guinea, underwent a simple modification. The crown withdrew from the red-and-yellow flag, which thus became a republican. After the return to the monarchy, the crown also returned to the flag

Flag of the Spanish Republic (1873-1874). (By Ignacio Gavira (original image), B1mbo (modifications), via Wikimedia Commons).

Bourbon restoration

The return of the monarchy did not imply major changes in the colony of Guinea. Territorially, the most important event was the annexation of the Muni River, the current continental part of the country, in 1885, with the figure of protectorate. This came after the Partition of Africa.

In 1900, Río Muni was transformed into a Spanish colony. In addition, three years later from the metropolis the Colonia de Elobey, Annobón and Corisco was created, which encompassed the three main islands of the southern part of the country.

The establishment of the colonial government generated great conflicts in the interior of Bioko with Bubi groups. In 1926, during the dictatorship of General Primo de Rivera, the continental and insular territories were unified as the Colony of Spanish Guinea.

Second Spanish Republic

The Spanish monarchy had been deeply weakened by having supported the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. When this regime fell in 1930, King Alfonso XIII imposed General Dámaso Berenguer and later Juan Bautista Aznar, who continued with the authoritarian government in support of the monarch.

Municipal elections held in 1931 precipitated the end of the monarchy, as the Republicans won in the big cities. King Alfonso XIII went into exile and thus, the Spanish Republic was proclaimed.

Its flag, which was also raised in Spanish Guinea, had three horizontal stripes of equal size. Its colors were red, yellow and purple, which represented the novelty. In the central part the national shield was located, without the crown and with a castle.

Flag of the Spanish Republic (1931-1939). (By SanchoPanzaXXI, from Wikimedia Commons).

Francoism

1936 definitely changed the history of Spain and Guinea. On the continent, the National Bando, led by Francisco Franco, rose up against the Spanish Republic, which started the Spanish Civil War. Guinea remained loyal to the Republic in principle, but between September and October 1936, the war reached the territory.

In the following months, after internal fighting, Franco's troops occupied the island of Fernando Poo. Soon after, after an initial failure, they conquered the mainland, and the following year they reached the island of Annobon.

In this way, the rebels occupied all of Spanish Guinea and the Franco dictatorship began, which lasted until the independence of the colony.

Flags during the Franco regime

The rebels won the war in 1939. Franco's dictatorship brought back the red-and-yellow flag, but with a new shield, incorporating the San Juan eagle and symbols of the movement such as spears. The country's motto was also imposed on the shield: One, Great and Free.

Flag of Spain (1939-1945). (By SanchoPanzaXXI, from Wikimedia Commons).

In 1945, the flag underwent a small modification. The shield grew, as the eagle began to occupy the three stripes of the flag. Also, the color of the slats changed from white to red. This was the one that was maintained until the independence of the country.

Flag of Spain (1945-1977). (By SanchoPanzaXXI, from Wikimedia Commons).

Provincial shields during the Franco regime

During the dictatorship, the political-administrative regime of the Guinean colony changed. In 1956 the colony became the Province of the Gulf of Guinea, and in 1959 it became the Spanish Equatorial Region, with two provinces: Río Muni and Fernando Poo.

The creation of the provinces originated the constitution of provincial councils whose members were elected in elections. Finally, in 1963 a referendum took place that granted autonomy to the colony and created common institutions between both provinces.

The shield of the province of Fernando Poo kept four barracks. Two of them had trees typical of the island. The barracks at the bottom showed a landscape of the territory from the sea and the central one, a scale of justice and a torch, presided over by a Christian cross. At the top a royal crown was located.

Coat of arms of the province of Fernando Poo (1959-1968). (Konstantinopoulosstephanopoulos This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this: Coat of Arms of the Spanish Province of Fernando Poo.svg (by Heralder). This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this: Escudo de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.svg (by Asqueladd)., Via Wikimedia Commons).

Instead, the Rio Muni shield incorporated a large silk tree that towered over the sea full of white waves. Its trunk was silver and in the background a mountainous landscape can be seen against a white sky. On top, again, the crown was placed.

Coat of arms of the Río Muni province (1959-1968). (Herald, via Wikimedia Commons).

Independence

For the year 1965, the UN General Assembly asked Spain for the decolonization and independence of Equatorial Guinea. After different pressures, in 1967 the Constitutional Conference was constituted.

In this the model of the Equatorial Guinean state was defined, which was finally unified between the island and the territorial part, to the detriment of a separate independence or a federation with Cameroon, as other political groups maintained.

Finally, the Constitutional Conference approved a constitutional text for the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. The country was established as democratic and multi-party. On August 11, 1968, the constitution was approved by 63% of Equatoguineans.

Shortly after, on September 22, the first presidential elections were held. None of the four presidential candidates obtained an absolute majority in the first round, but the independentist and radical nationalist Francisco Macías Nguema won by a wide margin over the nationalist and conservative Bonifacio Ondó Edu.

Equatorial Guinea's independence came officially on October 12, 1968. With this, the country's flag was raised. It was made up of three horizontal stripes of green, white and red, as well as a blue triangle on the shaft.

Flag of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. (1968-1973). (Johannes Rössel, from Wikimedia Commons).

Dictatorship of Fernando Macías

The new president, Francisco Macías, quickly became a dictator. By 1970, Macías had established a one-party regime in Equatorial Guinea that received political, military, and economic support from China, the Soviet Union, Cuba, and North Korea.

In 1973, Macías passed a new constitution that consolidated his system. The regime was characterized by cruel political persecution that left more than 50,000 dead in the country. In addition, it prohibited the catholic cult, it persecuted the speech of the Castilian and it promoted the renaming with African names to cities and people.

Since 1973, with the new constitution, a new flag was imposed. This included the shield of the Macías regime. The symbol was composed of a rooster that is on a hammer, a sword and different tools of workers and farmers, in accordance with the regime of Marxist court imposed in the country. The motto on the ribbon was Unidad Paz Trabajo.

Flag of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. (1973-1979). (Fornax, via Wikimedia Commons).

1979 coup

The Macías dictatorship came to an end after a coup on August 3, 1979. Different officers, led by Lieutenant General Teodoro Obiang, overthrew the government and Obiang was proclaimed president.

In a short time, much of the country's toponymic changes, as well as the one-party system, were reversed. Macías was sentenced to death and Obiang has been the country's dictator ever since.

In 1979 the current national flag came into force. The shield of the Macías dictatorship was removed and the previous one, which was added in the central part of the flag, was restored.

This symbol consists of a silver field with a cotton silk tree. Above it are six yellow six-pointed stars. The national motto on the tapes is Unidad Paz Justicia.

Meaning of the flag

The meaning of the colors of the flag of Equatorial Guinea seems quite clear from the moment of its independence. The green, located in the upper part, is the representative of the country's jungles and vegetation, on which the livelihood of the majority of Equatorial Guineans depends.

On the other hand, the other two stripes show the usual meanings between the flags. White is the representative of peace, while red is identified with the blood shed by martyrs to achieve independence. The blue, on the other hand, is the one that represents the unity of the country, through the sea that connects the islands with the mainland.

The national emblem is in the central part of the flag. This is made up of a cotton silk tree. Its origin would represent the union with Spain, because according to legend, the first treaty between a Spanish settler and a local ruler would have been signed under one of these trees.

Either way, the cotton and silk tree is typical of the region. In addition, the shield has six six-pointed stars. They represent the five main islands and the mainland.

References

1. Bidgoyo, D. (1977). History and tragedy of Equatorial Guinea. Editorial Cambio 16.
2. Embassy of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea in South Africa. (sf). Symbols of the homeland: the flag, the coat of arms and the ceiba. Embassy of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea in South Africa. Recovered from embarege.org.
3. Institute of Military History and Culture. (sf). History of the Flag of Spain. Institute of Military History and Culture. Ministry of Defense. Recovered from army.mde.es.
4. Institutional Web Page of Equatorial Guinea. (sf). Government and Institutions. Anthem, Flag and Shield. Institutional Web Page of Equatorial Guinea. Recovered from guineaecuatorialpress.com.
5. Smith, W. (2013). Flag of Equatorial Guinea. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com.