Fernão do Pó

Fernão do Pó , also known as Fernão Pó , Fernando Pó or Fernando Póo , ( 15th century ) was a Portuguese navigator who explored the west coast of Africa . Very little is known about him and his life. It belonged to the seafarers who advanced from Portugal to the Gulf of Guinea during this time on behalf of King Afonso V.

According to tradition, he discovered the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea and the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe in 1472 . Until 1973, Bioko bore the name of its discoverer Fernando Póo . In 1973 it was renamed Macías Nguema Byogo , in 1979 it was given its current name. The name was also used to designate some places in nearby Cameroon , where Pó crossed the mouth of the Wouri .

The Fernandinos , the multiethnic or mulatto population in Equatorial Guinea , who were recruited for cocoa cultivation in various regions of Africa at the end of the 19th century , were also named after him or after the island of Fernando Póo . Among them were runaway slaves, but also English and Spanish who married local boyish women. Fernandinos were also called the mulattoes of São Tomé and Príncipe. The English-based Creole spoken in the region was also often called Fernandino, but the locals called it Pichinglis .

literature

• Liniger-Goumaz, Max. 1979. Historical dictionary of Equatorial Guinea . Metuchen, NJ (USA): Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-1230-4 .
• Room, Adrian. 1994. African placenames . Jefferson, NC (USA): McFarland. ISBN 0-89950-943-6