Îles de Los
| Îles de Los | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Waters | Atlantic Ocean | |
| Geographical location | 9 ° 27 ′ N , 13 ° 47 ′ W | |
|
||
| Number of islands | 7th | |
| Main island | Tamara | |
 |
||
The Los Islands ( Îles de Los ) are a group of islands off the coast of the West African state of Guinea .
geography
The Îles de Los are located in the Atlantic west of Conakry , the capital of Guinea. There are three main islands :
Coraille , Blanche and Cabris are smaller islands in the south.
Tamara is the largest of the islands, it is 13 km long and 1.6 km to 3 km wide. It also has the highest elevation at 152 m. Only Tamara and Kassa have significant settlements (Fotoba, Soro and Cité de Kassa).
The archipelago is of volcanic origin and is overgrown with palm trees today.
Naming
The early Portuguese sailors called the islands " Ilhos dos Idolos ", ie "Islands of Idols (images of gods)", which is where their current name "Iles de Los" comes from.
Until well into the 20th century, members of the Bagas used to carry out processions to these islands every year. They brought offerings to their gods - including the fertility goddess Nimba.
history
The Portuguese navigator António Fernandes first came to the islands in 1446 , but it was not until the 16th century that the islands were first used by the Europeans as a trading base, but no permanent administrative settlements arose. Roume was a notorious center for the African slave trade , Tamara was a prison built by the British in 1812. In 1818 Sir Charles MacCarthy, Governor of Sierra Leone , acquired the archipelago from the Baga tribe . At the end of 1884, the colonial trader Friedrich Colin urged the German government, together with the Kapitaï and Koba regions acquired on the opposite bank, to annex the Los Islands, which had already been claimed by the British but were not yet British. The long uninhabited islands were added to the British sphere of influence until 1904, when they were handed over to France . They have belonged to this state since Guinea gained independence in 1958.
In 1949, the mining of bauxite began at Kassa ; In 1966 the deposits were then exhausted. The deposits on Tamara were mined from 1967 to 1972.
Trivia
The island of Roume is said to have inspired Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island .
tourism
Nowadays, the Îles de Los are a popular destination due to their beaches and wooded areas in the interior of the island, from Conakry there are ferries to the islands.
Individual evidence
- ^ Norbert B. Wagner (ed.): Archive of German Colonial Law. Brühl / Wesseling 2008, p. 153f. ( PDF; 1.9 MB )
