History of Guinea facts for kids
The modern country of Guinea started in 1958. But the history of this area goes back much further, long before European countries began to colonize Africa. Guinea's current borders were decided during the time of colonization by the Berlin Conference (1884–1885) and by the French, who ruled Guinea until 1958.
Contents
West African Empires
The area that is now Guinea was on the edge of some big West African empires. The Ghana Empire was one of the earliest. It grew strong through trade but later became smaller and eventually fell apart because of the Almoravids. During this time, the religion of Islam first came to the region.
The Sosso kingdom was important for a short time (from the 12th to 13th centuries). But then the Islamic Mandinka Mali Empire became powerful. This happened when Soundiata Kéïta defeated the Sosso ruler, Sumanguru Kanté, around 1235 at the Battle of Kirina. The Mali Empire was led by Mansas (Emperors). The most famous Mansa was Kankou Moussa. He made a famous trip, called a hajj, to Mecca in 1324. Not long after his rule, the Mali Empire started to get weaker. It was eventually replaced by its smaller states in the 15th century.
The Songhai Empire was the most successful of these new states. It started to grow its power around 1460. It eventually became bigger and richer than the Mali Empire. The Songhai Empire continued to do well until a civil war started after Askia Daoud died in 1582. The empire became weak and was then taken over by invaders from Morocco in 1591. However, the Moroccans could not rule the kingdom well, and it broke into many smaller kingdoms.
Starting in the 13th century, the Arab slave trade became very active in the region and the Gulf of Guinea. The slave trade grew much larger in the 15th century. This was when Portugal set up trading posts in Guinea. They bought, sold, and kidnapped people as part of the Atlantic slave trade. Other European countries later joined this trade, which continued until the mid-19th century.
Kingdoms in Guinea
After the big West African empires fell, different kingdoms existed in what is now modern Guinea.
Futa Jallon
Fulani Muslims moved to Futa Jallon in Central Guinea. They created an Islamic state there from 1735 to 1898. This state had its own written rules and different rulers who took turns leading.
Wassoulou Empire
The Wassoulou Empire was a short-lived empire (1878–1898). It was led by Samory Touré in the area of what is now upper Guinea and southwestern Mali. This area was mostly home to the Malinké people. The empire later moved to Ivory Coast before the French took control of it.
Colonial Era
Guinea's time as a colony began when French soldiers started moving into the area in the early to mid-1800s. France became the main European power in the region, replacing Portugal. The French took control by building forts and taking over towns along the coast. Then, they slowly moved further inland. The French Empire first managed the area as part of its Senegalese colony. Later, they created the colony of Rivières du Sud in 1882. Finally, they established the colony of French Guinea in 1891. French control was made sure when the armies of Samori Touré were defeated in 1898. Samory Touré was the Mansa (or Emperor) of the Ouassoulou state and a leader of Malinké descent. His defeat gave France control over what is now Guinea and nearby areas.
France worked with other countries to decide Guinea's current borders in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These countries included the British colony of Sierra Leone, Portuguese colonial Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau), and Liberia, which was supported by the United States.
Independence (1958)
In 1958, the French Fourth Republic government in France fell apart. This was because of political problems and its struggles with its colonies, especially Indochina and Algeria. The French people supported creating a Fifth Republic. French President Charles de Gaulle made it clear on August 8, 1958, that France's colonies had a big choice. They could have more self-rule in a new French Community or immediate independence. This choice was given in a vote held on September 28, 1958.
Other French colonies chose to have more self-rule. But Guinea, led by Ahmed Sékou Touré, voted strongly for independence. Touré's party, the Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG), had won most of the seats in elections in 1957. The French quickly left Guinea, destroying buildings and equipment as they went. On October 2, 1958, Guinea announced it was a free and independent country, with Sékou Touré as its president.
Sékou Touré's Rule (1958–1984)
Quick facts for kids
People's Revolutionary Republic of Guinea
République populaire révolutionnaire de Guinée (French)
|
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–1984 | |||||||||
|
Motto: Work, Justice, Solidarity
|
|||||||||
|
Anthem: Liberté
|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
| Capital | Conakry | ||||||||
| Common languages | French | ||||||||
| Government | Unitary one-party socialist republic | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
|
• 1958–1984
|
Sékou Touré | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
|
• 1972–1984
|
Louis Lansana Beavogui | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
|
• Established
|
1958 | ||||||||
|
• Disestablished
|
1984 | ||||||||
| Currency | Guinean franc | ||||||||
| Calling code | 242 | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | GN | ||||||||
|
|||||||||
| Today part of | Guinea | ||||||||
After France left, Guinea quickly became friends with the Soviet Union and started using socialist ideas for its economy. However, this friendship did not last long. Guinea then looked more towards a Chinese style of socialism. Later, President John F. Kennedy and his Peace Corps director Sargent Shriver from the United States tried to build a stronger relationship. By 1963, Guinea had become closer friends with Washington. Guinea relied more and more on help and money from the U.S. Even the relationship with France got better after Valéry Giscard d'Estaing became president. Trade increased, and the two countries visited each other.
By 1960, Touré had said that the PDG was the only legal political party. For the next 24 years, the government and the PDG were the same. Touré was reelected as president four times without anyone running against him. Every five years, voters were given only one list of PDG candidates for the National Assembly. Touré supported a mix of African Socialism at home and Pan-Africanism (unity of African people) abroad. He quickly became a leader that people either strongly supported or strongly disliked. His government became very strict with people who disagreed. Hundreds were put in prison, and free newspapers were stopped.
At the same time, the Guinean government took control of land. They removed French-appointed and traditional chiefs from power. They also ended ties with the French government and companies. Guinea's economy became very uncertain, just like its changing friendships with the Soviet Union and later the United States. Touré's government claimed there were plots against him. They targeted people they thought were enemies, causing thousands of political opponents to leave the country.
In 1970, Portuguese soldiers from nearby Portuguese Guinea attacked Guinea. This attack, called Operation Green Sea, was supported by Guinean people who were against Touré. One of the goals was to capture or kill Sékou Touré because he supported a group called the PAIGC. This group was fighting inside Portuguese Guinea. After several days of strong fighting, the Portuguese soldiers left without reaching most of their goals. After this, Sékou Touré's government arrested and executed more people inside Guinea.
In 1977, there was a big protest by market women, known as the Guinean Market Women's Revolt. This led to the government making its economic rules less strict. It also marked a shift away from the strict socialism the government had followed before.
Sékou Touré died on March 26, 1984, after a heart operation in the United States. He was replaced by Prime Minister Louis Lansana Beavogui. Beavogui was supposed to be the temporary president until new elections.
Lansana Conté's Rule (1984–2008)
The PDG party was supposed to choose a new leader on April 3, 1984. According to the rules, that person would have been the only candidate for president. However, just hours before that meeting, Colonels Lansana Conté and Diarra Traoré took power in a peaceful takeover, called a coup. Conté became president, and Traoré served as prime minister for a few months.
Conté immediately spoke out against the previous government's actions regarding human rights. He released 250 political prisoners and encouraged about 200,000 Guineans who had left the country to return. He also clearly moved the country away from socialism. But these changes did not quickly make poverty better, and the country did not immediately become a democracy.
In 1992, Conté announced that the country would return to civilian rule. There was a presidential election in 1993, followed by elections for parliament in 1995. In these elections, his party, the Party of Unity and Progress, won most of the seats. Even though he said he supported democracy, Conté kept a strong hold on power. In September 2001, the opposition leader Alpha Condé was put in prison for supposedly threatening state security. He was later pardoned eight months later. He then spent some time living in France.
In 2001, Conté organized a vote to make the presidential term longer, and he won. In 2003, he started his third term after other parties boycotted the elections. In January 2005, Conté survived what was thought to be an assassination attempt in the capital city, Conakry. His opponents said he was a "tired dictator" who would soon have to leave. But his supporters believed he was winning against those who disagreed with him. Guinea still faced many problems, and some worried it might become a "failed state," meaning its government was not working well.
In 2000, Guinea became caught up in the problems that had affected other parts of West Africa. Rebels crossed the borders from Liberia and Sierra Leone. For a while, it seemed like Guinea was heading for a civil war. Conté blamed leaders in neighboring countries for wanting Guinea's natural resources. These claims were strongly denied. In 2003, Guinea agreed with its neighbors on plans to deal with the rebels. In 2007, there were big protests against the government. This led to a new prime minister being appointed.
Conté's Death and the 2008 Coup d'état
After Touré's death, Lansana Conté became president in a coup d'état. The country's rules and parliament were stopped, and a committee for national recovery was set up. Conté stayed in power until he died on December 22, 2008.
Hours after his death, Moussa Dadis Camara took control of Guinea. He became the head of a military group that ruled the country. On September 28, 2009, this group ordered its soldiers to attack people who were protesting against Camara possibly running for president.
On December 3, 2009, an aide shot Camara during an argument about the attack in September 2009. Camara went to Morocco for medical care. The Vice-President (and defense minister), Sékouba Konaté, flew back from Lebanon to lead the country while Camara was away.
On January 12, 2010, Camara was flown from Morocco to Burkina Faso. After meeting in Ouagadougou on January 13 and 14, Camara, Konaté, and Blaise Compaoré, the President of Burkina Faso, made a formal statement. They promised that Guinea would return to civilian rule within six months. They agreed that the military would not try to win the upcoming elections, and Camara would continue to recover outside Guinea. On January 21, 2010, the military group appointed Jean-Marie Doré as Prime Minister of a six-month temporary government. This government would lead up to the elections.
The presidential election was planned for June 27 and July 18, 2010. It was seen as the first free and fair election since Guinea became independent in 1958. The first round happened normally on June 27, 2010. Former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo and his rival Alpha Condé were the two candidates who would go to the second round.
However, because of claims of cheating in the election, the second round was delayed until September 19, 2010. The election commission then announced another delay until October 10, which needed approval from Sékouba Konaté. Yet another delay until October 24 was announced in early October. The elections were finally held on November 7. Many people voted, and the elections went quite smoothly.
On November 16, 2010, Alpha Condé, the leader of the opposition party Rally of the Guinean People (RGP), was officially announced as the winner of Guinea's presidential election. He had promised to improve the security forces and review mining agreements if he was elected.
On the night of July 18, 2011, President Condé's home was attacked in an attempted takeover. The attack included a fierce gunfight and rocket-propelled grenades. The president was not hurt. Sixteen people were charged with trying to assassinate him. Most of those accused were close to Konaté.
The National Assembly of Guinea, which makes laws for the country, had not met since 2008. It was closed after the military takeover in December. Elections had been delayed many times since 2007. Most recently, they were planned for July 8, 2012. In April 2012, President Condé delayed the elections again, saying they needed to be "transparent and democratic."
In February 2013, a plane carrying the head of Guinea's armed forces, General Kelefa Diallo, and nine other military officials crashed. They were on their way to the capital of Liberia, Monrovia.
2013 Protests
The opposition parties stopped taking part in the election process in mid-February. This was mainly because President Condé insisted on using a company called Waymark Infotech to create the list of registered voters. The opposition found this company suspicious. In late February 2013, political violence started in Guinea. Protesters went into the streets to show their worries about how fair the upcoming May 2013 elections would be. The protests grew after the opposition parties decided to stop participating in the election process. They were protesting the lack of clear rules for preparing the elections.
Sadly, nine people were killed during the protests, and about 220 were injured. Many of the deaths and injuries happened because security forces used live bullets on protesters. The political violence also led to fights between different ethnic groups, the Fula and Malinke peoples. The Malinke people mostly supported President Condé, while the Fula people were mainly part of the opposition. On March 26, 2013, the opposition party stopped talking with the government about the upcoming May 12 election. The opposition claimed that the government had not respected them and had not kept any promises they agreed to. This was expected to lead to more protests and fighting in the streets of Guinea.
2014 Ebola Outbreak
Starting in July 2014, Guinea experienced the worst outbreak of Ebola ever recorded. The disease quickly spread to neighboring countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The epidemic ended by June 2016.
2020 Elections
In October 2020, President Alpha Condé won the presidential elections. Condé had been in power since 2010, and he won a third term. The opposition did not accept the results, claiming there was cheating. The president said that a vote on the country's rules in March 2020 allowed him to run even though there was a two-term limit. After the election, there were violent protests across the country.
Coup d'état 2021
On September 5, 2021, Alpha Condé was removed from power by the military. The National Committee of Reconciliation and Development, led by Mamady Doumbouya, took control. On October 1, 2021, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who led the military takeover the month before, was sworn in as the temporary president of Guinea.
See also
- List of heads of government of Guinea
- List of heads of state of Guinea
- Politics of Guinea
- Conakry history and timeline
General:
Images for kids
