Declaration of the state of war in the Spanish Territories of the Gulf of Guinea

The least known part of the Civil War is probably that which took place in the Spanish Territories of the Gulf of Guinea, a small colony in Africa consisting of the island of Fernando Poo and Río Muni on the mainland, administered by a Governor General and the Office of Morocco and the Colonies. 

News of political tensions and conflicts in Spain always arrived there a few days after the events. The electoral victory of the Popular Front led to the creation in the colony of a related political group consisting of 150 people which began to close churches and and talk about granting rights to the blacks. This created panic among the planters, who feared an uprising by the native people. In turn, on 5 April, Governor General Luis Sánchez Guerra proclaimed a State of Alarm.

The attempted coup of 17 and 18 July and the Civil War that began when it failed produced confusion in the colony. On 19 July, the newspaper La Guinea Española reported the kidnapping and murder of José Calvo Sotelo. A week later, the paper said that there was no direct communication with the metropolis, which was causing “confusion and nervousness”. Even so, it published some statements from the Office of Morocco and the Colonies. The first said that “Mr. Giral was prime minister and the situation was fully under control”. The second was a telephone conversation which affirmed the failure of the coup in some cities and that things were under control, and the third  said that the government was fully in command. On 2 August, La Guinea Española published a communiqué from the planters’ organization, the Official Agrarian Union, criticizing tariffs on cocoa and other crops of theirs. It also ran an editorial calling for peace.

Luis Sánchez Guerra requested that the government send a navy vessel, but when the Méndez Nuñez arrived, part of the crew mutinied and was arrested. Col. Luis Serrano deposed Sánchez Guerra on 18 September, and the next day he issued this declaration of a State of War in the colony. He also ordered Miguel Hernández Porcel, deputy governor of Río Muni, to resign but he refused to do so. This left the colony divided, with the island of Fernando Poo supporting the rebels and Río Muni remaining loyal to the Republic.

FSL