History UsefulNotes / EquatorialGuinea

** Prime Minister: Francisco Pascual Obama Asue

A small Central African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean with a little over 1.3 million people, the '''Republic of Equatorial Guinea''' ('''Spanish:''' ''República de Guinea Ecuatorial'', '''French:''' ''République de Guinée équatoriale'', '''Portuguese:''' ''República da Guiné Equatorial'') consists of a mainland portion ("Río Muni") and a couple of islands off the coast, the largest of which is called Bioko. The ''de facto'' capital, Malabo, is located in Bioko, but the government is in the process of moving it to to the planned city of Ciudad de la Paz in the mainland.

Eventually, the country declared independence in 1968 and elected their president, and that’s when things went south. Their first president was Francisco Macías Nguema, who can be compared to [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] with his obsession with anti-intellectual movements and unpredictable behaviors. Unlike Pot, however, Macías (at least initially) realized he was AxCrazy (a rare case of a politician knowing he was insane), even genuinely trying to seek psychiatric help in Spain. It was all for naught - he finally snapped in 1971, abolished the constitution and instigated rule by decree, and thus one of the most frightening dictatorships was born. He ran a one-party government, prohibited fishing, installed a cult of personality around him, stole all the money he could, banned private education, gave himself all the political power and ordered the execution of 150 known or suspected political opponents in a football stadium by guards dressed in Santa Claus costumes while Mary Hopkin's "Those Were the Days" was played over the PA system. 36 other prisoners were buried up to their necks and [[EatenAlive eaten alive by ants]]. He was eventually deposed in a coup in 1979 by the current president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (Macias' nephew). He’s no saint at all (and may or may eat his opponents, at least according to some sources both against and in support of him), but compared to his predecessor, the Equatoguineans probably would have accepted anything. As for Macías, he was put on trial and summarily executed. However, just like in other cases, this became a FullCircleRevolution, since Obiang has installed his own cult of personality, censorship of the press and repression, to the point the country has achieved a lousy reputation abroad. Having been ruling for [[LongRunner over forty years]], Obiang is currently the second-longest non-royal ruler in the world, after UsefulNotes/{{Cameroon}}'s Paul Biya, and the longest without any title change (Biya was Prime Minister for seven years before he became President). There was an attempt to depose Obiang and replace him with exiled opposition politician Severo Moto in 2004, with aid from foreign mercenaries hired by British financiers,[[note]]One of said financiers being Margaret Thatcher's son, Sir Mark Thatcher[[/note]] but it failed when the coup plotters were arrested in Zimbabwe.

The first Europeans to colonize the region were the [[UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}} Portuguese]]. In 1778, the territory was given to UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} in exchange of Spanish territory in South America. That’s right, people in Equatorial Guinea speak Spanish[[note]]And their dialect of Spanish is much closer to European Spanish than Latin American Spanish, due to being both colonized and given independence later[[/note]]. That almost turns them into outcasts in the continent, though to their defense, French is also widely spoken. Originally, the main point of interest was the insular portion; Río Muni used to be sparsely populated and was seen as a source of slaves and later (after abolitionism became prominent in the 19th century) servants to work on sugarcane, cocoa, and coffee plantations in Bioko and Annobón.

Eventually, the country declared independence in 1968 and elected their president, and that’s when things went south. Their first president was Francisco Macías Nguema, who can be compared to [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] with his obsession with anti-intellectual movements and unpredictable behaviors. Unlike Pot, however, Macías (at least initially) realized he was AxCrazy (a rare case of a politician knowing he was insane), even genuinely trying to seek psychiatric help in Spain. It was all for naught - he finally snapped in 1971, abolished the constitution and instigated rule by decree, and thus one of the most frightening dictatorships was born. He ran a one-party government, prohibited fishing, installed a cult of personality around him, stole all the money he could, banned private education, gave himself all the political power and ordered the execution of 150 people in a football stadium by guards dressed in Santa Claus costumes with Mary Hopkins’ music as background. 36 other prisoners were buried up to their necks and [[EatenAlive eaten alive by ants]]. He was eventually deposed in a coup in 1979 by the current president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (Macias' nephew). He’s no saint at all (and may or may eat his opponents, at least according to some sources both against and in support of him), but compared to his predecessor, the Equatoguineans probably would have accepted anything. As for Macías, he was put on trial and summarily executed. However, just like in other cases, this became a FullCircleRevolution, since Obiang has installed his own cult of personality, censorship of the press and repression, to the point the country has achieved a lousy reputation abroad. Having been ruling for [[LongRunner over forty years]], Obiang is currently the second-longest non-royal ruler in the world, after UsefulNotes/{{Cameroon}}'s Paul Biya, and the longest without any title change (Biya was Prime Minister for seven years before he became President).

The most famous Equatoguinean, besides the two infamous aforementioned, is the swimmer Eric Moussambani who left the others competitors at the 2000 Summer Olympics literally watching his splashing.

Eventually, the country declared independence in 1968 and elected their president, and that’s when things went south. Their first president was some loon called Francisco Macías Nguema, who can be compared to [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] with his obsession with anti-intellectual movements and unpredictable behaviors. Unlike Pot, however, Macías at least ''initially'' realized he was AxCrazy (a rare case of a politician knowing he was insane), even genuinely trying to seek psychiatric help in Spain. It was all for naught - he finally snapped in 1971, abolished the constitution and instigated rule by decree, and thus one of the most frightening dictatorships was born. He ran a one-party government, prohibited fishing, installed a cult of personality around him, stole all the money he could, banned private education, gave himself all the political power and ordered the execution of 150 people in a football stadium by guards dressed in Santa Claus costumes with Mary Hopkins’ music as background. 36 other prisoners were buried up to their necks and [[EatenAlive eaten alive by ants]]. He was eventually deposed in a coup in 1979 by the current president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (Macias' nephew). He’s no saint at all (and may or may eat his opponents, at least according to some sources both against and in support of him), but compared to his predecessor, the Equatoguineans probably would have accepted anything. As for Macías, he was put on trial and summarily executed. However, just like in other cases, this became a FullCircleRevolution, since Obiang has installed his own cult of personality, censorship of the press and repression, to the point the country has achieved a lousy reputation abroad. Having been ruling for [[LongRunner over forty years]], Obiang is currently the second-longest non-royal ruler in the world, after UsefulNotes/{{Cameroon}}'s Paul Biya, and the longest without any title change (Biya was Prime Minister for seven years before he became President).

Eventually, the country declared independence in 1968 and elected their president, and that’s when things went south. Their first president was some loon called Francisco Macías Nguema, who can be compared to [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] with his obsession with anti-intellectual movements and unpredictable behaviors. Unlike Pot, however, Macías at least ''initially'' realized he was AxCrazy (a rare case of a politician knowing he was insane), even genuinely trying to seek psychiatric help in Spain.He ran a one-party government, prohibited fishing, installed a cult of personality around him, stole all the money he could, banned private education, gave himself all the political power and ordered the execution of 150 people in a football stadium by guards dressed in Santa Claus costumes with Mary Hopkins’ music as background. 36 other prisoners were buried up to their necks and [[EatenAlive eaten alive by ants]]. He was eventually deposed in a coup in 1979 by the current president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (Macias' nephew). He’s no saint at all (and may or may eat his opponents, at least according to some sources both against and in support of him), but compared to his predecessor, the Equatoguineans probably would have accepted anything. As for Macías, he was put on trial and summarily executed. However, just like in other cases, this became a FullCircleRevolution, since Obiang has installed his own cult of personality, censorship of the press and repression, to the point the country has achieved a lousy reputation abroad. Having been ruling for [[LongRunner over forty years]], Obiang is currently the second-longest non-royal ruler in the world, after UsefulNotes/{{Cameroon}}'s Paul Biya, and the longest without any title change (Biya was Prime Minister for seven years before he became President).

Eventually, the country declared independence in 1968 and elected their president, and that’s when things went south. Their first president was some loon called Francisco Macías Nguema, who can be compared to [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] with his obsession with anti-intellectual movements and unpredictable behaviors. He ran a one-party government, prohibited fishing, installed a cult of personality around him, stole all the money he could, banned private education, gave himself all the political power and ordered the execution of 150 people in a football stadium by guards dressed in Santa Claus costumes with Mary Hopkins’ music as background. 36 other prisoners were buried up to their necks and [EatenAlive eaten alive by ants]. He was eventually deposed in a coup in 1979 by the current president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (Macias' nephew). He’s no saint at all (and may or may eat his opponents, at least according to some sources both against and in support of him), but compared to his predecessor, the Equatoguineans probably would have accepted anything. As for Macías, he was put on trial and summarily executed. However, just like in other cases, this became a FullCircleRevolution, since Obiang has installed his own cult of personality, censorship of the press and repression, to the point the country has achieved a lousy reputation abroad. Having been ruling for [[LongRunner over forty years]], Obiang is currently the second-longest non-royal ruler in the world, after UsefulNotes/{{Cameroon}}'s Paul Biya, and the longest without any title change (Biya was Prime Minister for seven years before he became President).