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Sponsored LinksTravel reviews & great deals at TripAdvisor: HistoryEarly HistoryThe northeastern plains of present-day Guinea belonged to medieval Ghana and later to the Mali empire (see under Mali, History). In the early 18th cent., a Fulani feudal state was established in the Fouta Djallon region. European exploration of the Guinean coast began with the Portuguese in the mid-15th cent.; by the 17th cent. French, British, and Portuguese traders were competing for slaves and by the 19th cent. for palm oil, peanuts, and other products. Anger over excessive levies exacted from French traders by local chieftains led France to proclaim a protectorate over the Boké area of Guinea in 1849. After a series of wars and agreements with other tribal chiefs, France took control of much of the rest of Guinea and annexed it under the name Rivières du Sud [rivers of the south]. In 1891 it was constituted as a French colony separate from Senegal, of which it had hitherto been a part. Its name was changed to French Guinea in 1893, and two years later it became part of French West Africa. Guinean resistance to French rule was not quelled until 1898, however, and sporadic revolts continued into the 20th cent. Little economic development occurred under the colonial regime until just before World War II, when exploitation of Guinea's rich bauxite deposits began. The parallel growth of a radical labor movement led to the rise of Sékou Touré, a union leader who also headed the Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG), a branch of the intercolonial Rassemblement Démocratique Africain. Guinea under Sékou TouréUnder Touré's leadership, Guinea became the only colony to vote against the constitution of the French Community in 1958 and to opt for complete independence, which was achieved on Oct. 2, 1958. France retaliated by severing relations and withdrawing all financial and technical aid. Guinea cultivated close relations with the Soviet Union but expelled the Soviet ambassador in 1961 for alleged interference in the country's internal affairs. Touré also advocated African unity and steered the country into a union (largely symbolic) with Ghana in 1958; Mali joined in 1961. In the late 1960s, Guinea sought improved relations with the West, although its basic international posture was one of nonalignment. Touré fostered Pan-Africanism, and in 1966, when Ghana's President Kwame Nkrumah was deposed, Touré welcomed him to Guinea as joint president. Under Touré, who held the presidency from the date of independence until his death in 1984, Guinea was a one-party Marxist-socialist republic. Touré was also head of the government and the PDG; in 1972 he relinquished the post. In 1970 the country was invaded from Guinea-Bissau (then Portuguese Guinea) by a small force that included Guinean exiles opposed to Touré. The invasion was unsuccessful, and several political trials and executions followed. Guinea actively supported the independence movement in Guinea-Bissau, and Conakry was the movement's headquarters. In 1973, Guinea took greater control of the foreign-owned bauxite industry. Eventually, Touré's isolationist policies, brutal suppression of political opponents, and economic failures lost him public support. A softening of Touré's policies was evident toward the end of his tenure; he abandoned Marxism, normalized relations with France, and secured aid packages from both France and Arab nations. The Conté RegimeImmediately after Touré's death, a military coup brought the Military Committee of National Recovery (CMRN) to power under Col. Lansana Conté. In 1989, under domestic and foreign pressure, Conté announced that civilian rule would be restored. Also in 1989, French funds were provided for the construction of a hydroelectric plant on the Konkouré River. A new constitution was approved in 1990, and in 1991 the CMRN was replaced by a transitional government, still under Conté. In 1993, Conté won the presidency in the country's first multiparty presidential election, which was boycotted by some opposition groups and marred by accusations of fraud, as well as by scores of killings in the election campaign. An army revolt was put down in 1996. Conté was reelected in 1998, but the vote was denounced by opposition groups as rigged. From the mid- to late 1990s, Guinea received close to 400,000 refugees from the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Beginning in the late 1990s, Guinea saw the gradual suspension of foreign aid to Conté's government. The loss of aid has hurt Guinea's economy. In 2000–2001, Guinean villages along the borders of Liberia and Sierra Leone were raided by foreign rebels, and the Guinean army counterattacked across the border in retaliation. The constitution was amended in 2001 to permit the president to run for a third term; at the same time the presidential term was extended from five years to seven. In Dec., 2003, Conté was reelected; opposition candidates boycotted the election. Fighting erupted between ethnic groups in the Forest Region (SE Guinea) in mid-2004; the hostilities were aggravated by an influx of combatants from nearby Liberia, and the region remained unsettled through 2005. Meanwhile, in Jan., 2005, there was an attempt to assassinate Conté, apparently as part of a failed coup. Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor was later accused of backing the plot in revenge for Conté's support for the rebels who forced Taylor from power. Rising prices and discontent led unions to call a five-day general strike in Feb., 2006, which ended when the government made concessions. In Apr., 2006, the ailing Conté removed his prime minister, Cellou Dalien Diallo, from office for “serious misconduct,” in an apparent power struggle over reform; a reorganization of the government, which would have strengthened Diallo's position, had been announced, but it was reversed by Conté. Continued economic problems and the failure of the government to deliver on its February concessions led to a new general strike in June; the nine-day strike was marked by violence, and again ended only after government concessions. Antigovernment strikes and demonstrations, also marked by violence, erupted again in early 2007. An 18-day strike in January ended when the president agreed to appoint a new prime minister, but when he appointed his chief of staff a second strike was called in February. Contē then agreed to appoint a prime minister acceptable to the labor unions, and Lansana Kouyaté, a diplomat, was named to the post and a new government was appointed in March. Two months later there was more than a week of rioting in the capital by soldiers, who demanded better pay and housing and the replacement of the defense minister. Sections in this article: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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