If you are a good observer you might have noticed that several countries around the west of Africa share the name ‘Guinea ‘. These countries include Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, and Papua New Guinea. In this piece am going to share with you the main reasons why these countries share names based on historical facts.
Origin of the word GuineaThe term Guinea is derived from the Portuguese word ” Guine”. This word started being used around mid 15th century. It is used to refer to pieces of land owned by the guineas. In other terms, it was a collective word that was used to describe African People that originated from the south of the Senegal river. The term Guinea, according to a competing explanation, is derived from Djenné, a city in modern-day Mali that was extremely significant in the trans-Saharan commerce from the 15th through the 17th centuries. During the Djenné time of supremacy, the term “Genawah” was frequently used, which is an Arabicized version of the phrase “Ghinawen,” which means “blacks.”
The History Of GuineaDuring the colonization of Africa, many European powers that colonized countries of West Africa used names such as “German Guinea”, “Spanish Guinea”, “French Guinea”, or “Portuguese Guinea”. After independence, some countries changed their names while others avoided reusing the name. French Guinea was renamed Guinea, Spanish Guinea was renamed Equatorial Guinea, and Portuguese Guinea was renamed Guinea-Bissau after the Portuguese conquered the country in the 16th century. To become Cameron and Togo, German Guinea eliminated the Guinea portion of its name. Lastly, a Spanish explorer named a piece of land located in southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea because its people resembled the people of West Africa.
The video link below provides more details on why many countries share the name Guinea around West Africa. Click on the Youtube link below to watch the video.
