Guinea-Bissau

   Former West African colony of Portugal until its independence in September 1974, Guinea-Bissau (not to be confused with Guinea-Conakry, its neighbor to the east and south) was the scene of Portuguese activity, at least on the coast, since the mid-l5th century. Its area is about 22,256 square kilometers (14,000 square miles). Portugal established a few forts and trading posts on the coast of what became Guinea-Bissau, and the slave trade became the major economic activity until the mid l9th century. Portugal's coastal presence was not expanded to the tropical interior until the 19th century, when Lisbon supported various so-called "pacification" campaigns. African resistance continued, however, to 1936.

   With the formation of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAICG), the principal nationalist movement, in 1956, African resistance increased. Between 1963 and 1974, a war of insurgency against Portuguese colonial rule was fought in the country. Unlike Portugal's territories in southern Africa—Angola and Mozambique — Guinea-Bissau did not have Portuguese settlement of any consequence, and the major private company that dominated the territory's economy (Companhia União Fabril) withdrew most of its assets by 1972. An important part of the alienation and radicalization of the Armed Forces Movement's officers took place in the grueling bush war in Guinea-Bissau. After the Revolution of 25 April 1974, Portugal granted independence to this colony.