FRENCH GUINEA, a French colony in West Africa. It is bounded west by the Atlantic, north by Portuguese Guinea and Senegal, east by the French Sudan and the Ivory Coast, and south by Liberia and Sierra Leone. With a sea-board running N.N.W. and S.S.E. from so' N. to 9° 2' N., a distance, without reckon ing the indentations, of 170 m., the colony extends eastward 450 m. in a straight line and attains a maximum width north to south of nearly 30o m., covering fully 242,00o sq.km. and containing a population of 2,119,162 in 1933.
Physical Features.—Though in one or two places rocky head lands jut into the sea, the coast is in general sandy, low, and much broken by rivers and deep estuaries, dotted with swampy islands, giving it the appearance of a vast delta. In about 9° 30' N., off the promontory of Konakry, lie the Los islands (q.v.), forming part of the colony. The coast plain, formed of alluvial deposits, is succeeded about 3o m. inland by a line of cliffs, the Susu hills, which form the first step in the terrace-like formation of the in terior, culminating in the massif of Futa Jallon, composed chiefly of Archaean and granite rocks. While the coast lands are either densely forested or covered with savannas or park-like country, the Futa Jallon tableland is mainly covered with short herbage. This tableland, the hydrographic centre of West Africa, is most elevated in its southern parts, where heights of 5,00o ft. are found. Near the Sierra Leone frontier this high land is continued west ward to within 20 m. of the sea, where Mount Kakulima rises over 3,30o ft. East and south of Futa Jallon the country slopes to the basin of the upper Niger, the greater part of which is in cluded in French Guinea. The southern frontier is formed by the escarpments which separate the Niger basin from those of the coast rivers of Liberia. Besides the Niger, Gambia and Senegal, all separately noticed, a large number of streams running direct to the Atlantic rise in Futa Jallon. Among them are the Great and Little Scarcies, whose lower courses are in Sierra Leone, and the Rio Grande which enters the sea in Portuguese Guinea. Those whose courses are entirely in French Guinea include the Cogon (or Componi), the Rio Nunez, the Fatalla (which reaches the sea through an estuary named Rio Pongo) , the Konkure, whose estuary is named Rio Bramaya, the Forekaria and the Melakori. The Cogon, Fatallah and Konkure are all large rivers which descend from the plateaux through deep, narrow valleys in rapids and cataracts, and are only navigable for a few miles from their mouth.
Climate.—The climate of the coast district is hot and moist, with a season of heavy rain lasting from May to November, during which time variable winds, calms and tornadoes succeed one another. The mean temperature in the dry season, when the harmattan is frequent, is 62° Fahr., in the wet season 86°. Throughout the year the humidity of the air is very great. There is much rain in the Futa Jallon highlands, but the Niger basin is somewhat drier.
Flora and Fauna.—The seashore and the river banks are lined with mangroves, but the most important tree of the coast belt is the oil-palm. The dense forests also contain many varieties of lianas or rubber vines and bamboos. Gum-producing trees are abundant, and there are many fruit trees, the orange and citron growing well in the Susu and Futa Jallon districts. The cotton and coffee plants are indigenous; banana plantations surround the villages. The baobab and the karite (shea butter tree) are found only in the Niger districts. The fauna is not so varied as was formerly the case, large game having been to a great extent driven out of the coast regions. The lion is now only found in the north ern parts of Futa Jallon ; leopards, hyenas and wild cats are more common and the civet is found. Hippopotamus and wild boar are numerous; a species of wild ox of small size with black horns and very agile is also found. Antelope are widespread but rather rare. Serpents are very common, both venomous and non—venomous; the pythons attain a great size. Crocodiles infest all the rivers. Birds are very numerous ; they include the egret, the marabout and the pelican ; turacos and parrots are common.
Inhabitants.—On the banks of the Cogon dwell the Tendas and Iolas, primitive Negro tribes allied to those of Portuguese Guinea (q.v.). The Baga, the Nalu, the Landuman and the Timni, regarded as typical Negroes (q.v.) migrated southward before the I ; th century. To-day the Baga occupy the coast land between the Cogon and the Rio Pongo, and the Landuman the country im mediately behind that of the Baga. The coast region south of the Nunez and all the interior up to Futa Jallon is occupied by the Susu, a tribe belonging to the great Mandingan race, which forced its way seaward about the beginning of the 18th century and pressed back the Timni into Sierra Leone. Futa Jallon is peopled principally by Fula (see FULANI), and the other districts by Malinke and other tribes of Mandingo (q.v.). The Mandingo, the Fula and the Susu are Mohammedans, though the Susu retain many of their ancient rites and beliefs—those associated with spirit worship and fetish, still the religion of the Baga and other tribes. In the north-west part of Futa Jallon are found remnants of the aborigines, such as the Tiapi, Koniagui and the Bassari, all typical Negro tribes. Thus at the Rio Pongo there are numer ous mulattos. South of that river the coast tribes speak largely pidgin English.
Towns.—The principal towns are Konakri the capital, Boke, on the Rio Nunez, Dubreka, on the coast, a little north of Konakri, Benty, on the Melakori, Timbo and Labe, the chief towns of Futa Jallon, Heremakono and Kindia, on the main road to the Niger, Kurussa and Siguiri, on a navigable stretch of that river, and Bissandugu, formerly Samory's capital, an important military station east of the Niger. Konakri, in 9° 30' N., 13° 46' W., (pop. 8,866), is the one port of entry on the coast. It is built on the little island of Tombo which lies off the promontory of Konakri, the town being joined to the mainland by an iron bridge. During the administration of Noel Ballay (1848-1902), governor of the colony 1890-1900, Konakri was transformed from a place of small importance to one of the chief ports on the west coast of Africa. It has since grown considerably, and is provided with wharves and docks and a jetty 1,066 ft. long. Konakri is a port of call for French, British and German steamship companies, and is in telegraphic communication with Europe. It is the starting-point of a railway 662 km. long, completed in 1914, to Kurussa on the Niger and Kankan.
Products and Industry.—French Guinea possesses a fertile soil, and is rich in tropical produce. The chief products are rubber, brought from the interior, and palm oil and palm kernels, obtained in the coast regions. Cotton is cultivated in the Niger basin. Gum copal, ground-nuts and sesame are largely cultivated, partly for export. Large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are raised in Futa Jallon ; these are sent in considerable numbers to Sierra Leone, Liberia and French Congo. The trade in hides is also of considerable value. The chief grain raised is millet, the staple food of the people.
The principal imports are cotton goods, of which 8o% come from Great Britain, rice, kola nuts, chiefly from Liberia, spirits, tobacco, building material, and arms and ammunition, chiefly "trade guns." The great bulk of the trade of the colony is with France and Great Britain, the last-named country taking about 45% of the total; Germany comes third. Since April 1905 a sur tax of 7% has been imposed on all goods of other than French origin. History.—This part of the coast was made known by the Portu guese voyagers of the 15th century. In consequence, largely, of the dangers attending its navigation, it was not visited by the European traders of the I 6th–I 8th centuries so frequently as other regions north and east, but in the Rio Pongo, at Matakong (a diminutive island near the mouth of the Forekaria), and else where, slave traders established themselves, and ruins of the strongholds they built, and defended with cannon, still exist. When driven from other parts of Guinea the slavers made this difficult and little known coast one of their last resorts, and many barracoons were built in the late years of the i8th century. It was not until after the restoration of Goree to her at the close of the Napoleonic wars that France evinced any marked inter est in this region. At that time the British, from their bases at the Gambia and Sierra Leone, were devoting considerable atten tion to these Rivieres du Sud, i.e., south of Senegal, and also to Futa Jallon. Rene Caillie, who started his journey to Timbuktu from Boke in 1 82 7, did much to quicken French interests in the district, and from 1838 onward French naval officers, Bouet Willaumez and his successors, made detailed studies of the coast. General Faidherbe was appointed governor of Senegal in and under his direction vigorous efforts were made to consolidate French influence in the region. Already in 1848 treaty relations had been entered into with the Nalu, and between that date and 1865 treaties of protectorate were signed with several of the coast tribes. During 1876-80 new treaties were concluded with the chief tribes, and in 188r the almany (or emir) of Futa Jallon placed his country under French protection, the French thus effectually preventing the junction, behind the coast lands, of the British colonies of the Gambia and Sierra Leone. The right of France to the littoral as far south as the basin of the Melakori was recognized by Great Britain in 1882 ; Germany (which had made some attempt to acquire a protectorate at Konakry) aban doned its claims in 1885, while in 1886 the northern frontier was settled in agreement with Portugal, which had ancient settlements in the same region. (See PORTUGUESE GUINEA.) In 19o4 the Los Islands (off the coast of French Guinea) were ceded by Great Britain to France, in part return for the abandonment of French fishing rights in Newfoundland waters. (See also SENEGAL: His tory.) Until 1890 the newly gained territories were administratively part of Senegal ; they were then formed into a separate colony called Rivieres du Sud, a name changed some five years later to Guinee Francaise. In 1895 the colony came under the supreme authority of the newly constituted governor-generalship of French West Africa. It retained administrative and financial autonomy and was administered by a lieutenant-governor assisted by a nominated council. The Fula, Mandingo and other tribes were encouraged to develop the resources of the country. For a num ber of years the mainstay, economically, of the country was rub ber; of ter a period of retrogression during and in the years fol lowing the World War, a partial recovery was noted in 1925. Other resources, such as banana and pineapple plantations, were developed. These plantations were by the railway line, the build ing (19oo–I o) of the railway from Konakry to the Niger being the most important work undertaken for the benefit of agricul ture and trade. The promotion of education and hygiene occu pied much attention. If after 4o years of French rule the country was still largely undeveloped the colony had remained tranquil and progress had been made.
See Andre Arcin, La Guinee francaise (1906), a valuable monograph, and Histoire de la Guinee francaise (1911) ; J. Machat, Les Rivieres du Sud et la Fouta-Diallon (1906) ; French Guinea (1920), a British Foreign Office handbook. (F. R. C.)