Bissau

Bissau

Bissau is the capital and largest city, main port, administrative and military center of Guinea-Bissau, located at the mouth of the Geba River on the Atlantic coast. The land area around Bissau is particularly low-lying, and the river is navigable by ocean-going vessels for about 80 kilometers beyond the city, in spite of its modest discharge. The island of Bissau was ruled as a kingdom populated by the Papel people from long before the arrival of Europeans until the early 20th century. According to local legend, the kingdom was originally founded by Mecau, the king of Quinara's son, who arrived with his pregnant sister, six wives and the subjects of his father's kingdom. The kingdom consisted of seven clans, which were descended from the sister and six wives. When the Portuguese started trading in the area in the 16th century, the King of Bissau was one of the most supportive rulers in the region. Bissau even helped the Portuguese in 1680 in a conflict with the Papeles of Cacheu. The city of Bissau was founded in 1687 as a Portuguese trading post. At the same time, French activity in the region was growing, and although the king of Bissau Bacompolco denied them permission to build a fort, he did allow them a trading factory from which they shipped thousands of slaves, among other things. As a response to this, the Portuguese Conselho Ultramarino founded the captaincy of Bissau, and by 1696 the city had a fortress, church and hospital. Bissau was the site of fierce fighting at the beginning and end of the 1998 and 1999 Guinea-Bissau Civil War, but after peace was returned, the city was revived.