Editing Equatorial Guinea (section)

=== Final years of Spanish rule (1945–1968) ===
[[File:Naval Infantry in Spanish Guinea 1964.jpg|thumb|[[Civil Guard (Spain)|Guardia Civil]] and [[Spanish Marine Infantry|Marine Infantry]] in [[Spanish Guinea]] in 1964]]
[[File:Fraga na sinatura da independencia de Guinea Ecuatorial.jpg|thumb|Signing of the independence of Equatorial Guinea by the Spanish minister [[Manuel Fraga]] together with the new Equatorial Guinean president [[Macías Nguema]] on 12 October 1968]]

Politically, post-war colonial history has three fairly distinct phases: up to 1959, when its status was raised from "colonial" to "provincial", following the approach of the [[Portuguese Empire]]; between 1960 and 1968, when Madrid attempted a partial [[decolonisation]] aimed at keeping the territory as part of the Spanish system; and from 1968 on, after the territory became an independent [[republic]]. The first phase consisted of little more than a continuation of previous policies; these closely resembled the policies of Portugal and France, notably in dividing the population into a vast majority governed as 'natives' or non-citizens, and a very small minority (together with whites) admitted to civic status as ''[[emancipados]]'', [[Cultural assimilation|assimilation]] to the metropolitan culture being the only permissible means of advancement.<ref>Crowder, Michael, ed. (1984). ''The Cambridge History of Africa: Volume 8, from C. 1940 to C. 1975''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0-521-22409-8}}.</ref>

This "provincial" phase saw the beginnings of [[nationalism]], but chiefly among small groups who had taken refuge from the ''[[Caudillo]]''{{'}}s paternal hand in Cameroun and Gabon. They formed two bodies: the [[Atanasio Ndongo Miyone|Movimiento Nacional de Liberación de la Guinea]] (MONALIGE), and the [[Idea Popular de Guinea Ecuatorial]] (IPGE). By the late 1960s, much of the African continent had been granted independence. Aware of this trend, the Spanish began to increase efforts to prepare the country for independence. The [[Gross national income|gross national product]] per capita in 1965 was $466, which was the highest in black Africa; the Spanish constructed an international airport at Santa Isabel, a television station and increased the literacy rate to 89%. In 1967, the number of hospital beds per capita in Equatorial Guinea was higher than Spain itself, with 1637 beds in 16 hospitals. By the end of colonial rule, the number of Africans in higher education was in only the double digits.<ref>Fegley, Randall (1989). ''Equatorial Guinea: An African Tragedy'', pp. 59–60. Peter Lang, New York. {{ISBN|0-8204-0977-4}}</ref>

A decision of 9 August 1963, approved by a referendum of 15 December 1963, gave the territory a measure of autonomy and the administrative promotion of a 'moderate' group, the {{Interlanguage link|Movimiento de Unión Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial|es}} (MUNGE). This was unsuccessful, and, with growing pressure for change from the UN, Madrid was gradually forced to give way to the currents of nationalism. Two General Assembly resolutions were passed in 1965 ordering Spain to grant independence to the colony, and in 1966, a UN Commission toured the country before recommending the same thing. In response, the Spanish declared that they would hold a constitutional convention on 27 October 1967 to negotiate a new constitution for an independent Equatorial Guinea. The conference was attended by 41 local delegates and 25 Spaniards. The Africans were principally divided between Fernandinos and Bubi on one side, who feared a loss of privileges and 'swamping' by the Fang majority, and the Río Muni Fang nationalists on the other. At the conference, the leading Fang figure, the later first president [[Francisco Macías Nguema]], gave a controversial speech in which he claimed that [[Adolf Hitler]] had "saved Africa".<ref>Fegley, Randall (1989). ''Equatorial Guinea: An African Tragedy'', p. 51–52. Peter Lang, New York. {{ISBN|0-8204-0977-4}}</ref> After nine sessions, the conference was suspended due to deadlock between the "unionists" and "separatists" who wanted a separate Fernando Pó. Macías resolved to travel to the UN to bolster international awareness of the issue, and his firebrand speeches in New York contributed to Spain naming a date for both independence and general elections. In July 1968 virtually all Bubi leaders went to the UN in New York to try and raise awareness for their cause, but the world community was uninterested in quibbling over the specifics of colonial independence. The 1960s were a time of great optimism over the future of the former African colonies, and groups that had been close to European rulers, like the Bubi, were not viewed positively.<ref>Fegley, Randall (1989). ''Equatorial Guinea: An African Tragedy'', p. 55. Peter Lang, New York. {{ISBN|0-8204-0977-4}}</ref>