THE 1942 ANGLO-SPANISH AGREEMENT AND THE NIGERIA-EQUATORIAL GUINEA COLONIAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS: IMPACTS ASSESSMENT.

Abstract

This articles tries to review the 1942 Anglo-Spanish Agreement and assess its impacts on the socio-cultural and colonial economic relations of Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. The study discovered that the agreement institutionalised and regulated labour migration by ensuring a continuous supply of labour for agriculture and commerce. It reinforced trade continuity, strengthened the foundation of hybrid communities, linguistic exchange and cultural diffusion. Nigerian migrant families and local intermediaries formed networks that transmitted not only economic knowledge but also religious, linguistic and familial practices, which facilitated economic cooperation, ease labour mobility and contributed to the resilience of regional trade system. The agreement was immense for both countries, it increases their colonial tax revenue, forged cultural ties and daily contact, which resulted in intermarriages and cultural amalgamation, producing a generation of mixed-heritage who grew up bilingual with a developed form of communication known as “Pichinglis.” Marriage ceremonies, festivals and naming traditions reflected their dual heritage. Intermarriage and linguistic exchanges thus turned Fernando Po into one of the most cultural hybrid space in colonial Africa. Nigerians not only worked the land, they transformed the cultural landscape of the island, leaving traces of their culture and family life that persist long after the end of colonialism.