|
The West African country of Guinea-Bissau
had initial contact with Europeans in the mid-15th century, when a Portuguese explorer initiated trading
in the area.
It later became the centre for the Portuguese slave trade and was a Portuguese colony from the late 19th century. Guinea-Bissau's
fight for independence gathered momentum
in the 1960s and culminated with the leaders of the African Party
for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), a nationalist
organisation that led the campaign for Guinea-Bissau's liberty, declaring independence and adopting their organisation's flag as the
national flag of Guinea-Bissau on the 24th of September 1973.
The flag remained unchanged when formal independence was granted by Portugal on the 10th of September 1974.
Guinea-Bissau's flag displays the pan-African
colours of red, yellow and green, which have been adopted by many African ex-colonies and symbolise African independence and unity. It is believed the colours originated from the flag of Ethiopia, the oldest independent nation in Africa. |
