Corisco

Template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / image missing

Corisco is an African island, part of Equatorial Guinea. It is located 24 kilometers away from the mainland in the Bay of Corisco. It has an area of ​​just 14 square kilometers, the highest point is 35 meters above the sea. The name comes from the Corisco Portuguese word for " lightning ".

The surface of the island is highly structured. In addition to mountains and valleys, rivers, lakes and forests, there are also marshes and meadows. The original inhabitants are Bantu, called Benga.

Since the European discovery of the island in 1470 by the Portuguese, the owners changed several times. 1778 acquired Spain in the Treaty of Pardo, the island of Corisco by the Portuguese to establish their own bases for the slave trade in the region. However, the island was not permanently settled.

Juan José de Lerena y Barry took Corisco again in 1843 for Spain. 1855 American Presbyterian missionaries settled there. Since 1858, the island was part of the Spanish colony of Rio Muni, whose belonging to Spain was recognized in the Treaty of Paris in 1900 by the colonial powers, Britain, France and Germany.

1956 Rio Muni became the Overseas Province, with representation in the Spanish parliament. Since 1968 Corisco is part of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. In 1981, due to increased oil drilling by the company Elf Aquitaine interest in the island. Since 2002 there has been in the bay Corisco a petroleum and natural gas production.