Annobón

Mountainous, volcanic island in Equatorial Guinea, 600 km/375 mi southwest of Bata; area 17 sq km/7 sq mi; population (1990 est) 2,600. The island rises to a height 671 m/2,200 ft. The chief town is San Antonio. Annobón's inhabitants are descended from slaves of the Portuguese and still speak a Portuguese patois. The island was Portuguese from the end of the 5th century until it was ceded to Spain in 1778. It remained a Spanish possession until 1968 when independence was declared by the central government on Fernando Póo, present-day Bioko. Fishing and lumbering are the chief economic activities.