La selva como argumento: imaginario geográfico, discurso forestal y espacio colonial en Guinea Ecuatorial (1901-1968)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the process by means of which the Spanish colonial space is constructed in the continental Guinea during the first years of the XXth century until the decolonization in 1968. Even if the central component in this space is timber logging, mainly okoume, the present work does not focus on this activity but is rather concerned with the geographical meaning of the major discourses that are used to justify it, organize it and spread it all over the colony. This research objective shapes the methodology used: the exploitation of a diverse range of documentary fields. The basis of the study consists of the literature review, in a wide range of formats and categories, that has as its center of attention both Guinea and Guinean forestry and the documentation located in different archives, mainly the Archivo General de la Administración (General Archive of the Administration). This analysis evidences an invariant: the existence of an imaginary in which the forest becomes blurred. This imaginary creates expectations that are not finally fulfilled and that are not in agreement with the real effort that the Spanish colonial administration displays in the continental Guinea.