Colonialism and Literary Production in Guinea-Bissau

Abstract

The relative dearth of literature in Guinea-Bissau can be linked directly to colonial policies which, for a variety of reasons, never encouraged mass immigration from Europe nor the establishment of Portuguese educational institutions during the five centuries the region was maintained as a colony of Portugal. Furthermore, colonial indigenous policies, the lack of adequate secondary instruction, and a religious factor prevented Africans from acquiring an effective Western education, thus precluding the development of an appreciation of modern written literature. At independence the government of Guinea-Bissau intensified its literacy program and accelerated the appreciation of literature among the masses through radio broadcasts of literary programs. The encouragement of literary endeavors has borne fruit in the form of two anthologies of poetry published in the late 1970's and the creation of a union of writers in 1982.