Who and Where Were the Baga? European Perceptions from 1793 to 1821

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Periodical article

Title:	Who and Where Were the Baga? European Perceptions from 1793 to 1821
Author:	Mouser, Bruce L.
Year:	2002
Periodical:	History in Africa
Volume:	29
Pages:	337-364
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Guinea
Subjects:	Baga history Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) History and Exploration colonialism
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/3172168
Abstract:	By the end of the eighteenth century the Baga, or people of the sea-side (the 'bae raka'), were already long-term residents of mangrove islands located between Guinea-Bissau and Iles de Los - the northern half of Guinea-Conakry's current coast. The fact is well known and accepted in the ethnohistory of this part of Guinea. What is less clearly documented or understood is how far they extended inland, the context of that residence which allowed them to operate economically and socially with guests upon their lands, and perhaps how outsiders influenced their characteristics, within a historically definable period. Drawing on observations from first-hand accounts written between 1793 and 1821, this paper examines these questions and suggests assumptions about the Baga experience and conclusions for particular Baga groups by 1821. Notes, ref.