Rio Muni

Río Muni is a former Spanish colony in the Continental Region (called Región Continental in Spanish) of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering 26,017 square kilometres (10,045 sq mi). The name is derived from the Muni River, along which the early Europeans had built settlements.

Río Muni was ceded by Portugal to Spain in 1778 in the Treaty of El Pardo. The Spanish had hoped to collect slaves to work in their other overseas possessions, but the original settlers died of yellow fever, and the area was temporarily deserted. Cocoa and timber became major industries upon recolonization. Río Muni, along with Bioko, became a province of Spanish Guinea in 1959.

In 2015, 885,015 people—about 72% of Equatorial Guinea's population—lived in Río Muni. Spanish is still spoken by the natives although as a second language.