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In 1474, Fernão do Pó, a reknowned Portugese explorer discovered the island of Bioko (in the vicinity of modern day Equatorial Guinea) while journeying towards India.
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Queen Maria I of Portugal and King Charles III of Spain signed the Treaty of El Pardo which ceded the Bioko, adjacent islets, and commercial rights to the Bight of Biafra between the Niger and Ogoue rivers to Spain.
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After 168 years of Spanish rule, the Republic Of Equatorial Guinea was formed under the rule of yet another autocrat in Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the "elected President" of the newly formed country.