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Guinea
Only French territory to vote 'No' in de Gaulle's constitutional referendum of 28 September 1958, rejecting the French Community in favour of immediate independence, after which France abruptly withdrew.
- Independence
- October 2, 1958
- Before
- French Guinea
- Metropole
- France
- Leader
- Ahmed Sékou Touré
- Transition
- Negotiated
- Movement
- Parti Démocratique de Guinée (PDG), Guinean section of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA)
“We prefer poverty in freedom to riches in slavery.”
— Ahmed Sékou Touré, August 25, 1958
Colonial Guinea and the 1953 General Strike
France built French Guinea from coastal footholds in the 1880s and completed its conquest of the interior with the defeat of Samori Touré in 1898. After 1945 Ahmed Sékou Touré rose to prominence as a trade unionist, leading a general strike of more than two months in 1953 that forced the colonial authorities to apply the new Overseas Labour Code. His Parti Démocratique de Guinée, founded in 1947 as the local section of the inter-territorial RDA, built a mass following.
De Gaulle's Referendum, 1958
In 1958 Charles de Gaulle put the constitution of the Fifth Republic to a referendum across France's African territories: a 'Yes' meant joining the new French Community with internal autonomy, while a 'No' meant immediate independence and the loss of French assistance. During de Gaulle's visit to Conakry on August 25, 1958, Touré, then vice-president of the territory's government council, told him that Guinea preferred poverty in freedom to riches in slavery. De Gaulle replied that independence was at Guinea's disposal: it could take it by voting 'No' on September 28, and France would not stand in the way.
The 'No' Vote and Independence
On September 28, 1958, about 95 per cent of Guinean voters rejected the constitution; Guinea was the only territory to do so. France responded with an abrupt withdrawal of administrators, technicians, aid and equipment, repatriated its archives and closed its market to Guinean goods. Independence was proclaimed on October 2, 1958, with Touré as president. Ghana extended a loan, and Guinea increasingly turned to the Eastern bloc for aid.
Chronology
- 1953 — Touré leads a general strike of more than two months for application of the Overseas Labour Code
- August 25, 1958 — De Gaulle visits Conakry; Touré's speech
- September 28, 1958 — Guinea votes 'No' in the constitutional referendum
- October 2, 1958 — Independence proclaimed
- November 1958 — Ghana–Guinea Union announced
- December 12, 1958 — Admitted to the United Nations
Aftermath
Guinea's 'No' showed that immediate independence from France was possible, and in 1960 France's other sub-Saharan territories followed it to independence. Touré became a leading radical Pan-Africanist and a member of the Casablanca Group, but his one-party state grew increasingly repressive; thousands of political prisoners died in Camp Boiro. He ruled until his death on March 26, 1984, after which the army seized power.
Legacy
Guinea's 'No' became a symbol of uncompromising decolonisation across Africa. However, France's punitive withdrawal, together with Touré's authoritarian rule, left the country isolated and economically damaged for decades.