Fernando Po

Fernando Po, a West African island, situated in the Bight of Biafra, 20 miles from the mainland, in lat. 3° 12' to 3° 47' N. and long. 8° 26' to 8° 57' E., being oblong in form, 35 miles long, and 22 miles wide in the south, its broadest part. A ridge of mountains, running from N. to S" passes through two-thirds of the length of the island, its highest point being in the north, where Clarence Peak reaches a height of 11,000 feet. The island is well provided with harbours, the largest being Maidstone Bay, on the N.E., with Clarence Town on the creek that leads out of it. This was originally an English settlement, made by permission of Spain, and afterwards abandoned. The island is beautifully wooded, the chief trees being the palm and the notable silk-cotton tree. The fine native race seems peculiar to the island. The island was first settled by the Portuguese, and was ceded in 1778 to Spain, whiqh now owns it.