0:00

it's december the twenty fourth nineteen

0:02

sixty nine it

0:05

might be christmas eve but

0:07

where half a world away from the north

0:09

pole were

0:12

on an island off the west coast

0:14

of central africa it's

0:17

home to center isabel the

0:19

capital of their couturier guinea

0:24

tonight the city's football stadium is lit

0:26

by powerful floodlights but

0:29

the restless crowd packed into the stands

0:31

is not here to watch a match despite

0:34

the upbeat pop music emanating from the tunnel

0:36

system and not here to party

0:39

either the

0:41

onlookers have been heard it here to witness

0:43

as much com spectacle as

0:46

many of them have ever see

0:50

on the dry dusty page

0:52

one hundred and fifty men a lead outs along

0:55

the whitewash markings of the halfway line

0:58

their bodies bear the scars bruises

1:00

of the beatings have already and dude they

1:04

are political prisoners accused

1:06

of opposing the government and more importantly

1:09

the president francisco my

1:12

cs and game

1:14

they've all been sentenced to death

1:18

summary executions and not exactly rare

1:21

in equatorial guinea but

1:23

mass killings don't often take place so

1:25

publicly even rarer

1:28

is that the president is here in person

1:32

but

1:32

an example must be made the

1:35

music stops abruptly the

1:38

prisoners are all in place dust

1:40

devils swirling around their feet the

1:43

crowd is restless uneasy a

1:46

to look away my just put you in the firing

1:48

line yourself

1:49

on the

1:52

pitch the execution is low and new says

1:54

over the dozens of heads in

1:56

the firing squad weapons a check

1:58

them primed

1:59

then the music starts again

2:03

from the speakers com the first strains of

2:05

marry hopkins recent his those

2:07

were the days my friends

2:11

with the president smiling on the killing

2:13

begins

2:14

fan

2:17

just like the lyrics of the song and

2:20

watching must think and never end

2:22

the

2:25

event is a celebration of the crushing of dissent

2:28

it instills the scene can't

2:31

see us into the hearts of those

2:33

force to be here no

2:36

one in the cramped as express horrible

2:38

revulsion have some

2:40

will know the victims personally the

2:43

world can be altered

2:45

or even a source held against

2:47

their leader miss

2:57

this is a story about a country not often discussed

3:00

or even encounters in the west once

3:03

a remote colony named spanish guinea

3:06

it was more recently the location of one of the

3:08

least known yet most disturbing dictatorships

3:11

in modern times from

3:13

nineteen sixty eight to nineteen seventy nine

3:16

ecuadorian guinea as it became

3:19

was helmed by it's first and to

3:21

date only freely elected president

3:26

francisco macias and glamour was

3:28

a man of limited academic standing

3:31

he had little money few social connections

3:33

no military background and know

3:35

great political movement behind him and

3:38

yet protected by

3:40

a wall of silence he managed

3:43

to seize control of a fledgling state's

3:46

turning it into what was once dubbed

3:48

dachau of africa is

3:52

is a tale of sheer opportunism on the

3:54

way off and drugs shield

3:56

paranoia and senseless destruction

3:59

on the way down i'm

4:04

noida this is part one

4:07

of the monsieur story and

4:09

this is real dictators

4:40

equatorial guinea consists of several different

4:42

territories spread across a

4:44

large geographical area or

4:48

to this in sub saharan africa are

4:50

often the products at least in part

4:53

of the straight lines drawn on maps

4:55

by colonial administrators the

4:58

tribal heritage you the various indigenous

5:00

peoples the not always fit neatly into

5:02

modern nation states and

5:05

here it's no different in

5:08

the atlas equatorial guinea

5:10

as a visually or could agglomeration

5:13

as a large rectangle of land on the western

5:15

edge of central africa and

5:17

then there's a group of islands out

5:20

in the adjacent ice have been for

5:23

the biggest of these be oko is

5:26

just off the coast of cameroon

5:30

the mainland parts of the guinea is

5:32

called real mooney is

5:34

covered in dense rain forest home

5:37

to the villains chimpanzees forest

5:39

elephants and lefferts the

5:42

trees occasionally give way to imposing volcanoes

5:45

and sade stunning beaches along

5:47

the coastline the

5:50

eastern part of real money close

5:52

to neighboring gabon is where

5:55

muslim and gwomeus born keys

5:58

the boy who will become know this francisco

6:00

my cs and grammar we

6:03

will refer to him throughout by his later

6:05

mana name i see us the

6:10

year is nineteen twenty four or thereabouts

6:13

we don't know exactly very few

6:15

records exist of his early life we

6:19

do know

6:20

that his family belongs to the saying tried

6:23

a dominant group in the area and

6:26

eat among the fang monsieur his father is

6:28

amount of particular renown he's

6:31

known as and to pantry simply

6:33

father he's both

6:35

a dispenser of medicine and a religious

6:38

leader it's rumored

6:40

he wants sacrificed his own son says

6:42

his brother to the ancestors

6:44

to strengthen his powers whether

6:47

or not that's true his reputation precedes

6:49

him for

6:52

this is a desperate moment for the fang the

6:55

ancient rural way of life is coming under

6:57

attack

7:00

a spanish

7:00

have laid claim to spanish

7:03

guinea as they call these territories

7:05

since the late seventeen hundreds in

7:08

that time they kept mostly to the islands

7:12

but by the nineteen twenties they began exploring

7:14

and occupying mainland real money which

7:17

means coming into contact with those

7:19

who already live there ask

7:23

a cd is a travel writer risk

7:25

consultant and international educator

7:28

and the author of the breath guy to

7:30

equatorial guinea

7:33

so mrs was born at a time of

7:35

great upheaval for the same tribe an actual guineas

7:37

maintenance basically the spanish

7:39

had only just decided that they were

7:41

going to extend their colonial control to the

7:43

interior of this territory that they

7:45

already had to the spanish had already been pretty

7:47

well established on the aka

7:49

island and they had some

7:52

presence on the coast but not much that wasn't till about

7:54

ninety twenty six for that she got an army together

7:56

and decided we need to head into the jungle into

7:58

the interior take control this place for

8:03

the fang a skilled fighters

8:05

are not easily pushed aside buddy

8:08

skirmishes break out as the tribal resistant

8:10

coalesce is there a heavy

8:13

losses on both sides including

8:15

from the sees his own family at

8:18

nine years old he watches on his his father

8:20

is beaten to a pump my spanish officials

8:24

is supposed crime is unclear perhaps

8:26

just being a prominent saying the

8:29

beating is so severe that he dies

8:31

from his injuries shortly after macias

8:36

his mother is disturbed she

8:38

takes her own life just a week later as

8:47

an orphan now the raising

8:49

of mrs full so others he

8:52

spends the rest of his childhood under the auspices

8:54

of the spanish authorities and the

8:56

catholic church he

8:58

takes on their religion and learns the spanish

9:01

language it's likely

9:03

around this time that his name is spanish

9:05

sized pool

9:08

canyon is a best winning journalist

9:10

the bbc panorama and

9:12

the author of dictator learn the

9:15

men who stole africa

9:17

when you look a messiah says younger

9:20

years sale little is written

9:22

about it i mean so little is written

9:24

about secretarial guinea in this era anyway

9:26

we have messiahs growing up in the

9:29

catholic church going to catholic school the

9:31

would have been an awful lot of rules and regulations

9:34

and a lot of discipline this

9:36

incorporation into european customs

9:38

and traditions is the result of family tragedy

9:42

bucks as we shall see it will

9:44

give the young boy the inside track

9:46

on the colonialists this

9:48

will prove a crucial advantage in the used

9:50

to come having

9:54

establish their authority on the mainland the

9:57

spanish keen to shore up deposition

9:59

launched a series of infrastructure

10:02

initiatives

10:04

almost no one in the area spoke spanish

10:06

and the spanish state had almost no interaction

10:09

with your average fang resident of the interior

10:11

so this is the context that

10:13

messiest was born into unfortunately

10:17

many of the fang men the first

10:19

interaction with the spanish was essentially being

10:21

press ganged into forced labor groups and

10:24

if you misbehaved while you were

10:27

working free of charge on these public

10:29

works projects you them bee pollen about any

10:31

be shipped over to be ocho island where you'd

10:33

be used as snc indentured labor

10:35

on some of the farms that a spanish ran over that

10:38

is a very negative beginning

10:40

of interactions between the fang and

10:42

the spanish colonial authorities

10:45

the colonial occupation of the main and also

10:47

sees the up into the new legal framework

10:50

this creates different tiers of citizenship

10:53

relegating the local population to

10:55

official second class status

10:58

it put down in writing the equator

11:00

guineans couldn't purchase property they

11:03

weren't allowed to buy luxury goods and the

11:05

spanish definition of what was luxury was pretty

11:07

laughable by modern standards so you were not

11:09

allowed to buy things like olive oil or wheat

11:11

bread as an aquatic and and in the

11:13

territory he went all out alcohol

11:16

or at least you weren't allowed to by western

11:18

bottled alcohol you

11:20

have no rights or legal status as a spanish

11:22

citizen and sexual relations between

11:24

aquatic an endless bonuses were completely

11:26

for been so this is not really

11:29

a very good time to be living

11:31

in rio mooney as a member of the fang ethnic

11:33

group

11:35

the school curriculum for those of must see us as

11:37

background is extremely genesis one

11:40

thing he does learn by roots is

11:43

a series of chance and phrases that

11:45

praised the ruling class oh

11:48

children must and by these his

11:52

is a peculiar half baked education

11:55

one that instills obedience the the spanish

11:58

while suppressing his own the heritage

12:01

but in a roundabout way school years

12:03

actually put him right on the eventual path

12:06

to success he

12:08

wasn't by academics but he knew that the

12:10

pathway to success was to get himself

12:12

into the civil service so he tried again

12:14

and again and again to pass the civil service

12:16

exam or late does pass it on

12:18

fourth attempt i think in the thirties becomes a core

12:21

clock and then where he really

12:23

hit the jackpot is when he becomes

12:25

a a spanish to fang

12:27

language translator and one of the racial courts

12:29

and will go more in ninety fifty one

12:38

mom gomer was a tone in the jungle straddling

12:41

the buddha with neighboring upon it's

12:43

an important seat of spanish power the

12:46

market square is dominated by an impressive

12:48

newly built to the total cost

12:52

the rest of the town is comprised of the wouldn't sex

12:54

with how's the local population children

12:57

play outside hands pick of the dirt

12:59

roads the air is

13:01

filled with the smell of plenty grinning

13:06

it's an old blend of tribal the european

13:08

elements much like macias

13:10

himself he's doing very well as

13:12

year if

13:15

we know little about misses his upbringing details

13:18

it just scares about his private life at

13:21

one time or another he's got married to

13:24

a woman probably called maribel she

13:27

may or may not be half spanish together

13:30

they were going to have at least four children professionally

13:34

however the picture is coming into

13:36

focus of this to his

13:38

role as a translator in the local cool

13:41

as embedded in firmly within the establishment

13:45

so position he can observe

13:47

the machinery of colonial government approves

13:51

and he's perfectly placed to capitalize

13:53

should fun as a career opportunities arise

13:57

mathias with the a very

13:59

minor issue during the spanish

14:01

colonial regime he was actually

14:03

so minor that he was just a translates

14:06

with the local color and and it doesn't

14:08

sound like big shakes his who that what happened

14:10

with that he became quite an important

14:12

figure to the local population

14:14

said they all rely on him because he can

14:16

speak a second language he become

14:19

somebody who you can rely on to

14:21

represent she's was going to smoke descends

14:23

you but give you a positive translation

14:25

if you like in the face of the enemy

14:27

which is the nerds and colonialists so there's

14:30

mathias them something it's cool to each

14:32

morning helping people any suddenly realized

14:34

that cause that actually this is something he can monetize

14:38

said what he should be doing really is acting

14:41

as an impulsive translates up but

14:43

what we know he was actually doing was being

14:45

quite corrupt and he was essentially miss

14:47

translates thing between the two languages

14:50

depending on whether he was receiving payments

14:52

from the spanish party or the find

14:54

party or sometimes depending

14:57

on whether he thought he needed to curry favor

14:59

with a particular spaniard involved or the particular

15:01

aquatic a man and for the

15:04

spanish they completely missing separate

15:06

the situation all macys groups

15:08

of people flocking random in the morning everybody

15:11

a huge amount of interest nick time and a miss

15:13

a frenzied mornings around the size

15:15

and they think this man is that some local

15:17

standing this man had some popularity

15:19

people listen to him when he speaks

15:22

without realizing to the very reason

15:24

this the locals have some interest in him

15:26

was that he was essentially corrupts

15:28

to the cool even at that very early stage

15:36

in parallel to mrs story thus

15:38

far another dictator

15:40

to be called francisco has been on

15:42

a journey of isn't january

15:46

nineteen thirty nine spanish

15:48

civil wars in it's final days of the three

15:51

years of bloody com for tens

15:54

of thousands of most their lives and general francisco

15:56

franco's battle to overthrow the

15:58

republicans barcelona

16:01

a republican stronghold this fall into the

16:03

nationalists fires

16:05

raged windows shut off the

16:07

streets are loners within

16:10

days franco when of one he

16:13

is about to take power in spain and

16:15

begin his own know dictatorships

16:20

but what bearing this is have on misses his

16:22

homeland some three thousand

16:24

miles away barely

16:27

six months after franco assumes office

16:30

will go to breaks out in europe needless

16:34

to say this brings extreme disruption

16:36

to global trade even

16:38

phenomenally neutral spain so

16:41

to make up the shortfall in imports the

16:44

order goes out from madrid to expand production

16:46

in the colonies spanish

16:49

guinea suddenly takes on a new economic importance

16:52

production of coffee timber palm

16:54

oil kopra tried been on

16:56

and rubber or or hugely increased

17:01

later in the aftermath of world war two

17:04

imperial powers across europe find

17:06

themselves under increasing pressure to relinquish

17:09

control of that overseas territories

17:12

but with spain's economy much more closely

17:14

linked to spanish guinea now franco

17:17

is not in the mood to handed over to the locals

17:19

just yet instead

17:22

in an attempt to say to the demand for autonomy

17:25

he comes up with a fresh series of laws

17:29

these will grant varying degrees of them and

17:31

to patients to see a

17:33

console commands fortune

17:36

shines on the cs with

17:39

his job as a coach translator and his

17:41

proficiency in spanish he's

17:43

in pole position to benefit from this new

17:45

improved status

17:49

must see us himself was desperate

17:51

to be part of the emancipated classed

17:54

everything he did in his early career

17:57

implied that he loved spanish colonialism

18:00

it or spain was amazing he was

18:02

desperate to learn the spanish language he

18:04

looks down on members of the fang

18:06

ethnic group who did not learn spanish a

18:09

sense if you manage to tickle the boxes

18:11

and become a fully emancipated aquatic

18:14

a man on the spanish rules you would enjoy

18:16

most to the same rights and privileges as

18:18

a wise been a citizen so that meant either

18:20

get loans from the bank you could buy and sell property

18:23

you could act as a witness and course finally

18:25

you could buy or delicious audible and wheat bread

18:27

and alcohol ah yes you can even got

18:29

a european balls to drinks in ecuador

18:31

guinea although you still were not

18:34

allowed to have sexual relations with white spanish

18:36

in the territory but

18:40

franco's limited concessions of the wind

18:42

of change proves to have

18:44

far reaching unintended consequences

18:48

instead of extinguishing cool some conditional

18:50

freedom it's use them

18:53

the emancipated people's can aspire to better

18:55

living standards to getting

18:57

a taste for how the colonial classes

18:59

have been living indigenous

19:02

and tribal leaders across spanish guinea begin

19:04

to voice a desire for total independence

19:07

from spain across

19:10

africa through the nineteen sixties

19:12

and seventies a whole generation

19:14

of politicians both democratic and

19:16

otherwise will rise to power

19:19

waves of nationalism not

19:22

so much see he is

19:24

no nationalists not yet he

19:27

still quietly toeing the line playing

19:29

the role of the bit of a trustworthy spanish

19:32

support to perfection it's

19:34

seeing him rise further and further up the ranks

19:37

of the civil service soon

19:39

is appointed at the prestigious position

19:41

of men among promo

19:50

in spain joins the united nations

19:52

in nineteen sixty five so the

19:54

pressure is existed on frank to relinquish

19:56

his comedy's at the same

19:58

time nationalist voices in

20:00

spanish guinea are getting louder

20:04

how could you is reluctant to concede

20:06

ground he's already made

20:08

sure to silence the loudest voices

20:10

forcing many into exile but

20:14

franco's got himself in a bit of a bind

20:18

in the mediterranean he's desperate to reclaim

20:20

to proto from the british

20:23

is problem is that many of the

20:25

arguments is advancing in international

20:27

forums involved criticizing

20:30

british imperialism this

20:32

leaves him wide open to the charge of hypocrisy

20:37

if he wants the uk to even consider relinquishing

20:39

rock he needs to get his own

20:41

house in order is gonna have

20:43

to engage with nationalism in the colonies

20:46

himself diplomatically

20:49

he must at least be seen to be moving

20:51

spain's remaining territories towards independence

20:54

in time this will all

20:56

play perfectly intimacy

20:58

is his hands

21:00

the real turning point for my cs

21:02

is that there was a referendum

21:05

on the fifteenth of december ninety sixty three on

21:07

autonomy from spain so

21:09

essentially the spanish saying the writing on the wall

21:11

at this stage they are realizing that

21:14

as a lot of pressure from the un they're looking

21:16

up at west africa and north africa

21:18

less seeing all of these countries getting independence

21:21

and they're thinking right we need to do a little

21:23

bit more in terms of the terror and just

21:25

offering these people assimilated status so

21:27

what they decide to offer his autonomy

21:30

so they actually draw up a new sort

21:32

of autonomous constitution and say look you

21:35

guys want to vote on this and then

21:37

that splits the nationalists completely

21:39

with some nationalists saying okay fantastic

21:42

were in support of this autonomy and

21:44

other nationalists saying no no no we recognize

21:46

this for what it is this is a bomb to

21:48

keep quiet we want full independence

21:51

and macias finds himself on the correct

21:53

side rather opportunistically of

21:55

this political debates in december ninety sixty

21:57

three

22:00

the new autonomous constitution

22:02

this post with me see as

22:04

among its supporters the

22:06

atmosphere in the colonies fraught

22:08

in the days following the referendum the

22:11

people are divided but

22:13

the spanish believe they have in macias and

22:15

ultra loyal buffoon the

22:17

will help them stave off any serious bids

22:20

independence down the line those

22:23

phrases learn to school when he

22:25

and other pupils were forced to repeat slogans

22:28

praising the spanish the come

22:30

in handy know i see

22:32

as has been harassing them to his bosses

22:35

presuming it's what they wanted to hear and

22:37

it's worked they've underestimated

22:40

him terribly under

22:45

the new autonomy planned as a provision for greater

22:47

self rule in domestic affairs

22:51

this means that locals can now

22:53

apply for more senior positions in government

22:57

must see as has only recently become the mayor of

22:59

mongo move but with his collaboration

23:01

this pedigree he's a natural

23:04

candidate for top row in

23:07

this recalibrated colony there's

23:09

an autonomous prime minister know a

23:12

man called bonnie sassoon on though adu

23:15

messiest is appointed his deputy the

23:19

spanish still call the shots but

23:22

he is now on paper the

23:24

second most powerful eclectic in

23:26

a and in the land it's

23:32

an extraordinary rise from often

23:34

toward of the state through multiple

23:37

failures to join the civil service

23:39

then his time as a court interpreter the

23:42

now from matt to deputy

23:44

prime minister in less than a year

23:50

accounts from the time document this is his

23:52

interactions with his colleagues they

23:55

paint a picture of a man whose or could and

23:57

prickly especially around more

23:59

educated african to new pants he

24:02

is it seems someone who is aware

24:04

of his own intellectual shortcomings and

24:07

cabinet he clashes regularly with his prime

24:09

minister he do a

24:11

spanish interpret misses his frustration

24:13

as displays of passion for his country to

24:16

them houston a vital i

24:20

little as a no mercy of

24:22

his wrestling with substantial personal

24:24

problems he

24:27

was always a somewhat sickly child

24:30

by this point in his early forties

24:32

he's developed some significant health issues

24:36

his eyesight isn't great his hearing

24:38

is worse

24:39

is prone to getting long loud rumbling

24:42

speeches which via between spanish

24:44

and his native sang

24:46

these give rise to rumors about the state of his

24:48

mental health but they're

24:50

not spoken aloud by

24:55

nineteen sixty seven after the successful

24:57

experiment of the autonomous constitution

25:00

full independence is in the offing just

25:03

another referendum away with

25:07

the vote widely expected to pass messiest

25:10

travels to a conference in madrid part

25:12

of a delegation that will create the founding laws

25:15

for what will become known henceforth as

25:17

ecuadorian guinea it's

25:20

here in the spanish capital on november the says

25:23

that he first reveals his servant passion

25:26

for adults hits i

25:29

consider hitler to be the savior of africa

25:32

he declines in the speech then

25:34

launches into a tirade be sitting

25:36

of his hero hitler

25:39

had wanted to stop colonialism

25:41

not sentiment he just

25:43

got sidetracked by trying to take

25:45

over europe a few remake

25:47

mistakes monsieur says but

25:49

only because he was human one

25:54

might assume this would set alarm bells

25:56

ringing but if the spanish

25:59

our concern they're doing nothing about

26:01

it no one at the conference

26:03

bats an eyelid for cs

26:05

returns home to continue his political germany

26:08

unchallenged

26:11

he would think after speech like that

26:13

they the europeans who have their representatives

26:15

of european governments would say this

26:18

is absolutely abhorrent this man com be allowed anywhere

26:20

near power the idea

26:22

that this wasn't a very early indicator

26:25

and a long as to where he might go

26:27

later seems ridiculous now

26:30

this is the first brick in the wall of silence

26:33

that will surround receives shield

26:35

you from scrutiny throughout his time in power

26:39

as of sight out of mind in africa

26:42

who be less almost entirely to his own devices

26:46

they knew at some stage that he

26:48

was the very least not a particularly

26:50

bright individual and at the very

26:52

worst somebody who had pretty

26:54

disturbing views but he was

26:56

still controllable and

26:59

perhaps what they didn't really want was

27:01

an individual who was a genuine

27:04

independence fighter who would really

27:06

take on the spanish and perhaps

27:08

they thought the messiah with somebody that once

27:10

they could puppeteer that

27:12

the they could continue dabbling

27:14

in the affairs of the equatorial guinea not

27:16

fully pull out as the belgians didn't

27:18

fully placid com go and

27:21

that the would be something left for them they're

27:31

on august eleven thirteen sixty eight

27:34

the long awaited independence referendum

27:36

is how nearly sixty

27:38

five percent vote in favor of

27:40

removing the spanish movies oh

27:43

miss left to do now is to choose

27:45

equatorial guinea first president

27:49

must he has to be put some so food is one

27:51

of the candidates them few expected

27:53

to win there are more steam

27:56

independence fighters and factor in the

27:58

ring

27:59

their problem is

28:01

the lack of support from spain even

28:04

if franco is taking his hand of the tiller

28:07

madrid still intends to retain an ally

28:10

in power and they still have

28:12

cards to play we

28:14

have a lot of far more prominence aquatic

28:16

an answer you would have expected would

28:18

perhaps them dot as the first president

28:21

or at least would have had a more prominent role

28:23

in the post independence history of

28:25

echo getting unfortunately

28:28

the spanish had quite an effective strategy

28:30

of divide and rule so they

28:33

deliberately so dissent among the different ethnic

28:35

groups in or guinea to make sure they didn't kind

28:37

of unify behind one independence leader

28:40

and cause the real problems and

28:42

the actual athletic and as themselves

28:45

as in a lot of cases that she coalesced

28:47

around ethnically basis political parties

28:49

to made it very easy for the spanish to then kind

28:51

of take them off by supporting some and not others

28:55

this presidential election will be broadcast

28:57

on television a spanish

29:00

set up transmitters hundred free tv

29:02

sets to be placed in public areas

29:04

so the people can all see the kinda did speak

29:06

for themselves this

29:09

is another stroke of luck for missy's he

29:12

proves to be a natural onscreen common

29:15

is hypnotic monologues delivered

29:17

in spanish and fine are

29:19

extremely well received

29:22

television played pretty well actually to

29:24

messiah a look presentable he looked

29:26

like a young festival do

29:28

with an indian any had a wedge haircuts he

29:31

had a skinny tie and them

29:33

skinny suit on any so

29:35

look nepal like a nineteen sixties rock

29:37

stole more dates you like so

29:40

eight played well for middle supplied wealth him because he

29:42

realized this he did jesus mediums

29:44

reach huge amounts of people very quickly as opposed

29:46

to just the limited amount he would have met

29:48

at with a normal walk around and

29:50

so he may be speeches which

29:53

in hindsight she would say we're sort

29:55

of wild ramblings of

29:57

the at the time some people

29:59

say they were seduced fearless

30:02

and a wildly charming individual

30:05

who was able to make promises on the

30:07

hoof who could speak off the top of his head

30:14

buses

30:14

our tree full of unchecked person

30:16

and promise is beamed across

30:18

the nation wilde

30:21

the performance is all his doing the

30:24

speeches or not they

30:26

are in fact being with them for him by the spanish

30:28

lawyer a man called garcia

30:30

throw behind know

30:32

pss you a spanish lawyers are rightly speeches

30:35

said he had a pretty coherent policy

30:37

platform that he presented in his speeches

30:39

because it was all put together by somebody else and

30:42

a lot of it was very very popular there was no

30:44

way he could have kept a lot of the outrageous

30:46

promises he made on the campaign trail

30:48

in nineteen sixty eight

30:51

flitting between is to tongues macias

30:54

is able to escape proper scrutiny tailoring

30:57

his message to spanish and the coin to

30:59

canadian audiences giving

31:01

everyone what they won a trustworthy

31:04

friend of madrid

31:05

check

31:06

but also for the first time an increasingly

31:09

a fervent even violent nationalist

31:14

he

31:14

had a series of stumped city like

31:16

which was very easy to people to understand

31:18

when he came to being against the spanish so he

31:20

would he cut to the chase he didn't bother

31:22

with lots of political jog and he

31:24

would stand in front of a crowd was being televised

31:27

point to a bungalow were

31:29

at one of the spanish officials had left and he would

31:31

say see that has over there you

31:33

can have their house he see that

31:36

has over there the other spanish as of that's

31:38

you can have it i will give you all the properties

31:40

from the colonial regime francisco

31:47

macias and grammar when sixty

31:50

eight percent the popular vote

31:53

on october the twelve nineteen sixty eight

31:55

he's sworn in as president which

31:58

is how a sign of from

32:00

rural real money came to power

32:03

and newly independent a couturier guinea

32:07

how he goes on to destroy it is another

32:09

story the

32:13

country macias inherits is pretty stable

32:16

it's economy is relatively healthy his

32:19

rule starts out could positively he

32:22

offers senior roles in his cabinet to some

32:24

of his opponents from the presidential campaign

32:28

he continues his collaborative relationship

32:30

with the former colonial power but

32:33

it's the spanish think you give them rule

32:35

by proxy and they are sorely

32:37

mistaken franco

32:39

commands in spain and i

32:41

commend here must see

32:43

as makes clear shortly after his

32:46

victory at the ballot box still

32:48

not in soil a clear

32:51

whether things were always guide to go wrong and i'm

32:53

assess all whether there was some sort of

32:55

moment that changed his mind about how he

32:57

was going to run equatorial guinea whatever

33:00

the case things started going wrong

33:02

almost immediately say you

33:04

know he's in charge for the much over ninety

33:06

sixty eight monsieur that she begins on slightly

33:08

positive night he actually gets his rival

33:11

at the lousy oh me oh no the position of foreign

33:13

minister he gets his other rival edmundo

33:16

the ocho the vice president spots that

33:18

all looks good that's actually quite surprising to

33:20

the few porn commentators yeah she took an interest

33:23

in this newly independent country however

33:26

few months later march nineteen sixty nine

33:28

messiest thinks that a coup

33:31

was attempted against him and in

33:33

particular he thinks that me

33:35

oh no his foreign minister try

33:37

to organize this to and he thought that he did

33:39

it with spanish complicity and this is really

33:41

really important so he thanks for the spaniards

33:43

were out to get rid of him i wanted to replace

33:46

him with a more fluent president's

33:50

already paranoid that the spanish trying

33:52

to oust him macias promptly

33:54

turns is rough on them in

33:57

a series of escalating speeches

34:00

he demands the removal of all spanish flags

34:03

in the country when this

34:05

doesn't happen the oldest those flags

34:07

to be toned down gangs

34:10

of teenagers take to the streets to do his

34:12

bidding on

34:14

february twenty seventh nineteen sixty nine

34:17

the president makes another infamous address

34:20

this time and state radio brandishing

34:23

a copy of mine camps see a decrease

34:26

kill the whites raped the women

34:28

you have the right to the loot the

34:31

death penalty for whoever helps the whites

34:33

we are at war against spanish

34:35

imperialism touch

34:38

type of is lit on

34:42

the twenty seventh monsieur his foreign

34:44

minister me only finds himself

34:46

cornered and his cabinet office surrounded

34:48

by the president's men he

34:51

had called in spanish national guardsmen

34:53

to protect him but they fled

34:56

leading him to face the music alone

34:59

minutes later may only songs

35:01

from the cabinet office when must

35:05

see us were later claimed this was an act of attempted

35:07

suicide eyewitnesses

35:10

will suggest me on his legs were already broken

35:12

before he sell others will

35:14

add that he was shot in

35:17

any case the official line

35:19

from the government is that me only has been

35:21

taken to hospital after trying to kill himself

35:25

he will never be seen again it's

35:30

the combination of what will be known as equatorial

35:33

guinea night of the long knives it

35:36

marks the moment that the newly independent

35:38

nation is purged of spanish influence

35:41

and falls squarely under the control

35:44

of president must see as when

35:49

say on the set of march he

35:51

said she declares that he is assuming absolute

35:53

power because of course he has stayed in order

35:55

to protect the nation from the stretch

35:58

on the twenty second of march in

36:00

a kick out all the spanish from

36:02

actual guinea so there's over seven

36:05

thousand spaniards in the country

36:07

at this time most of them on be aka island

36:09

involved in the plantations

36:12

by most the twenty fifth madrid

36:14

has become evacuating it's remaining civil servants

36:18

on be oka the hobbies

36:20

a hive of activity as those

36:22

fleeing clamber boot hardly prepared

36:24

ships just

36:26

four days later they're only eighty

36:29

of so spanish people left in real money

36:32

and it's not as europeans looking for when

36:35

they consider names themselves

36:37

the soon begin fleeing inconsiderable

36:39

numbers

36:41

there was a mass evacuation and almost

36:43

all of the spaniards in actual guinea

36:45

left along with the spaniards when

36:47

a lot of the brits and the americans who were at

36:49

the time working for mobile oil so

36:52

they were prospecting for oil

36:54

there was a suspicion the actual guinea had offshore

36:56

oil but at this time they didn't know that so

36:58

they were accio companies working that they

37:00

all cleared out as well because they didn't think it was safe i

37:03

mean they were right it absolutely wasn't safe for

37:05

them

37:10

as a couturier guineas economy starters

37:13

wages are withheld from workers plantations

37:16

are abandoned businesses have shifted telecommunications

37:20

a close down and television his wound up

37:23

a c as chooses this moment to

37:26

declare that the nineteen sixty eight constitution

37:28

is deeply flawed the

37:31

mentioned that he hoped to issue it in there's

37:34

too much spanish rule ingrained in it

37:36

for his liking it's

37:38

time to put his own constitution

37:40

said place and to do that

37:43

he needs to ensure that no other political party

37:45

leader can emerge to challenge

37:47

him non

37:50

second of every ninety seven say he decides

37:52

the country's gonna be single party states so

37:55

he kind of creates the party the only

37:57

question on the last job i had noticed the p

37:59

u n t or and then he creates

38:01

a youth militant wing as well use

38:03

on the march with my cs who are deliberately

38:06

modeled on the hitler youth the

38:10

j m m were some of them were barely

38:12

as their team seems that some of them was he

38:14

natures and these are groups of young man

38:16

who were utterly lost mathias their

38:19

individuals who would have been probably

38:21

out of work with no official positions

38:23

when he came to the previous colonial

38:25

regime so looking for

38:28

revenge on anybody they thought had

38:30

put them and their families in

38:32

positions where they once able to earn this

38:35

was their time messiah

38:37

with the man who was their leaders

38:39

who they would do anything for and they were there to

38:42

redress the balance they were there to punish anybody

38:44

who'd put them in a position of poverty in the first place

38:47

the british ambassador said something along the lines

38:49

of what i am leaving it's a place that is right on the

38:51

edge of absolute chaos or something similar

38:54

and it's seen people being killed on the street

38:56

and it's see the country close down shops

38:59

close factories closed everybody's thing

39:01

in the homes nobody daring go anywhere and

39:03

the streets full of these marauding gangs

39:06

the why as by messiah

39:08

us to go and hunt down anybody with

39:10

the slightest suspicion of having something

39:12

spanish in their home he

39:14

authored rewards and civil

39:16

service positions to people who

39:19

could find any trace or any hint

39:21

or anything a tool about individuals

39:23

who likes to still support the spanish and

39:26

obviously in that kind of situation

39:28

people would then stars concocting things

39:30

will be hyper sensitive about any

39:32

conversation they heard the might involve

39:34

some breath and to the spanish in a positive light

39:37

and he got to the point where does one

39:39

individual i've met in institute his

39:41

father was arrested at home

39:44

because the security services raided

39:46

the has they came in and they saw

39:49

his mother cooking with serrano

39:51

ham and spanish omelets now

39:53

his hands darkly comical

39:55

but i mean imagine being in a position where

39:57

your just innocently making a meal

40:00

traditionally made for your family income a bunch

40:02

of thugs they find this this is enough

40:04

the him to end up and a road gang

40:06

so it's arrested centre court

40:08

ends up in a road gang building roads

40:11

and cats in chains and eventually ends

40:13

up going to prison for the very same offense

40:16

where he's beaten to death said

40:18

the sense since in the end of the consequence

40:21

of using spanish based

40:23

products just in cooking is

40:26

being beaten to death in prison

40:33

despite the evacuation of the spanish and the

40:36

poaching of his rivals

40:38

despite the violin spilling onto the streets

40:41

macias is still deeply paranoid

40:43

the faceless enemies around to get him it's

40:47

widely known that isn't a bit you would drug user

40:49

like many sign men at this time he

40:52

enjoys a local strain of cannabis and

40:55

he also regularly imbibed powerful hallucinogenic

40:57

trust could be bumper the

41:00

precise impact of these substances on his

41:03

mental health and his behavior is

41:05

impossible to know so long as to the fact

41:09

that must see as himself perceived that he

41:11

had mental health issues is clear

41:14

in both ninety six year and ninety sixty nine

41:16

he visited psychiatrists in madrid and barcelona

41:19

for on displaced mental health issues

41:22

so we know that even before he was in charge

41:24

of the country he was having some sort of problem and

41:27

then being in isolating

41:29

himself taking all of these hallucinogenic

41:31

drugs or patriot just exacerbated that further

41:34

until see by the seventies he really

41:36

isn't fully in control of his mental faculties

41:40

so i think his paranoia arising

41:43

from potentially hallucinogenic patients

41:45

that he was drinking is something that

41:48

is not just a good story and a good anecdote

41:50

it's something that really began to bend

41:52

the way that he got and his country

41:56

and that level of paranoid as leads

41:58

you will be sleep to the point where your ear

42:00

indiscriminately killing people

42:05

under the new regime torture and execution

42:08

and are commonplace and you

42:10

window and rumor or enough to land you in the hands

42:12

of the j m m whole

42:14

villages or destroyed in the hunt for single

42:16

the ledge detractors in

42:20

the capital city centre isabel stance

42:23

the stained yellow building a black

42:25

beach prison it

42:27

sells the soon overflowing with those accused

42:29

of opposing the president the

42:31

screams ring out and the dead of night

42:34

while the rest of the capital lie still

42:38

if you ended up in black beach prison which is than

42:40

a taurus present on the aka islands

42:42

which is still there today if you

42:44

ended up there sometimes they didn't even have

42:46

the money for bullets to execute you said she just

42:48

beat people to death with iron bars or

42:50

they bury you opt your head and leave you to

42:52

just die because it's exposure things

42:56

get even worse for the people when

42:58

must see as puts his youth militiamen charge

43:00

of the coots to

43:03

so these are the people who would

43:05

decide to the judges were and

43:07

make sure that they were in support

43:09

of their organizations use

43:12

marching for matthias and they

43:14

would decide to the prosecutor

43:16

and he's a defense in court rooms who dates and

43:18

of course they would decide to the defendants

43:20

were so they oversaw the courtroom and

43:22

he imagine that you in a situation in some

43:24

small court room in equatorial guinea were

43:26

whether you're the prosecutor already sense if you say

43:29

anything at that moment that

43:31

is seen as anti the regime or

43:33

pro these defendants usual

43:35

self will be the next thing cause which did

43:37

happen so the recent study since

43:39

the to put up i mean it is such

43:42

unimaginable dark

43:44

comedy again the you end up with defenders

43:46

who in the end some ties with

43:49

when and of instead of descending that client

43:51

they would end up asking for the death penalty

43:53

for their client see you

43:55

go in there thinking is a pretty

43:57

weak case against you at least you've got some

43:59

defense into the defense counsel ends

44:01

up asking for a bigger punishment in the prosecutor

44:05

where do you turn at that point

44:07

hundreds of people to the time for me to attend

44:10

mass kangaroo cool

44:12

crowds are forced to watch the media

44:18

which brings us back to christmas eve

44:20

nineteen sixty nine and the

44:22

scenes over the surface and

44:26

at the national football stadium in the capital

44:29

over one hundred and sixty of misses his alleged

44:32

accessories or let out among

44:34

the halfway line and

44:39

as the mass slaughter begins to

44:41

marry hopkins hit those were the days

44:43

my friend echoes out over

44:45

the loudspeakers

44:50

and in the middle of the stadium all the people

44:52

are going to be executed all lined up on

44:54

across the turn the lights and in up coming

44:56

out the song those were the days

44:58

those were the days

45:00

my friends and you can see that or you

45:02

can imagine a play at release

45:04

that a sweet hill nineteen sixties

45:06

family systems across the

45:08

football pitch as these people were executed

45:11

in front of a crowd and many of whom

45:13

i would hope were just standing there in absolutes

45:15

is believed as to what was going on i can't imagine

45:17

there were many chairs the what a spectacle my

45:21

destiny is besides was there so

45:24

he did take some kind of delight

45:26

in this spectacle of mass

45:28

executions with music some

45:31

have find this entertaining

45:33

but all of this is

45:36

only the beginning which

45:39

imagine phone with the president the noises

45:54

in the next episode in the second

45:56

and final part of and the system educated

46:02

a car to be names come under attack as

46:04

a bizarre than death of his pursuit against

46:07

teachers lawyers and doctors

46:10

things took a turn for the metaphysical as

46:13

an see as declares himself gone and

46:16

finally as paranoid

46:18

as conceal the wounds and is

46:21

in a circle will take matters into their homes

46:23

her after

46:25

next