Fernando Po was a Spanish island off the coast of West Africa, in the Bight of Benin, named after a 16th-century Portuguese explorer. The island was volcanic in origin and had rich vegetation and crops, including sugar cane, cotton, and indigo plans. It had tropical wildlife that included Crocodiles and Turtles. Mountains reached a height of 4000-6000 ft. and contained craters. The population (approx 25,000) was mainly Spanish, and the principal settlement was Saint Clarence, used by the British as a naval station for ships engaged in suppressing the Slave Trade.