Independence Day in Guinea is celebrated on October 2.
This public holiday commemorates the independence of the Republic of Guinea from France in 1958.
The first Europeans visited the territory of what is now Guinea in the 16th century.
The French started their colonization of Guinea in the mid-19th century.
When the French defeated the army of the Wassoulou Emperor Samori Ture in 1882, they gained complete control over Guinea.
France had to negotiate the boundaries of Guinea (then known as French Guinea) with Liberia, the United Kingdom for Sierra Leone, and Portugal for Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau).
The colony was part of French West Africa.
In 1958, the French Fourth Republic collapsed and was succeeded by the Fifth Republic led by Charles de Gaulle.
De Gaulle offered France's colonies a choice between independence and autonomy within French Community.
Guinea chose independence and became an independent republic on October 2, 1958.
