Although geologically rich in bauxite, the mineral deposits have not been exploited to any great degree due to the ecological sensitivity of the surrounding Boé National Park.

The Boe area was pivotal during the war of independence that would eventually end the colonial regime in Portuguese Guinea.

There, in what became known as the Cheche Disaster, 47 Portuguese soldiers and five of the local Boe garrison were killed when one of the overloaded river-rafts capsized.

[2] Boe itself briefly served as the de facto capital until Guinea-Bissau's independence was finally recognised in 1974, following the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon.

Thereafter, Bissau was declared the national capital of the newly independent country and Boe returned to relative obscurity.