A group of prosperous plantations was set up by Castilian and above all Valencian landowners, whose cultural level was considerably above that of the Spaniards that continued to emigrate to the Americas, and since Spanish Guinea was never an attractive place for massive immigration, those Spaniards that chose to live in Spanish Guinea generally made this choice in view of superior salaries or perquisites, available only for the middle and professional classes.

Spaniards in Equatorial Guinea did not generally immigrate with the intent of permanently establishing themselves, but rather of working for a given time period, and nearly always returned to Spain.

As a result of this era, as well as further interracial unions post-independence, a considerable amount of white Spaniard ancestry persists in the country, even among those with a black, or indigenous, phenotype.

It is further believed that some of the non-consent occurred through the corruption and coercion methods used by various Christian missionary organizations posted there, including those belonging to the Roman Catholic church, during the Spanish colonial era in the country.

From the earliest days of Spanish colonization, Santa Isabel contained numerous Europeans of various nations, as well as Kru, Mende, Ibo, Calabar, Hausa, Krio, Angolans, and Sao Tomenses, and even a small contingent of Asians.