The Lusosphere: São Tomé and Príncipe

Let's rewind a bit...

1471: The Island of São Tomé is discovered on the 21st of December (St. Thomas' Day).

1472: The Santo Antão Island is discovered on the 17th of January (St. Anthony's Day).

Both Islands were discovered by João de Santarém and Pedro Escobar.

1493: The first successful settlement in São Tomé, established by Álvaro Caminha, to whom the land was granted by the crown.

1500: Príncipe is settled.

1502: Santo Antão Island sees its name changed into Príncipe Island ((Príncipe = Prince), in honour of the Prince of Portugal (to whom the duties of the sugar crop - generated by the Island - were paid).

The settlement of these islands was very difficult, for people were not attracted to them; so the initial settlers were the "unwanted" of Portugal, mostly the Jewish people. The settlers started growing sugar there, for the volcanic soil of the region was extremely suitable for agriculture. This enterprise was labour-intensive, so the Portuguese began importing large numbers of slaves from the mainland. These Islands became Africa's top exporter of sugar.

1522: São Tomé is taken over and managed by the Portuguese crown.

1573: Príncipe is controlled and managed by the Portuguese crown.

Next 100 years: Sugar cultivation declines (since it began to be grown in other colonies in the western hemisphere, which hurt the business of the islands. Plus the large slave population was difficult to control). In the 17th century São Tomé became a transit point for ships involved in the slave trade. In the 19th century, two new crops are introduced: coffee and cocoa. This new crop industry gave birth to the "roças" (extensive plantations) owned either by Portuguese companies or absent landlords. In these plantations abuse against the African farm workers was very common.

1908: São Tomé becomes the world's largest producer of cocoa. During the first decade of the 20th century, it was exposed (on an international level) the fact that Angolan contract workers were being subjected to forced labour under inhuman working conditions.

1953: an outbreak of riots, in which hundreds of African workers were killed in a clash with the Portuguese rulers. This was known as the "Batepá Massacre" (whose anniversary is officially observed by the government). In this decade, the MLSTP was born (Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe).

1975: on the 12th of July, São Tomé and Príncipe achieved its independence. Its first president was MLSTP's Secretary General Manuel Pinto da Costa.

Demographics

Total population: +/- 137,500 in São Tomé; 6,000 in Príncipe.

They all descend from various ethinic groups that have migrated to the islands since 1485:

Mestiços (mulattoes): descendants of Portuguese colonist and African slaves brought from Benin, Gabon and Congo.

Angolares: descendants of Angolan slaves.

Forros: descendants of freed slaves.

Serviçais: contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde, living temporarily in the Islands.

Tongas: children of serviçais born in the Islands.

Europeans: mainly Portuguese.

Asians: mainly Chinese and Macanese people (of mixed Portuguese and Chinese ancestry from Macau).

Language

The official language is the Portuguese (spoken by 95% of the population).

However there are three other spoken languages in the country (Portuguese-based creoles): Forro (85%), Angolar (3%) and Principense (0.1%).

French is also taught in schools (since the country is a member of Francophonie).

Music

The main genres of this country are: Ússua (ball dance where women wear traditional costumes and men wear straw hats plus an embroidered towel around their wrist to wipe off the sweat); Dêxa (rooted in Angola, with scornful lyrics); Puita (drum-based, extremely erotic and sexual); D'Jambi (similar to Puita, but played in healing rituals); and Bligá (a mix of dance and game).

However, there is also a genre called Tchiloli - a musical dance performance that tells a dramatic story.

Since it is spring time, we shall begin by visualising Puita, interpreted by Camilo Domingos. Enjoy!

Next Stop: Equatorial Guinea