Overseas Province of São Tomé and Príncipe Província Ultramarina de São Tomé e Príncipe (Portuguese)
1485–1975
Flag (1910–1975) Coat of arms (1935–1975)
Anthem: "Hymno Patriótico" (1808–1826) Patriotic Anthem "Hino da Carta" (1826–1910) Hymn of the Charter "A Portuguesa" (1910–1975) The Portuguese
Status	Colony of thePortuguese Empire (1485–1951) Overseas province of thePortuguese Empire (1951–1975)
Capital	São Tomé 0°13′47.500″N6°35′50.752″E / 0.22986111°N 6.59743111°E /0.22986111; 6.59743111
Common languages	Portuguese
Head of state
• 1470–1481	Afonso V of Portugal
• 1974–75	Francisco da Costa Gomes
Governor
• 1485–1490 (first)	João de Paiva
• 1974–75 (last)	António Elísio Capelo Pires Veloso
Historical era	Imperialism
• Established	1485
• Independence ofSão Tomé and Príncipe	12 July 1975
Currency	São Tomé and Príncipe escudo
ISO 3166 code	ST
Succeeded by São Tomé and Príncipe
Today part of	São Tomé and Príncipe

Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe was a colony of thePortuguese Empire from the discovery of the islands in 1470 until 1975, when independence was granted byPortugal.

The Portuguese explorersJoão de Santarém andPêro Escobar discovered the islands around 1470,^[1] which they found uninhabited.^[2]São Tomé Island was named by the Portuguese in honor ofSaint Thomas, as they discovered the island on hisfeast day, while the island ofPríncipe (Prince's island) was named in honor ofAfonso, Prince of Portugal, his father's favorite.^[1]

The first attempt to settle the islands began in 1485, when the Portuguese Crown granted João de Paiva the island of São Tomé. However, this attempt was not successful because the settlers were unable to produce food in the specific conditions and climate that the islands offered, and because of the tropical diseases that affected the settlers.^[1] It was only in 1493 when KingJohn II of Portugal nominatedÁlvaro Caminha ascaptain-major of São Tomé Island that the first successful settlement was established.^[1] Among these Portuguese settlers, there was a significant portion of criminals and orphans, as well as Jewish children taken from their parents to ensure that they were raised as Christians.^[3] The settlement of Príncipe was initiated in 1500.^[1]

In the following years, Portuguese settlers started to import large numbers of slaves from mainlandAfrica to cultivate the rich volcanic soil of São Tomé Island with highly profitablesugar cane. By the middle of the 16th century, São Tomé was generating enormous wealth for Portugal as it became the world's largest producer of sugar.^[4] The humid climate allowed for the quick growth of sugar, but prevented the production of higher quality white sugar.^[5]

In the first decade of the 17th century, the competition ofsugar plantations from the Portuguesecolony of Brazil and the frequentslave revolts that occurred in the island began to slowly hurt the sugar crop cultivation.^[1] This meant the decline of sugar production and the shifting of the local economy towards the slave trade, which remained mostly in the hands of the localmestiço population.^[2][4] The geographical location of the islands made them a crucialtrading post of thetransatlantic slave trade as they served as an assembly point for slaves brought from theGulf of Guinea and theKingdom of Kongo that were destined for theAmericas.^[4][6]

TheDutch occupied São Tomé Island from 1641 to 1648, when the Portuguese took back the island.^[6] The Dutch, however, did not take Príncipe island.^[6]

Most Portuguese settlers married African women. Europeans never numbered more than 1000 at their peak in the 16th century; by the 18th century, prosperous and influential local Afro-Portuguesemulatos came to fill important local positions, such as cathedral chapter and the town-hall, into which they had been admitted as early as 1528.^[7] Some were indistinguishable from mainland native Africans and claimed to bebrancos da terra (literally, "the land's whites") on account of their ancestry.^[7]

In 1753, because of frequent attacks bypirates andcorsairs, the capital of São Tomé was transferred toSanto António on Príncipe, and the islands started being ruled as a single colony with one Governor.^[4] It was only in 1852 when the capital was transferred back to São Tomé Island.^[8]

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Portuguese introducedcoffee andcocoa in extensive large-scale plantations calledroças, thus giving a great boost to the economy. The coffee production cycle ended in the late 19th century, when it was replaced by cocoa as the islands' main production. São Tomé and Príncipe then became a major global cocoa production area for several generations, and in the first decades of the 20th century it was frequently the world's annual number one cocoa producer.^[2]

In 1972, a nationalist political party ofMarxist ideology, theMovement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe (MLSTP), was created by exiles inEquatorial Guinea with the intent of creating an independent nation. TheCarnation Revolution in 1974 ended theEstado Novo dictatorship in Portugal and initiated a process of decolonization of the Portuguese colonies in Africa. On 12 July 1975, the new Portuguese regime granted independence toSão Tomé and Príncipe.^[6]

• 
  A plantation train in 1910.
• 
  A street in São Tomé, in 1941–1942.
• 
  São Tomé, 1941–1942.
• 
  Marketplace in São Tomé, 1941–1942
• 
  Vila Trindade 1941–1942
• 
  São Tomé landscape

• 
  Fort São Sebastião.
• 
  Supreme Court of São Tomé.
• 
  Presidential Palace.
• 
  Residential home.
• 
  Highschool.
• 
  Plantation house of São João dos Angolares
• 
  Cathedral of São Tomé
• 
  FormerMisericórdia

• 
  1970 coin of 50 escudos from São Tomé.

• List of governors of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe

• Disney, A. R. (2009).A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire. From Beginnings to 1807. Vol. I: Portugal. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-60397-3.
• Francisco, Albertino; Agostinho, Nujoma (2011).Exorcising Devils from the Throne: São Tomé and Príncipe in the Chaos of Democratization.ISBN 9780875868486
• Greene, Jack P.; Morgan, Philip D. (2008).Atlantic History: A Critical Appraisal.ISBN 9780199886432
• Grivetti, Louis E.;Shapiro, Howard-Yana (2011).Chocolate: History, Culture, and Heritage.ISBN 9781118210222
• Juang, Richard M.; Morrissette, Noelle (2008).Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History.ISBN 9781851094417
• McKenna, Amy (2011).The History of Central and Eastern Africa.ISBN 9781615303229

• Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe
• Former Portuguese colonies
• Former colonies in Africa
• Portuguese colonisation in Africa
• States and territories disestablished in 1975
• Island countries
• 1975 disestablishments in Africa

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• Articles with short description
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• Articles containing Portuguese-language text
• Coordinates on Wikidata
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