São Tomé and Príncipe is a beautiful tropical paradise situated in the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean, just below the equator off the western coast of central Africa. The archipelago consists of two main islands, each with its own distinct charm and allure. São Tomé – the capital and where we went – is the bustling, vibrant hub where 96% of the population resides, while Príncipe is a tranquil paradise untouched by mass tourism. Together, these two islands of São Tomé and Príncipe comprise the second smallest country in Africa, both in terms of land area and population.
Having been a former Portuguese colony, the language and culture of the Portuguese can still be experienced and explored throughout the islands. The island of São Tomé was named after Saint Thomas by the Portuguese explorers who happened to arrive at the island at the saint’s feast day. São Tomé not only bears its name from the Portuguese explorers but it has had centuries of Portuguese cultural influences. For example, it is one of the few countries in Africa with Portuguese as its official language. São Tomé and Príncipe gained independence from Portugal on July 12, 1975.
We went on an excursion around São Tomé that took us to its marquee attractions. We began by stopping at the National Museum, which was housed in a 16th-century Portuguese-built fortress that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.
Here we delved into the island’s rich past as the tour guide walked us through each room of the museum, telling us about the history of the country, its horrible time with colonization, and their ultimate independence. The museum housed myriad artifacts, many religious in nature, including those featuring Christianity as well as some exhibits featuring local African witch doctor ceremonies.
There were also several rooms set up with furniture to showcase how the Portuguese lived compared to their slaves. Here are two bedrooms – one of the Portuguese and one of a slave. It’s easy to see which is which. In the photo of the slave’s quarters are two things that look like bamboo poles. Those are basically the toilets for the slaves. Unbelievable.
In the photo below, you can see a dining room set up for the Portuguese. There is something that looks like a giant projector screen. That is a fan. A slave would have to stand there and work the fan to create some air for the diners, as there obviously was no air conditioning at the time. If the slave failed to keep the air moving, he would be beaten.
Given the living and working conditions, it is not hard to understand why there was an uprising. In fact, there was a leader by the name of Rei Amador who led a famous slave rebellion that took place in 1595. Rei Amador, and his people, the Angolars, allied with other enslaved Africans of its plantations, marched into the interior woods and battled against the Portuguese. It is said that on that day, Rei Amador and his followers raised a flag in front of the settlers and proclaimed Rei Amador as king of São Tomé and Príncipe, hailing himself as “Rei Amador, liberator of all the black people”. He led for a bit before being captured, sent to prison, and then hanged by the Portuguese. He is considered a national hero of the islands. There were statues and pictures of him everywhere in the museum, including some depicting him being hanged.
After the museum, we went to the city center where we saw the Presidential Palace, which features a rose-pink façade with neoclassical elements. It is more of an office building than a residence, but was still cool to see.
We also visited a nearby church where a service was taking place. It sounded like a graduation to us, with names being read and people clapping after each name. No clue what was actually going on. Ryan said it was one of the most impressive churches that he has seen on the trip – particularly seeing the service going on inside.
We made a couple stops to see some traditional folkloric performances. The tour guide told us what each performance was meant to represent, one being about a king whose son was killed and another about a man who had offered to protect children but was actually a bad guy. I’m sure something was lost in translation for me, as the tour guide’s accent was a bit difficult for me to follow. The performers were dressed in costumes and danced / ran around. Some of the costumes involved quite creepy masks.
During the second performance, a group of kids swarmed us, and by ‘us’ I mean Ryan. They were enamored of him, asking him his name and trying to engage him in conversation. It was hard to understand them though, and I think they were partly asking for money. Some of the performers kept trying to shoo the kids away from us, which is another reason I think they were begging, but they were quite focused on Ryan in particular which is why I’m not sure it was all about money (as he wouldn’t be the most likely to give them cash).
We also visited the nearby Pantufo fishing village, where we saw hordes of people resting on their canoes and talking to one another. Some women would pass by with giant bowls balanced on their heads. Some people were doing laundry in the water. Others were sitting beside bowls of freshly caught fish waiting to sell them. I didn’t take photos here as the guide said that sometimes people don’t want their photos taken here. It was a hubbub of activity so a photo wouldn’t have reflected the scene anyway.
We stopped at another stop so that people could try some local fish, but nobody took advantage of the food offer since the ship had warned us all before departing that there have been cholera outbreaks and that eating food ashore wasn’t a good idea. Nobody was willing to take any chances there.
Our last stop on the excursion was to buy some chocolates. Yes, food – which goes against what I just said – but it is different given the production process. Anyway, it turns out that São Tomé and Príncipe is renowned for its high-quality cocoa production, making it a sought-after destination for chocolate lovers and enthusiasts. At one point near the end of the 19th century, São Tomé and Príncipe had become the world’s largest grower of cocoa. Their cocoa was sold to all the big-name chocolate manufacturers of the time, including Cadbury. However, the production of the cocoa was hard work, and despite slavery having been supposedly outlawed, slaves remained and were used to manage the production of the cocoa. By the late 1890s and early 1900s, stories of the appalling working practices in São Tomé lead to Cadbury starting to investigate the labor conditions on the plantations from which it purchased over half of its cocoa beans. An infamous libel court case between Cadbury’s and the Evening Standard occurred in 1908, and although Cadbury won it resulted in really bad publicity. Cadbury, along with other chocolate makers, moved their sourcing from “the Chocolate Isles” of São Tomé to new areas such as Ghana. As for today, following the declaration of independence by São Tomé and Príncipe in 1975, the “chocolate islands” have slowly started to re-engage with cocoa growing and are now well-known for their cocoa production. We visited one particular chocolatier – Diogo Vaz – and sampled (and bought) some of their award-winning chocolates. In a word, the chocolate is delicious.
That concluded our time in this port. It was an enjoyable excursion and the chocolate was tasty – what more could we ask for? 🙂