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The São Tomé and Príncipe Portal
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, about 150 km (93.21 mi) apart and about 250 and 225 km (155 and 140 mi) off the northwestern coast of Gabon. With a population of 201,800 (2018 official estimate), São Tomé and Príncipe is the second-smallest and second-least populous African sovereign state after Seychelles.
The islands were uninhabited until Portuguese explorersJoão de Santarém and Pedro Escobar became the first Europeans to discover them in 1470. Gradually colonized and settled throughout the 16th century, they collectively served as a vital commercial and trade centre for the Atlantic slave trade. The rich volcanic soil and proximity to the equator made São Tomé and Príncipe ideal for sugar cultivation, followed later by cash crops such as coffee and cocoa. The lucrative plantation economy was heavily dependent upon enslaved Africans. Cycles of social unrest and economic instability throughout the 19th and 20th centuries culminated in peaceful independence in 1975. São Tomé and Príncipe has since remained one of Africa's most stable and democratic countries. São Tomé and Príncipe is a developing economy with a medium Human Development Index.
São Sebastião Museum is a museum, housed in a 16th-century fortress in the city of São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies in the northeastern part of the city centre, at the southeastern end of Ana Chaves Bay. It contains religious art and colonial-era artifacts. The fortress was built in 1566 by the Portuguese in order to protect the port and city of São Tomé against pirate attacks. A lighthouse was established in the fortress in 1866; it was rebuilt in 1928. The fortress was restored at the end of the 1950s. (Full article...)
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São Tomé and Príncipe competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. The country's participation in Rio marked its debut appearance in the quadrennial event, although it had competed in the Summer Olympics six times since the 1996 Games. The delegation consisted of a single short-distance runner Alex Anjos, who was chosen as São Tomé and Príncipe's flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Anjos was disqualified from the men's 100 metres (T47) for arriving late and failed to advance into the final of the men's 400 metres (T47) after failing to set a fast enough lap time. (Full article...)
Image 2Map of the Gulf of Guinea, showing São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón. These islands, together with the island of Bioko and Mount Cameroon on the African mainland, are part of the Cameroon line of volcanoes.
Image 3The island of São Tomé off the west coast of Africa
Image 7Waterfalls near Ponta Figo, São Tomé and Príncipe
Image 8Hiking in the equatorial forest on the island of São Tomé
Image 9Island of Príncipe (Sao Tome and Principe), 1727. The inscription says: "The ISLAND of PRINCESS lies between the Islands of FERNANDO PO & St. THOMÉ in the Latitude of 1 Degree 30 Minutes N. all belonging to the Portuguese. This Island is very Woody and breeds abundance of Monkeys, insomuch that it is not safe to walk in the Woods without a gun. The harbour is very convenient to Careen Ships in, and most Ships Bound from Africa to America with Slaves put in here for Food, Water etc."