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São Tomé and Príncipe

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Countries;
Countries

   República Democrática de São Tomé
   e Príncipe
   Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe


     Flag of São Tomé and Príncipe Coat of arms of São Tomé and Príncipe
                  Flag                          Coat of arms

   Motto
   n/a
   Anthem
   Independência total
   Location of São Tomé and Príncipe
   Capital
   (and largest city) São Tomé
   0°20′N, 6°44′E
   Official languages Portuguese
   Government Republic
    -  President Fradique de Menezes
    -  Prime Minister Tomé Vera Cruz
   Independence from Portugal
    -  Date 12 July 1975
   Area
    -  Total 964 km² ( 183rd)
   372  sq mi
    -  Water (%) 0
   Population
    -  2005 estimate 157,000 ( 188th)
    -  Density 171 /km² ( 65th)
   454 /sq mi
   GDP ( PPP) 2006 estimate
    -  Total $0.214 billion ( 218th)
    -  Per capita $1,266 ( 205th)
   HDI (2004) 0.607 (medium) ( 127th)
   Currency Dobra ( STD)
   Time zone UTC ( UTC+0)
   Internet TLD .st
   Calling code +239

   São Tomé and Príncipe (English pronunciation IPA: [saʊ̯ tʰəˈmeɪ̯ ənd
   ˈpʰɹɪnsɪpɪ], Portuguese pronunciation IPA: [sɐ̃ũ tu'mɛ i 'pɾı̃sɨpɨ]),
   officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an
   island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast
   of Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located
   about 140 kilometres apart and about 250 and 225 kilometres
   respectively, off of the northwestern coast of Gabon. Both islands are
   part of an extinct volcanic mountain range. São Tomé, the sizable
   southern island, is situated almost exactly on the equator. It is named
   after Saint Thomas by Portuguese explorers who discovered the island on
   his feast day.

   São Tomé and Príncipe is the second smallest (in terms of population)
   African country (larger only than Seychelles). It is the smallest
   country in the world that is not a former US trusteeship, a former UK
   dependency, or a European microstate. It is also the smallest
   Portuguese-speaking country in the world.

History

   The islands of São Tomé and Príncipe were uninhabited before the
   arrival of the Portuguese sometime between 1469 and 1471. Over these
   three years, Portuguese navigators explored the islands and decided
   that it would be a good location for bases to trade with the mainland.

   The first successful settlement of São Tomé was established in 1493 by
   Álvaro Caminha, who received the land as a grant from the crown.
   Príncipe was settled in 1500 under a similar arrangement. Attracting
   settlers proved difficult, however, and most of the earliest
   inhabitants were "undesirables" sent from Portugal, mostly Jews. In
   time these settlers found the excellent volcanic soil of the region
   suitable for agriculture, especially the growing of sugar.

   The cultivation of sugar was a labour intensive process and the
   Portuguese began to import large numbers of slaves from the mainland.
   By the mid-1500s the Portuguese settlers had turned the islands into
   Africa's foremost exporter of sugar. São Tomé and Príncipe were taken
   over and administered by the Portuguese crown in 1522 and 1573,
   respectively.

   However, superior sugar colonies in the western hemisphere began to
   hurt the islands. The large slave population also proved difficult to
   control with Portugal unable to invest many resources in the effort.
   Sugar cultivation thus declined over the next 100 years, and by the
   mid-1600s, the economy of São Tomé had changed. It was now primarily a
   transit point for ships engaged in the slave trade between the West and
   continental Africa.

   In the early 1800s, two new cash crops, coffee and cocoa, were
   introduced. The rich volcanic soils proved well suited to the new cash
   crop industry, and soon extensive plantations ( roças), owned by
   Portuguese companies or absentee landlords, occupied almost all of the
   good farmland. By 1908, São Tomé had become the world's largest
   producer of cocoa, which still is the country's most important crop.

   The roças system, which gave the plantation managers a high degree of
   authority, led to abuses against the African farm workers. Although
   Portugal officially abolished slavery in 1876, the practice of forced
   paid labor continued. In the early 1900s, an internationally publicized
   controversy arose over charges that Angolan contract workers were being
   subjected to forced labor and unsatisfactory working conditions.
   Sporadic labor unrest and dissatisfaction continued well into the 20th
   century, culminating in an outbreak of riots in 1953 in which several
   hundred African laborers were killed in a clash with their Portuguese
   rulers. This " Batepá Massacre" remains a major event in the colonial
   history of the islands, and its anniversary is officially observed by
   the government.

   By the late 1950s, when other emerging nations across the African
   Continent were demanding independence, a small group of São Toméans had
   formed the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe
   (MLSTP), which eventually established its base in nearby Gabon. Picking
   up momentum in the 1960s, events moved quickly after the overthrow of
   the Caetano dictatorship in Portugal in April 1974. The new Portuguese
   regime was committed to the dissolution of its overseas colonies; in
   November 1974, their representatives met with the MLSTP in Algiers and
   worked out an agreement for the transfer of sovereignty. After a period
   of transitional government, São Tomé and Príncipe achieved independence
   on July 12, 1975, choosing as its first president the MLSTP Secretary
   General Manuel Pinto da Costa.

   In 1990, São Tomé became one of the first African countries to embrace
   democratic reform and changes to the constitution — the legalization of
   opposition political parties — led to elections in 1991 that were
   nonviolent, free, and transparent. Miguel Trovoada, a former prime
   minister who had been in exile since 1986, returned as an independent
   candidate and was elected president. Trovoada was re-elected in São
   Tomé's second multiparty presidential election in 1996. The Party of
   Democratic Convergence (PCD) toppled the MLSTP to take a majority of
   seats in the National Assembly, with the MLSTP becoming an important
   and vocal minority party. Municipal elections followed in late 1992, in
   which the MLSTP came back to win a majority of seats on five of seven
   regional councils. In early legislative elections in October 1994, the
   MLSTP won a plurality of seats in the Assembly. It regained an outright
   majority of seats in the November 1998 elections. The Government of São
   Tomé fully functions under a multiparty system. Presidential elections
   were held in July 2001. The candidate backed by the Independent
   Democratic Action party, Fradique de Menezes, was elected in the first
   round and inaugurated on September 3. Parliamentary elections were held
   in March 2002. For the next four years, a series of short-lived,
   opposition-led governments were formed.

   The army seized power for one week in July 2003, complaining of
   corruption and that forthcoming oil revenues would not be divided
   fairly. An accord was negotiated under which President de Menezes was
   returned to office.

   The cohabitation period ended in March 2006, when a pro-presidential
   coalition won enough seats in National Assembly elections to form and
   head a new government.

   In the 30 July 2006 presidential election, Fradique de Menezes easily
   won a second five-year term in office, defeating two other candidates
   Patrice Trovoada (son of former President Miguel Trovoada) and
   independent Nilo Guimarães. Local elections, the first since 1992, took
   place on 27 August 2006 and were dominated by members of the ruling
   coalition.

Politics

   São Tomé has functioned under a multiparty system since 1990. The
   president of the republic is elected to a 5-year term by direct
   universal suffrage and a secret ballot, and must gain an outright
   majority to be elected. The president may hold up to two consecutive
   terms. The prime minister is named by the president, and the fourteen
   members of cabinet are chosen by the prime minister.

   The National Assembly, the supreme organ of the state and the highest
   legislative body, is made up of 55 members, who are elected for a
   4-year term and meet semiannually.

   Justice is administered at the highest level by the Supreme Court. The
   judiciary is independent under the current constitution.

   São Tomé enjoys a good level of human rights, including freedom of
   expression and the press, and freedom to form opposition political
   parties.

Provinces

   Palace of congress
   Palace of congress

   São Tomé and Príncipe is divided into 2 provinces: Príncipe, São Tomé.

   The provinces are further divided into seven districts, six on São Tomé
   and one on Príncipe.

   Note: Príncipe has had self-government since April 29, 1995

Geography

   Map of São Tomé and Príncipe
   Map of São Tomé and Príncipe

   Satellite image of São Tomé and Príncipe, generated from raster
   graphics data supplied by The Map Library
   Satellite image of São Tomé and Príncipe, generated from raster
   graphics data supplied by The Map Library

   The islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, situated in the equatorial
   Atlantic about 300 and 250 kilometers (200 and 150 miles),
   respectively, off the northwest coast of Gabon, constitute Africa's
   smallest country. Both are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range,
   which also includes the islands of Annobón to the southwest and Bioko
   to the northeast, both part of Equatorial Guinea, and Mount Cameroon on
   the African west coast. São Tomé is 50 kilometers (31 miles) long and
   32 kilometers (20 miles) wide and the more mountainous of the two
   islands. Its peaks reach 2,024 meters (6,640 feet). Príncipe is about
   30 kilometers (19 miles) long and 6 kilometers (4 miles) wide. Swift
   streams radiating down the mountains through lush forest and cropland
   to the sea cross both islands.

   At sea level, the climate is tropical—hot and humid with average yearly
   temperatures of about 27°C (80°F) and little daily variation. At the
   interior's higher altitudes, the average yearly temperature is 20°C
   (68°F), and nights are generally cool. Annual rainfall varies from 5 m
   (200  inches) on the southwestern slopes to 1 m (40 in) in the northern
   lowlands. The rainy season runs from October to May.
     * The island of São Tomé is 32 by 48 kilometers (20 by 30 miles) in
       size and the more mountainous of the two islands. The capital, also
       named São Tomé, lies on this island.
     * The island of Príncipe is 6 by 16 kilometers (4 by 10 miles) in
       size.

   The equator lies immediately south of São Tomé Island, passing through
   or near the islet named Ilhéu das Rolas.

Economy

   Since the 1800s, the economy of São Tomé and Príncipe has been based on
   plantation agriculture. At the time of independence, Portuguese-owned
   plantations occupied 90% of the cultivated area. After independence,
   control of these plantations passed to various state-owned agricultural
   enterprises, which have since been privatized. The dominant crop on São
   Tomé is cocoa, representing about 95% of exports. Other export crops
   include copra, palm kernels, and coffee.

   Domestic food-crop production is inadequate to meet local consumption,
   so the country imports some of its food. Efforts have been made by the
   government in recent years to expand food production, and several
   projects have been undertaken, largely financed by foreign donors.

   Other than agriculture, the main economic activities are fishing and a
   small industrial sector engaged in processing local agricultural
   products and producing a few basic consumer goods. The scenic islands
   have potential for tourism, and the government is attempting to improve
   its rudimentary tourist industry infrastructure. The government sector
   accounts for about 11% of employment.

   Following independence, the country had a centrally directed economy
   with most means of production owned and controlled by the state. The
   original constitution guaranteed a “mixed economy,” with privately
   owned cooperatives combined with publicly owned property and means of
   production. In the 1980s and 1990s, the economy of São Tomé encountered
   major difficulties. Economic growth stagnated, and cocoa exports
   dropped in both value and volume, creating large balance-of-payments
   deficits. Efforts to redistribute plantation land resulted in decreased
   cocoa production. At the same time, the international price of cocoa
   slumped.

   In response to its economic downturn, the government undertook a series
   of far-reaching economic reforms. In 1987, the government implemented
   an International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural adjustment program, and
   invited greater private participation in management of the parastatals,
   as well as in the agricultural, commercial, banking, and tourism
   sectors. The focus of economic reform since the early 1990s has been
   widespread privatization, especially of the state-run agricultural and
   industrial sectors.

   The São Toméan Government has traditionally obtained foreign assistance
   from various donors, including the UN Development Programme, the World
   Bank, the European Union (EU), Portugal, Taiwan, and the African
   Development Bank. In April 2000, in association with the central bank,
   the Banco National São Tomé e Príncipe, the IMF approved a poverty
   reduction and growth facility for São Tomé aimed at reducing inflation
   to 3% for 2001, raising ideal growth to 4%, and reducing the fiscal
   deficit. In late 2000, São Tomé qualified for significant debt
   reduction under the IMF-World Bank’s heavily indebted poor countries
   (HIPC) initiative. The reduction is currently being reevaluated by the
   IMF, due to the attempted coup d’etat in July 2003 and subsequent
   emergency spending. Following the truce, the IMF decided to send a
   mission to São Tomé to evaluate the macroeconomic state of the country.
   This evaluation is ongoing, reportedly pending oil legislation to
   determine how the government will manage incoming oil revenues.

   In 2001, São Tomé and Nigeria reached agreement on joint exploration
   for petroleum in waters claimed by the two countries of the Niger Delta
   geologic province. After a lengthy series of negotiations, in April
   2003 the joint development zone (JDZ) was opened for bids by
   international oil firms. The JDZ was divided into 9 blocks; the winning
   bids for block one, ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, and the Norwegian firm
   Equity Energy, were announced in April 2004, with São Tomé to take in
   40% of the $123 million bid, and Nigeria the other 60%. Bids on other
   blocks were still under consideration in October 2004. São Tomé stands
   to gain significant revenue both from the bidding process and from
   follow-on production, should reserves in the area match expectations.

   Portugal remains one of São Tomé's major trading partners, particularly
   as a source of imports. Food, manufactured articles, machinery, and
   transportation equipment are imported primarily from the EU.

Demographics

   Of São Tomé and Príncipe's total population, about 137,500 live on São
   Tomé and 6,000 on Príncipe. All are descended from various ethnic
   groups that have migrated to the islands since 1485. Six groups are
   identifiable:
     * Mestiços, or mixed-blood, descendants of Portuguese colonists and
       African slaves brought to the islands during the early years of
       settlement from Benin, Gabon, and Congo (these people also are
       known as filhos da terra or "sons of the land");
     * Angolares, reputedly descendants of Angolan slaves who survived a
       1540 shipwreck and now earn their livelihood fishing;
     * Forros, descendants of freed slaves when slavery was abolished;
     * Serviçais, contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape
       Verde, living temporarily on the islands;
     * Tongas, children of serviçais born on the islands; and
     * Europeans, primarily Portuguese.

   In the 1970s, there were two significant population movements—the
   exodus of most of the 4,000 Portuguese residents and the influx of
   several hundred São Toméan refugees from Angola. The islanders have
   been absorbed largely into a common Luso-African culture. Almost all
   belong to the Roman Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, or Seventh-day
   Adventist Churches, with a small but growing Muslim population.

   Although a small country, São Tomé and Príncipe has four national
   languages: Portuguese (the official language, spoken by 95% of the
   population), and the Portuguese-based creoles Forro (85%), Angolar (3%)
   and Principense (0.1%).

Culture

   The equator marked as it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, in São Tomé and
   Príncipe.
   The equator marked as it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, in São Tomé and
   Príncipe.

     * Music of São Tomé and Príncipe
     * List of writers from São Tomé and Príncipe

   Culturally, the people are African but have been highly influenced by
   the Portuguese rulers of the islands.

   São Toméans are known for ússua and socopé rhythms, while Principe is
   home to the dêxa beat. Portuguese ballroom dancing may have played an
   integral part in the development of these rhythms and their associated
   dances.

   Tchiloli is a musical dance performance that tells a dramatic story.
   The danço-congo is similarly a combination of music, dance and theatre.
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