African Food and Art

Thank you to our latest donor, Tony. Thank you, Tony. We were able to purchase three new stainless steel pots to continue our cooking and teaching heritage.

Sao Tome and Principe history the second smallest African country

Mountainous with a coastline of just 0.13 miles, 686.36 feet, or 209 meters, Sao Tome and Principe is the second smallest country in Africa.


Sao Tome and Principe is a fascinating country in Africa that stands out for its small size and unique geography. With its mountainous terrain and a coastline spanning just 209 meters, it is considered the second smallest country on the African continent. 

Sao Tome island was named after Saint Thomas the Apostle by the Portuguese who discovered the island on December 21, 1470, the saint's feast day; Principe island name is an abridging of the original Portuguese name of Ilha do Principe, Isle of the Prince referring to the Prince of Portugal to whom duties on the island's sugar crop were paid.

Playing soccer on the island of Sao Tome Central Africa

Sao Tome and Principe's history as the second-smallest African country.

Sao Tome and Principe is a small country located in Central Africa, with islands situated in the Gulf of Guinea. It is just north of the Equator and west of Gabon. Despite its size, Sao Tome and Principe have a unique geography. The two main islands are part of a chain of extinct volcanoes, and both are mountainous. The capital city, Sao Tome, has approximately a quarter of the nation's population, while Santo Antonio is the largest town in Principe. The northern areas of both islands have the highest population densities.

The population of Sao Tome and Principe is predominantly young, with over 60 percent of the people under the age of 25. The descendants of the island's colonial Portuguese settlers, who arrived in the late 15th century, form a significant part of the population. Additionally, a large number of African slaves were brought to the islands for sugar production and the slave trade. After the abolition of slavery in 1876, unskilled contract laborers from Portugal's other African colonies were also brought to work on coffee and cocoa plantations.

The history of Sao Tome and Principe includes a dark period of labor exploitation. Even after the abolition of slavery, the plantations continued to mistreat workers, leading to a riot in 1953 known as the Batepa Massacre. It wasn't until the Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974 that the process of decolonization began. Sao Tome and Principe gained independence on July 12, 1975, following negotiations with the Portuguese authorities.

In 2003, Sao Tome and Principe experienced a coup attempt led by Major Fernando Pereira. The coup leaders claimed they acted to combat poverty in the region. Negotiations between the government and the coup leaders took place, resulting in a settlement that required the president to respect the nation's separation of powers. International mediators, including Nigeria, Portugal, Angola, Gabon, the United States, and the United Nations, were involved in the negotiations.

Present-day Sao Tome and Principe have a diverse population consisting of various ethnic groups. These include mesticos, who are creole descendants of the European immigrants and African slaves; forros, who are descendants of freed African slaves; angolares, who are descendants of runaway African slaves and are primarily fishermen; and servicais, who are contract laborers from Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde. There are also tongas, who are locally born children of contract laborers, as well as smaller populations of Europeans and Asians.

Did you know?

The languages of Sao Tome and Principe are Portuguese 98.4 percent (official), Forro 36.2 percent, Cabo Verdean 8.5 percent, French 6.8 percent, Angolar 6.6 percent, English 4.9 percent, Lunguie 1 percent, and other 2.4 percent. Here are the twenty smallest countries in Africa. The twenty smallest African countries in size are Tunisia, Malawi, Eritrea, Benin, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Equatorial Guinea, Burundi, Rwanda, Djibouti, Eswatini, The Gambia, Capo Verde, Comoros, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe and Seychelles.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for the comment.

Week’s Best African Culture Posts

What is the difference between ugali and fufu

Image
How to make the popular African recipes Ugali and Fufu and what is the difference.  Ugali is a starch dish in Kenya and Tanzania made of fine cornmeal cooked in boiling water into a soft dough. Fufu is a thick, dough-like West African food made by boiling then pounding a starchy vegetable such as yam, plantain, or cassava or a mixture of starchy vegetables. The main difference between fufu and ugali is fufu is boiled first then pounded while ugali is simply boiled. Ugali recipe. Easy Ugali Recipe Prep time 5 minutes Cook time 30 minutes Total time 30 minutes Ingredients 4 cups finely ground cornmeal 8 cups water Directions Heat water to boiling in a saucepan. Slowly pour cornmeal into boiling water stirring continuously. Add more cornmeal if necessary until it is thick as soft bread dough. Serve immediately with vegetables, stew, or any dish you would use a spoon with to soak up the sauce, ugali is purposely bland tasting on its own. What is the difference between ugali and
Learn More About Africa

Top 20 Largest Countries in Africa

Image
African Country by Size List. Africa Which are the top twenty largest, smallest, and territorial country in Africa by land area? 1. The continent of Africa is the world’s second largest based on land area and population just after Asia. 2. Top five largest countries of Africa are Algeria, Congo Democratic Republic of the, Sudan, Libya and Chad. 3. Top five smallest African countries and territories are Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Saint Helena and Mayotte. African Country from largest to smallest Area sq mile Area sq km Algeria 919,595 2,381,740 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) 905,568 2,345,410 Sudan 718,723 1,861,484 Libya 679,362 1,759,540 Chad 495,755 1,284,000 Niger 489,191 1,267,000 Angola 481,354 1,246,700 Mali 478,767 1,240,000 South Africa 471,011 1,219,912 Ethiopia 435,186 1,127,127 Mauritania 397,95
Learn More About Africa

Ethiopian Midwest American Hotdish

Image
Our Ethiopian hot dish combines Ethiopian cooking with classic Minnesota Midwest casserole meal. The hot dish’s origins are a product of settlers traditions in Midwest America dating back to the early 20th century. A hot-dish or casserole is a one-pan meal that traditionally includes a combination of starch like potatoes, pasta, or rice, ground meat, vegetables, and a creamy canned soup base, all topped with crunchy goodness like breadcrumbs or tater tots. The concept of hot dish became popular in the Upper Midwest, particularly in states like Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin, in the 1930s and 1940s. This period was marked by economic challenges, including the Great Depression. The need for economical and filling meals led to the creation of dishes that could be stretched to feed many people using simple, affordable ingredients . Hot dishes became synonymous with potlucks, church suppers, and social gatherings. These events were central to rural and small-town communities, where
Learn More About Africa

Neck elongation rings how to put on and take off

Image
Neck elongation rings how to put on and take off. Idzila are Ndebele wives traditionally wear rings around the neck as a status symbol and wear rings around the arms, legs, and neck. Wearing Neck Rings. For centuries, married South African Ndebele tribes’ women saw wearing heavy rings around their neck as an honored status symbol. Neck rings are any form of stiff necklaces worn around the neck of an individual. The neck rings are usually made of copper or brass. During initiation, girls wear an array of colorfully beaded hoops called izigolwan around their legs, arms, waist, and neck. After marriage, the Ndebele wife would wear copper and brass rings around her arms, legs, and neck, symbolizing her bond and faithfulness to her husband, once her home was built. Idzila rings were believed to have strong ritual powers. Husbands used to provide their wives with rings; the richer the husband, the more rings the wife would wear. These outward symbols can be removed only in ca
Learn More About Africa