São Tomé and Príncipe
12 July 1975
- Sovereignty from
- Portugal
- Marked as
- Independence Day
- Years sovereign
- 51
The struggle
The islands were Portugal's first plantation colony, built on enslaved labour and later on contract workers from Angola and Cape Verde who were slaves in all but name. The 1953 Batepá massacre, in which hundreds of Forros were killed for resisting forced labour, created the modern nationalist movement. Independence came on 12 July 1975 after the Carnation Revolution.
Key people
Manuel Pinto da Costa
born 1937
Led the MLSTP; first president
Alda Espírito Santo
1926–2010
Poet and nationalist organiser
Rei Amador
died 1596
Led the great slave revolt of 1595
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