São Tomé and Príncipe

Epic card · No. 13803

São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, 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 81 nautical miles (150 km; 93 mi) apart and about 135 and 121 nautical miles (250 and 224 km; 155 and 139 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 explorers João de Santarém and Pedro Escobar discovered them on 21 December 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 other...

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