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Príncipe (; ) is the smaller, northern major island of the
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
of
São Tomé and Príncipe 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 isla ...
lying off the west coast of Africa in the
Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...
. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Census;Projecção a nível distrital 2012 – 2020
Instituto Nacional de Estatística
the latest official estimate (at May 2018) was 8,420.Instituto Nacional de Estatística. The island is a heavily eroded volcano speculated to be over three million years old, surrounded by smaller islands including Ilheu Bom Bom,
Ilhéu Caroço Ilhéu Caroço, also called Ilhéu Boné de Jóquei, which translates to Jokey Cap Island, is an uninhabited islet in the Gulf of Guinea, part of São Tomé and Príncipe. The islet is located about 2.5 km southeast of the island of Príncipe ...
,
Tinhosa Grande Tinhosa Grande is an uninhabited islet in São Tomé and Príncipe, located southwest of the island of Príncipe and northeast of the island of São Tomé Island, São Tomé in the Atlantic Ocean. Together with the smaller islet Tinhosa Pequena ...
and Tinhosa Pequena. Part of the
Cameroon Line The Cameroon line (, , ) is a long chain of volcanoes that includes islands in the Gulf of Guinea and mountains on the African mainland, from Mount Cameroon on the coast towards Lake Chad on the northeast. They form a natural border between ea ...
archipelago, Príncipe rises in the south to 947 metres at
Pico do Príncipe Pico do Príncipe is a mountain on the island of Príncipe, the smaller of the two inhabited islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. The elevation of the mountain is , making it the highest peak on the island. The island is one of the volcanic swel ...
. The island is the main constituent of the
Autonomous Region of Príncipe The Autonomous Region of Príncipe () is an autonomous administrative division of the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. Established on 29 April 1995, it covers the island of Príncipe and a number of small uninhabited islands around it, with ...
, established in 1995, and of the coterminous
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of Pagué.


History

The island was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese on 17 January 1471 and was first named after Saint Anthony ("Ilha de Santo Antão"). Later the island was renamed Príncipe ("Prince's sland) by King
John II of Portugal John II (; ; 3 May 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for reestablishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigo ...
in honour of his son Afonso, Hereditary Prince of Portugal (1475–1491). The first settlement, the town
Santo António Santo António (Portuguese for Saint Anthony), also known as Santo António do Príncipe, is the main settlement of the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies on the north east coast. It is the capital of the Autonomous Region ...
, was founded in 1502.Santo António
, Heritage of Portuguese Influence
Subsequently, the north and centre of the island were made into
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
s by Portuguese colonists using
slave labor Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
. These concentrated initially on producing
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
and after 1822 on cocoa, becoming the world's greatest cocoa producer. Since independence, these plantations have largely reverted to forest. The island's fortress named Fortaleza de Santo António da Ponta da Mina on a point inside Baía de Santo António (Santo António Bay) was built in 1695. In 1706, the city and the fortress were destroyed by the French. From 1753 until 1852, Santo António was the colonial
capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
of
Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe or Portuguese Central Africa was a colony of the Portuguese Empire from the discovery of the islands in 1470 until 1975, when independence was granted by Portugal. History The Portuguese explorers João de S ...
. Príncipe was the site where
Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
's
theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...
was experimentally corroborated by Arthur Stanley Eddington and his team during the total
solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, May 29, 1919, with a magnitude of 1.0719. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of ...
; photographs of the eclipse revealed evidence of the bending of
starlight Starlight is the light emitted by stars. It typically refers to visible electromagnetic radiation from stars other than the Sun, observable from Earth at night, although a component of starlight is observable from Earth during daytime. Sunlig ...
, in accordance with Einstein's predictions (see Eddington experiment). On April 29, 1995, the
Autonomous Region of Príncipe The Autonomous Region of Príncipe () is an autonomous administrative division of the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. Established on 29 April 1995, it covers the island of Príncipe and a number of small uninhabited islands around it, with ...
was established, corresponding with the existing Pagué District.Cooperação Descentralizada Príncipe – Portugal: Eficiência da Existência de Redes de Cooperação
(2010), Ana Maria Luciano Barreira, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, p. 42-43


Settlements

Príncipe has one town,
Santo António Santo António (Portuguese for Saint Anthony), also known as Santo António do Príncipe, is the main settlement of the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies on the north east coast. It is the capital of the Autonomous Region ...
, and an
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
(
IATA code IATA codes are abbreviations that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) publishes to facilitate air travel. They are typically 1, 2, 3, or 4 character combinations (referred to as unigrams, digrams, trigrams, or tetragrams, respec ...
: PCP,
ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...
: FPPR). Some other smaller settlements are Sundy and Porto Real.


Demographics

Portuguese is the official and main language of the island. Portuguese creoles are also spoken: Principense or Lunguyê and, in some scale, Forro are also spoken. In 1771, Príncipe had a population of 5,850: 111 whites, 165 free mulattoes, 6 mulatto slaves, 900 free blacks, and 4,668 black slaves. In 1875, the year when slavery was officially abolished in the archipelago, Príncipe's population had dropped to only 1,946, of whom 45 were Europeans, 1,521 were free natives, and 380 were freemen. In 2018, Príncipe had a population of 8,420 people.


Nature

In 2006, the Parque Natural Obô do Príncipe was established, covering the mountainous, densely forested and uninhabited southern part of the island of Príncipe. There are numerous endemic species of fauna on Príncipe, including birds such as the Principe scops owl, the Príncipe kingfisher, Príncipe seedeater, Principe starling, Príncipe sunbird, Dohrn's thrush-babbler and the
Príncipe weaver The Príncipe weaver (''Ploceus princeps'') is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to São Tomé and Príncipe, where it is found on the island of Príncipe. It was described by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1851. Its natural h ...
. The
Príncipe white-eye The Príncipe white-eye (''Zosterops ficedulinus'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. The species was described by Gustav Hartlaub in 1866. It is endemic to the islands of Príncipe and São Tomé, where it is restricted to the hi ...
also occurs on
São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álv ...
. Geckos include the Príncipe gecko, frogs include the palm forest tree frog and the Príncipe puddle frog. Marine fauna includes ''
Muricopsis principensis ''Muricopsis principensis'' is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae, the rock snails. This species occurs on the island of Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe, where it is endemic Endemism is ...
'', a mollusc and the West African mud turtle.


Some endemic animals

Príncipe sunbird (Anabathmis hartlaubii) male.jpg, Príncipe sunbird Príncipe golden weaver (Ploceus princeps) male.jpg, Príncipe golden weaver Príncipe speirops (Zosterops leucophaeus).jpg,
Príncipe speirops The Príncipe speirops (''Zosterops leucophaeus'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and ...
Principe glossy starling (Lamprotornis ornatus).jpg, Principe glossy starling Príncipe puddle frog (Phrynobatrachus dispar).jpg, Príncipe puddle frog Oceanic tree frog (Hyperolius drewesi).jpg, Oceanic tree frog


Ecological reserve

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
established the Island of Príncipe Biosphere Reserve in 2012 under the
Man and the Biosphere Programme Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the 'improvement of relationships' between people and their environments. MAB engages w ...
. The reserve encompasses the entire emerged area of the island of Príncipe, and its islets Bom Bom, Boné do Jóquei, Mosteiros, Santana, and Pedra da Galei, and the Tinhosas islands.


Notable people

* Damião Vaz d'Almeida, former Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe * João Paulo Cassandra, former autonomous president of the island * José Cassandra, current president of the island * Sara Pinto Coelho, colonial born Portuguese writer *
Camilo Domingos Camilo Domingos (February 14, 1965 – August 7, 2005) was a Santomean singer. Early life Domingos was born in the settlement of Conceição on the island of Príncipe to a family of three children. Today, the city has a large population of Cap ...
, singer * Manuela Margarido, writer *
Nuno Espírito Santo Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo (born 25 January 1974), known as Nuno Espírito Santo or simply Nuno, is a Portuguese-São Toméan Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Goalkee ...
, association football goalkeeper and manager


Gallery

File:Praia Boi.jpg, ''Praia do Boi'', in Príncipe File:Praia Banana - panoramio.jpg, ''Praia das Bananas'', São Tomé and Príncipe File:Principe Island 3441.jpg,
Carambola Carambola, also known as star fruit, is the fruit of '' Averrhoa carambola'', a species of tree native to tropical Southeast Asia. The edible fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides (usually 5–6). When cut in cross-section, it re ...
in Príncipe File:Principe 3181.jpg, ''Lagoa do Caixão'', Príncipe Island File:Principe 1220.jpg, Beach in Príncipe File:Igreja Nossa Senhora da Conceicao (21130421485).jpg, ''Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição'', in
Santo António Santo António (Portuguese for Saint Anthony), also known as Santo António do Príncipe, is the main settlement of the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies on the north east coast. It is the capital of the Autonomous Region ...
, São Tomé and Príncipe. File:Bom Bom Island Bridge (21050088389).jpg, Bom Bom Islet, Príncipe


References


External links

*
Principe portal


''Financial Times'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Principe Former Portuguese colonies Islands of São Tomé and Príncipe Volcanoes of the Atlantic Ocean Autonomous regions