There are 186,817 people residing in
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 ...
according to a 2013 estimate published in the
CIA World Factbook
''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print ve ...
. Of these,
Cape Verdeans
Cape Verdeans, also called Cabo Verdeans (), are a people native to Cape Verde, an island nation in West Africa consisting of an archipelago in the central Atlantic Ocean. Cape Verde is a multi-ethnic society, which means that it is home t ...
and their descendants make up about 3,000 people. They account for more than half of the 6,000 strong population of the island of
Príncipe
Príncipe (; ) is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Cens ...
, which in turn accounts for only about 5% of the total population. Most of the Cape Verdeans in the island nation live in poverty.
A Semana. "Cape Verde to assist Diaspora in São Tomé." Retrieved October 18, 2007
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Migration history
São Tomé was discovered in the 1470s by Portuguese explorers and subsequently became a slave port. When slavery was abolished in 1875, contract labor from Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
, Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
, Cape Verde and other parts of the Portuguese empire
The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
were recruited. These laborers were called "serviçais". Thus, most Cape Verdean nationals were taken to 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 ...
as serviçais. The children of these contract laborers who were born on the island nation are called "tongas". On the island of Príncipe
Príncipe (; ) is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Cens ...
, serviçais and tongas have settled permanently on government-allotted land. After independence in 1975, most of the Cape Verdeans returned to Cape Verde
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
. The song Sodade
"''Sodade''" is a Cape Verdean song written in the 1950s by Armando Zeferino Soares, and best popularized by Cesária Évora on her 1992 album '' Miss Perfumado''. The name is the Cape Verdean Creole variant of the Portuguese term ''saudade''.
T ...
refers to these people.
Notable people
* Fernando "Cobo" Pereira, of Cape Verdean and Angolan descent, who led a coup in the country.
References
Further reading
* Miguel Sousa Tavares, "Equador", historical fiction about the situation of the serviçais in the first decades of the 20th century (Lisboa: Oficina do Livro, 2003). In Portuguese.
External links
Cape Verdian People in Sao Tome and Principe
Directel's Sao Tome Telephone Directory
New nations of Africa - Sao Tome e Principe, Botswana, Zimbabwe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cape Verdean people in Sao Tome and Principe
Ethnic groups in São Tomé and Príncipe
Sao Tome and Principe
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...