The islands were first settled by Portuguese navigators in the late-15th century, and were formally annexed to the Portuguese crown 100 years later. They became a major transhipment center for the slave trade until 1875 when slavery was abolished. Then a system of contract labor was introduced, which brought in people from other African countries to work on the plantations. There was, however, little improvement in the conditions of the black population and there were a number of rebellions against the Portuguese colonists over the years. It was not until 1975, following the fall of President Salazar
in Portugal, that the nationalist movement, the
Movimento de Libertação de São Tomé e Príncipe (MLSTP), finally forced the Portuguese government to grant it independence.
São Tomé e Príncipe maintains close links with other former Portuguese colonies and with Gabon, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea on the neighboring mainland. Until 1984 it was also unquestionably a Soviet satellite. However, later that year, President da Costa declared São Tomé e Príncipe to be non-aligned. Da Costa was subsequently involved in mediating the talks that brought the long-running civil war in Angola to a close. In 1997, largely for financial reasons, the Government reversed one of its traditional foreign policy positions by establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan at the expense of those with the People’s Republic of China.
At home, a new constitution was introduced in March 1990 allowing for the formation of opposition parties and the conducting of multi-party elections. The crucial election that followed in 1991 was dominated by the struggle between the former ruling party, the MLSTP and the main opposition party, the
Partido de Convergência Democratica – Grupo de Reflexão (PCD). On that occasion the PCD narrowly won control of both the presidency and the national assembly. The most recent presidential election in July 2001 brought a comfortable victory for independent candidate Fradique de Menzes while the national assembly, returned a coalition of the MLSTP and PCD, under the leadership of the MLSTP’s Maria das Neves Ceita Basptista.
Democratic politics have survived in São Tomé somewhat against the odds. There has been a steady stream of coup attempts, most recently during 2003 when rebels took control of the country for several days. The political and economic stakes have been much increased by the recent discovery of substantial oilfields in Sao Tome’s territorial waters. Commercial drilling began in 2005 and the government has already benifitted from the considerable windfall. Menezes has promised to work at clearing the country's debts and then plans to invest in modernising the country's public services.
GovernmentUnder the constitution introduced in 1990, legislative power is vested in the National Assembly, elected by popular vote for a period of four years. The head of state is the President of the Republic, who governs with the assistance of a Council of Ministers, led by the prime minister. The president, whose tenure is limited to two successive terms, is elected for a period of five years. In 1994 the National Assembly granted political and administrative autonomy to Príncipe : the island’s seven-member regional assembly and five-member regional government remain accountable to the government of São Tomé.
EconomyThe economy is based on the export of agricultural products: cocoa, palm oil, bananas, coffee and coconuts. This concentration on cash crops, especially cocoa (most of which is exported) means that the country has to import most of its food. It also means the country’s economy is overly dependent on favorable weather conditions and world commodity prices: by and large these have not been kind to São Tomé e Príncipe’s economy in recent years.
After the failure to develop an indigenous fishing industry in the 1980s, fishing rights were sold under license to foreign fleets. Manufacturing industry is confined to a few food-processing plants and factories producing consumer goods for local consumption.
A free trade zone has now been established on Príncipe island in an effort to boost the export economy. Since the late 1990s, economic policy has concentrated on promotion of the private sector and the removal of trade barriers. This has been carried out under the auspices of an IMF Structural Adjustment Program.
The country has also benefited from the IMF’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Program, which has eliminated a large slice of the foreign debt; nonetheless, the government still considers elimination of its debt a high priority. It will be able to do this once revenues begin to flow from the oil and gas fields recently discovered (and as yet unexploited) in São Tomé’s territorial waters. Exploration bids submitted in 2003 have already resulted in a windfall for the government amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
With its economy due for a radical transformation, the government is planning to construct a deepwater port and has suggested to the USA that it might consider establishing a naval base (not least to protect the oilfields). The government also hopes to promote the currently minute tourism industry. Economic performance in recent years has been improving and is expected to get even better as revenue from oil starts to come in.
São Tomé e Príncipe is a member of the African Development Bank and the CEEAC trade bloc.
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