São Tomé

São Tomé
City
Baía Ana Chaves, São Tomé

Flag
Coat of arms
São Tomé
Location on São Tomé Island
São Tomé
São Tomé (Africa)
Coordinates: 0°20′10″N 6°43′50″E / 0.33611°N 6.73056°E / 0.33611; 6.73056Coordinates: 0°20′10″N 6°43′50″E / 0.33611°N 6.73056°E / 0.33611; 6.73056
Country São Tomé and Príncipe
Province São Tomé Province
District Água Grande
Founded 1485
Area
 • Total 17 km2 (7 sq mi)
Elevation 137 m (449 ft)
Population (2018 census)
 • Total 71,868
 • Density 4,200/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (WAT)
Area code(s) +239-11x-xxxx through 14x-xxxx

São Tomé is the capital and largest city of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for "Saint Thomas". It had a population of 71,868 at the 2018 census, accounting for over a third of the total population of the country (208,000).[1]

History

Álvaro Caminha founded the colony of São Tomé in 1493. The Portuguese came to São Tomé in search of land to grow sugar. The island was uninhabited before the arrival of the Portuguese sometime around 1470. São Tomé, situated right on the equator, had a climate wet enough to grow sugar in wild abundance. The nearby African Kingdom of Kongo eventually became a source of slave labourers to work the sugar plantations. São Tomé is centred on a sixteenth-century cathedral. Another early building is Fort São Sebastião, built in 1575 and now the São Tomé National Museum. On July 9, 1595, Rei Amador and most of the slaves took part in the Revolta Angolar, marching into the capital; they were subjugated the following year.[2] Not long after, in 1599, the Dutch took the city as well as the islands for two days; they re-occupied it in 1641 for a year. The city served as the capital of the Portuguese colony of São Tomé and Príncipe and, from São Tomé and Príncipe's independence in 1975, as capital of the sovereign nation.

Geography and location

Important as a port, São Tomé is located on Ana Chaves Bay in the northeast of São Tomé Island, and Ilhéu das Cabras lies nearby offshore. São Tomé is located northeast of Trindade, southeast of Guadalupe and northwest of Santana. It is linked to these towns by various roadways, but especially by the highway encircling the entire island of São Tomé. It is linked to Cape Verde by a weekly ferry.

Features of the town include the Presidential Palace, the cathedral, and a cinema. The city is also home to schools, middle schools, high schools, one polytechnic, two markets, three radio stations, the public television station TVSP, several clinics and hospitals, the country's main airport - São Tomé International Airport (with direct regular scheduled flights to Angola, Gabon, Ghana and Portugal as well as occasional domestic flights to Príncipe), and many squares (praças). São Tomé also serves as the centre of the island's road and bus networks. The town is well known for the tchiloli playing.

Population history

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1990
(June 23, Census) 		42,331—    
2000
(June 16, Census) 		49,957+18.0%
2003
(Estimate) 		53,300+6.7%
2018
(July 1, Estimate) 		71,868+34.8%

Transport

São Tomé is served by São Tomé International Airport (IATA: TMS, ICAO: FPST) with regular flights to Europe and other African Countries.

Climate

São Tomé features a tropical wet and dry climate (As) with a relatively lengthy wet season and a short dry season. The wet season runs from October through May while the dry season covers the remaining four months. São Tomé sees on average just under 1,000 mm (39 in) of precipitation per year. Temperatures in the city are relatively constant, with average high temperatures usually around 30 °C (86 °F) and average low temperatures around 22 °C (72 °F).

Climate data for São Tomé (São Tomé International Airport)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.0
(89.6)		 33.6
(92.5)		 33.5
(92.3)		 33.4
(92.1)		 33.9
(93)		 31.0
(87.8)		 30.7
(87.3)		 31.0
(87.8)		 31.7
(89.1)		 31.5
(88.7)		 31.6
(88.9)		 32.0
(89.6)		 33.9
(93)
Average high °C (°F) 29.4
(84.9)		 29.9
(85.8)		 30.2
(86.4)		 30.1
(86.2)		 29.3
(84.7)		 28.0
(82.4)		 27.3
(81.1)		 27.7
(81.9)		 28.6
(83.5)		 28.7
(83.7)		 29.0
(84.2)		 29.1
(84.4)		 28.9
(84)
Daily mean °C (°F) 25.9
(78.6)		 26.2
(79.2)		 26.4
(79.5)		 26.4
(79.5)		 26.0
(78.8)		 24.7
(76.5)		 23.8
(74.8)		 24.1
(75.4)		 25.0
(77)		 25.2
(77.4)		 25.5
(77.9)		 25.6
(78.1)		 25.4
(77.7)
Average low °C (°F) 22.4
(72.3)		 22.5
(72.5)		 22.6
(72.7)		 22.6
(72.7)		 22.6
(72.7)		 21.4
(70.5)		 20.4
(68.7)		 20.5
(68.9)		 21.3
(70.3)		 21.8
(71.2)		 22.0
(71.6)		 22.1
(71.8)		 21.8
(71.2)
Record low °C (°F) 19.1
(66.4)		 19.6
(67.3)		 19.2
(66.6)		 19.4
(66.9)		 18.5
(65.3)		 14.0
(57.2)		 14.0
(57.2)		 13.4
(56.1)		 16.0
(60.8)		 18.3
(64.9)		 18.8
(65.8)		 19.6
(67.3)		 13.4
(56.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 81
(3.19)		 84
(3.31)		 131
(5.16)		 122
(4.8)		 113
(4.45)		 19
(0.75)		 0
(0)		 1
(0.04)		 17
(0.67)		 110
(4.33)		 99
(3.9)		 108
(4.25)		 884
(34.8)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 8 8 12 11 10 3 2 3 6 12 11 8 94
Average relative humidity (%) 85 84 83 83 84 79 77 78 79 82 85 85 82
Mean monthly sunshine hours 142.6 135.6 139.5 126.0 145.7 165.0 161.2 148.8 120.0 114.7 135.0 142.6 1,676.7
Mean daily sunshine hours 4.6 4.8 4.5 4.2 4.7 5.5 5.2 4.8 4.0 3.7 4.5 4.6 4.6
Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst[3]

Education

The following Portuguese international schools are in the city:[4]

  • Escola Portuguesa de S. Tomé
  • Instituto Diocesano de Formação João Paulo II
  • Escola Bambino
  • Escola Internacional de S. Tomé e Príncipe

It has one of the few libraries in the country and the most used, the National Library of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Health

The city has a hospital named Centro hospitalar de São Tomé (Central Hospital), also known as Dr. Ayres Menezes Hospital.

Points of interest

Sports

Sports clubs, notably football (soccer) based in the city include Sporting Praia Cruz, another one is Vitória FC based in the neighborhood of Riboque. All clubs play at Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho.

Notable people

  • José Vianna da Motta (1868–1948) a distinguished Portuguese pianist, teacher and composer
  • Alfredo Azancot (1872-??) a Portuguese architect who emigrated to Chile
  • José de Almada Negreiros (1893–1970) a Portuguese artist, created literature and painting, and developed ballet choreographies
  • Francisco José Tenreiro (1921-1963) a São Toméan geographer, poet and highly regarded writer of the colonial era
  • Alda Neves da Graça do Espírito Santo (1926–2010) a poet working in Portuguese, she also served in the Santomean government after independence
  • Guadalupe de Ceita (born 1929) a Santomean writer and a doctor and national hero
  • Miguel Trovoada (born 1936) was Prime Minister 1975–1979 and President 1991–2001 of São Tomé and Príncipe
  • Fradique de Menezes (born 1942) the President of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2003 to 2011
  • Olinda Beja (born 1946) a São Tomé and Príncipe poet, writer and narrator, emigrated to Portugal and moved to Viseu
  • Tomé Vera Cruz (born 1955?) Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe from April 2006 to February 2008
  • Conceição Lima (born 1961) a Santomean poet from the town of Santana
  • Patrice Trovoada (born 1962) a São Toméan politician, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe 2008 to June 2008, 2010 to December 2012 and since November 2014
  • Aurélio Martins (born 1966) a São Toméan journalist, businessman and politician

Sports

Twin towns and Sister cities

São Tomé is twinned with:

References

  1. ↑ Sao Tome
  2. ↑ Lemos, Carlos Neves. Esboço Histórico das Ilhas de S.Tomé e Príncipe. 1975
  3. ↑ "Klimatafel von Sao Tomé (Flugh.) / Sao Tomé und Principe" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  4. ↑ "ESCOLAS COM CURRÍCULO PORTUGUÊS EM S. TOMÉ" (Archive). Direção de Serviços de Ensino e Escolas Portuguesas no Estrangeiro (DSEEPE) of the Portuguese Education Ministry. Retrieved on October 26, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Lisboa - Geminações de Cidades e Vilas" [Lisbon - Twinning of Cities and Towns]. Associação Nacional de Municípios Portugueses [National Association of Portuguese Municipalities] (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2013-08-23.
  6. ↑ "Acordos de Geminação, de Cooperação e/ou Amizade da Cidade de Lisboa" [Lisbon - Twinning Agreements, Cooperation and Friendship]. Camara Municipal de Lisboa (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2013-08-23.
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