Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe

São Tomé is the capital and the larger of two islands of this Central African country (Sao Tome and Principe). It is only 25 miles north of equator … very hot. The country, founded in 1493 by Portuguese to grow sugarcane, received its Independence in 1975. The island is known for cocoa production and 135 species of birds.

As there are many slave stories in Africa, all very sad, here there is maybe a unique one that is unknown. In 1496,King Manuel I of Portugal punished Portuguese Jews who refused to pay a head tax by deporting almost 2,000 Jewish children (ages 2-10) to São Tomé and Príncipe for work on the sugar plantations. A year after being deported to the islands, only 600 children remained alive. Most of them died, the rest mixed with the nearby African Kingdom of Kongo that eventually became a source of slave labor. Until the early 1600s, descendants of the deported Jewish children retained some Jewish practices but by the 18th century, the Jewish heritage on the islands had largely dissipated. On July 12, 1995, an international conference was held on the islands' twentieth independence day to commemorate the Portuguese-Jewish children who were deported to the islands in the 15th century.[1]

http://libiastaire.weebly.com/uploads/4/1/4/6/4…

São Tomé" tells the story of young Marcel Saulo abducted with other children from their synagogue in Lisbon and shipped 4,000 miles to the West-African island.

https://www.amazon.com/São-Journey-Abyss-Portug…

We walked around this old but colorful town and saw many school children. We visited the main plaza, Praça da Independancia and a local supermarket (although they sold everything you can image from food, to tools, to linens, to housewares, to toys…). The island has a small production of cocoa and many were told that they make world renowned chocolate. We did not get a chance to try it since the chocolate factory in town was closed when we were in port. For reference: Claudio Corallo Cocoa, Coffee and Chocolate.

https://www.claudiocorallo.com/index.php?option…Read more