12 July 1975 – São Tomé and Príncipe Gain Independence From Portugal

Reportedly uninhabited when Portuguese traders first visited the island of São Tomé in 1472, it soon became a center for sugar plantations and the growing slave trade. In 1522 it came under direct control of the Portugal. Changing world markets lead to the introduction of cocoa in 1822, for which it became a world leader. As with France, Portugal converted its colonies into overseas provinces in the early 1950s, maintaining a strong hold on its governance. Liberation movements emerged at the end of the 1950s, but were harshly dealt with. In 1964 the Organization of African Unity, OAU, recognized the Liberation Movement of São Tomé and Príncipe, which transformed into the Movimento de Libertação de São Tomé e Príncipe (MLSTP, Liberation Movement of São Tomé and Príncipe) after the military coup in Portugal in 1974. Negotiations for independence commenced and on 12 July 1975 Manuel Pinto da Costa became the first president of the newly independent Democratic Republic of Sâo Tomé and Príncipe.

Find out more about the history of São Tomé and Príncipe:
• São Tomé and the Slave Trade

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