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.[1]
São Tomé
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City
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(from top: left to right) Downtown São Tomé, Port of Sao Tome, Ana Chaves Bay and Bank International of Sao Tome.
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Flag | |
  São Tomé Location on São Tomé Island Show map of São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé São Tomé (Africa) Show map of Africa | |
| Coordinates: 0°20′10″N 6°43′50″E / 0.33611°N 6.73056°E / 0.33611; 6.73056 | |
| Country |  São Tomé and Príncipe |
| Island | São Tomé |
| District | Água Grande |
| Founded | 1485 |
| Named for | Thomas the Apostle |
| Area | |
| • Total | 17 km2 (7 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 137 m (449 ft) |
| Population
(2015 estimate)
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| • Total | 71,868 |
| • Density | 4,200/km2 (11,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| Area code | +239-11x-xxxx through 14x-xxxx |
Álvaro Caminha founded the colony of São Tomé in 1493. The Portuguese came to São Tomé in search of land to grow sugarcane. The island was uninhabited before the arrival of the Portuguese sometime around 1470. São Tomé, situated about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the equator, had a climate wet enough to grow sugarcane in wild abundance. In 1497, 2,000 Jewish children, eight years old and under, were taken from the Iberian peninsula, to receive catholic education, following the national policy of conversion to Catholicism.[2] The nearby African Kingdom of Kongo eventually became a source of slave labor as well. The island of São Tomé was the main center of sugar production in the sixteenth century; it was overtaken by Brazil by 1600.[3]
São Tomé is centred on a sixteenth-century cathedral, that was largely rebuilt in the 19th century. Another early building is Fort São Sebastião, built in 1566 and now the São Tomé National Museum. On July 9, 1595, a slave revolt led by Rei Amador took control of the capital; they were subjugated in 1596.[4] 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.[5]
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 a highway which encircles the entire island of São Tomé. It is linked to Cape Verde by a weekly ferry.[6]
Features of the town include the Presidential Palace, the cathedral, and a cinema. The city is also home to schools, and 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.[7]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 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% |
São Tomé is served by São Tomé International Airport with regular flights to Europe and other African countries.
São Tomé features a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen As), although it is not far above a semi-arid climate (BSh) due to the influence of the cold Benguela Current, which makes even the wettest months drier than would be expected for such a low latitude but at the same time makes the city very cloudy and foggy even during the almost rainless dry season mid-year. The city has a relatively lengthy wet season from October through May and a short dry season. São Tomé sees on average just under 900 mm (35 in) of rainfall 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 (71.6 °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 (93.0) |
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 (93.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °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 (84.0) |
| 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 (77.0) |
25.2 (77.4) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.6 (78.1) |
25.4 (77.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °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 rainfall mm (inches) | 81 (3.2) |
84 (3.3) |
131 (5.2) |
122 (4.8) |
113 (4.4) |
19 (0.7) |
0 (0) |
1 (0.0) |
17 (0.7) |
110 (4.3) |
99 (3.9) |
108 (4.3) |
885 (34.8) |
| Average rainy 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[8] | |||||||||||||
The following Portuguese international schools are in the city:[9]
The main hospital of the country is Hospital Ayres de Menezes.
Sports clubs based in the city include Sporting Praia Cruz and Vitória FC based in the neighborhood of Riboque. All clubs play at Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho.
Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Christian churches and temples : Roman Catholic Diocese of São Tomé and Príncipe (Catholic Church), Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, Assemblies of God.[10]
São Tomé is twinned with:
