S9Z – Sao Tome

The S9Z team will be conducting the event at IOTA AF – 023, Sao Tome Island, Sao Tome and Principe from November 11 to 20, 2024.
Team – N4XP, 5B4AQN, CT1BOL, CT1EEB, HI8RD, I8NHJ, KH7U, KJ7KOJ, K0IR, K3VN, N2WB, N6MZ, WB4JTT, W7YED.
Nearest DX Point S9Z
S9Z Log Searchsearch They will operate on 160 – 6m, CW, SSB, digital modes and EME at 432 mHz.
More information will be provided later.

Sao Tome and Principe

The double name of the island nation of Sao Tome and Principe suggests a dual composition, and this is almost true! In fact, this smallest country in Africa consists of two more or less larger main islands – Sao Tome and Principe, and six additional smaller islands.

The capital of this small country, the city of São Tomé, is located on the same island.

The distance between the two main islands is not small – 160 km! The coasts of all the islands are located almost on the equator (or more precisely – the equatorial Atlantic Ocean), washed by the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Guinea. To put it in numbers, the distance between Sao Tome and Principe and the northwestern coast of Gabon is 300 km and 250 km, respectively.

The total area of ​​all the islands is exactly 1,001 square kilometers, of which the majority is São Tomé Island (48 km long and 32 km wide), which covers more than 859 square kilometers. Of the 273 countries on Earth, São Tomé and Principe (6 km long and 16 km wide) ranks 197th in terms of land area.

Sao Tome Island, Sao Tome and Principe. Author – Susanne Jaros.

Geographical features of small African countries

The state’s coast, while very beautiful, is not the most habitable. The perimeter of almost all of the islands (i.e., 2 large ones and 6 smaller ones) resembles an obstacle course for the mythical Hercules. How could it not be if the coastline is cut like a giant knife by canyons and gullies, cutting through dangerous rocks and steep cliffs!

The archipelago’s impenetrability stems from its origins: the entire surface of São Tomé and Príncipe is made up of the craters and cones of extinct volcanoes, and the lava they spewed out, now solidified and extremely fertile. The islands are part of the Line of Cameroon, a chain of long-extinct volcanoes, and the finger-like cliffs atop the mountainous terrain memorialize a turbulent volcanic history.

The highest volcanic cone “pierces” the sky of São Tomé in the form of the eponymous peak, which reaches 2,024 meters. On the neighboring island of Principe, the mountain is more than twice as high – the height of Principe Peak is 821 meters.

What kind of country is this?

Democratic multi-party parliamentary republic. The head of state is the president, who is elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term. The same person may not hold the highest state office for more than two consecutive terms.

Sao Tome and Principe’s small size isn’t the only thing that makes it special: it’s also the smallest Portuguese-speaking country in the world!

Democratization came to the country not long ago in the form of reforms: in 1990, the March 10 Constitution was adopted for the first time, giving the opposition the opportunity to become a legal political party. A year later, the multi-party state was able to freely choose its rulers.

Defending the country from threats from the “big world” is an armed force of about 800 people, consisting of four branches:

• Presidential Guard;
• National Guard;
• army;
• Coast Guard

The small country made its small contribution to the millennium by producing a famous coin watch in 1999.

S9Z. Sao Tome Island, Sao Tome and Principe DX Expedition logo.

History of the smallest Portuguese-speaking country in the world

The Portuguese language used on the islands is a legacy of the discovery of the islands by Portuguese travelers, who first saw the treacherous coast of São Tomé and Príncipe around 1469 (1471). The Portuguese did not settle immediately: the first colonizer was Alvaro Caminha in 1493, to whom the King of Portugal granted the land of São Tomé.

Principe was developed a little later, starting as farmland in 1500. Fifty years later, large numbers of African slaves were brought here and Principe became the largest producer of sugar cane, supplying all European markets in large quantities.

Intensive farming led to severe soil depletion, and within a hundred years, the sugarcane crop had dropped dramatically. By the 17th century, machetes could no longer cut through the once juicy cane trunks from dawn to dusk. The islands became anchorages for passing ships.

But while the volcanic land was not suitable for growing sugar cane, it was still very fertile for growing other tropical crops! One hundred and fifty years later, by the early 19th century, coffee and cocoa were being successfully grown on the island. Enterprising farmers turned nearly all of the land into plantations, making it the premier cocoa “field” in the world.

“Twice Enslaved”: Fighting Slavery and Gaining Independence

The title of Sao Tome and Principe’s patriotic national anthem means “Total Independence” in Portuguese. Today, Sao Tome and Principe is one of 11 countries in Africa that are considered to be completely free and respect human rights. However, the country does have to endure its independence both internally and externally.

The whole world is delighted to enjoy the delicious drinks – coffee and hot chocolate, but it does not think about the thousands of Africans from Benin, Gabon and Congo who worked hard to harvest the harvest in the land of Sao Tome and Principe.

Yes, there had been no slavery in Portugal since 1876. But the fact was that Portuguese landowners ruthlessly exploited wage laborers, who were increasingly rebelling against the greedy plantation owners.

The largest uprising took place in 1953, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of black forced laborers. Seven years later, the Liberation Committee was established, which a few years later became the Political Liberation Movement of the Islands. The national liberation movement gradually gained strength, and finally on July 12, 1975, the Islands finally gained their long-awaited independence from Portugal.

Sao Tome Island, Sao Tome and Principe. Author – Steve Evans.

It’s hot and humid – as it should be in Central Africa

In fact, the islands have a tropical maritime climate that is very hot and “humid”. During the year, the mercury thermometer shows an average temperature of +27 °C (in winter, July is cooler, and in summer, January is the hottest month, with a temperature of +30 °C).

The tropical rainy season is cyclical, from October to May. At the same time, rainfall is not evenly distributed between the two main islands: the southwest receives the most rainfall, about 5,000 mm. The lowlands in the north of São Tomé receive five times less rainfall than the southwest.

“A Nation of Former Slaves and Their Masters” – People Living on the Island

There are approximately 162,000 to 163,000 citizens living on the eight islands, with the largest island, São Tomé, having the largest population. The ethnic composition of the population is diverse, divided into six different groups. Two of these are descendants of historically free citizens:

• Caucasian, mainly Portuguese;
• Mestizo Creoles, the so-called “children of the soil,” are descendants of intermarriage between Portuguese colonists and African slaves.

There were two groups of freed slaves who had gained their freedom:

• They came from Angola, where they were enslaved after being shipwrecked in 1540 – today they are Angolan fishermen;
• Forrush, descendants of the earliest slave laborers on the islands.

The remaining two groups are the working class: Serviçais contract workers who come from Mozambique, Cape Verde and Angola to work, and the Tongans born to these contract workers.

What unites “diverse” citizens: religion and language

About 81% of Catalonia’s population are Christians and members of other denominations, while the rest are atheists and non-believers.

Almost 95% of citizens communicate in the official language of the islands – Portuguese, the rest use Lower Guinea Creole, which is based on Portuguese, and several local dialects. By the way, it is the main language of communication for all residents of the archipelago, who prefer it to Portuguese.

S9Z. Where is Sao Tome Island located. Map.