Príncipe is the smaller, northern major island of the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking ...

lying off the west coast of Africa in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is i ...

. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Census;Projecção a nível distrital 2012 - 2020
Instituto Nacional de Estatística the latest official estimate (at May 2018) was 8,420.Instituto Nacional de Estatística. The island is a heavily eroded volcano speculated to be over three million years old, surrounded by smaller islands including

Ilheu Bom Bom Ilheu is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also * Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department * Barousse valley The Barousse is a small region of southwestern France, including the valley of the Ourse, a ...

Ilhéu Caroço Ilhéu Caroço is an uninhabited islet in the Gulf of Guinea, part of São Tomé and Príncipe. The islet is located southeast of the island of Príncipe Príncipe is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Prín ...

Tinhosa Grande Tinhosa Grande is an uninhabited islet in São Tomé and Príncipe, located southwest of the island of Príncipe and northeast of the island of São Tomé. Together with the smaller islet Tinhosa Pequena Tinhosa Pequena is an uninhabited isle ...

and

Tinhosa Pequena Tinhosa Pequena is an uninhabited islet in São Tomé and Príncipe, located southwest of the island of Príncipe and northeast of the island of São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of S ...

. Part of the Cameroon Line archipelago, Príncipe rises in the south to 947 metres at

Pico do Príncipe Pico do Príncipe is a mountain on the island of Príncipe, the smaller of the two inhabited islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. The elevation of the mountain is , making it the highest peak on the island. The island is one of the volcanic swell ...

. The island is the main constituent of the

Autonomous Region of Príncipe The Autonomous Region of Príncipe ( pt, Região Autónoma do Príncipe) is an autonomous administrative division of the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. Established on 29 April 1995, it covers the island of Príncipe and a number of small u ...

, established in 1995, and of the coterminous

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

of Pagué.

History

The island was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese on 17 January 1471 and was first named after Saint Anthony ("Ilha de Santo Antão"). Later the island was renamed Príncipe by King

John II of Portugal John II ( pt, João II; ; 3 March 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince ( pt, o Príncipe Perfeito, link=no), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for re-establishi ...

in honour of his son Afonso, Prince of Portugal. The first settlement, the town

Santo António Santo António (Portuguese for Saint Anthony), also known as Santo António do Príncipe, is the main settlement of the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies on the north east coast. It is the capital of the Autonomous Regio ...

, was founded in 1502.Santo António
Heritage of Portuguese Influence Subsequently, the north and centre of the island were made into

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

s by Portuguese colonists using

slave labor Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. These concentrated initially on producing

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

and after 1822 on

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...

, becoming the world's greatest cocoa producer. Since independence, these plantations have largely reverted to forest. The island's fortress named

Fortaleza de Santo António da Ponta da Mina The Fortaleza de Santo António da Ponta da Mina or Forte de Ponta da Mina is a ruined fort located east of the island capital Santo António in the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. It is located at the headland Ponta da Mina. The ...

on a point inside Baía de Santo António (Santo António Bay) was built in 1695. In 1706, the city and the fortress were destroyed by the French. From 1753 until 1852, Santo António was the colonial

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe. Príncipe was the site where Einstein's

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in ...

was experimentally corroborated by Arthur Stanley Eddington and his team during the total

solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 A total solar eclipse occurred on Thursday, May 29, 1919. With the duration of totality at maximum eclipse of 6 minutes 50.75 seconds, it was the longest solar eclipse since May 27, 1416. A longer total solar eclipse would later occur on June 8 ...

; photographs of the eclipse revealed evidence of the 'bending' of

starlight Starlight is the light emitted by stars. It typically refers to visible electromagnetic radiation from stars other than the Sun, observable from Earth at night, although a component of starlight is observable from Earth during daytime. Sunl ...

, in accordance with Einstein's predictions (see Eddington experiment). On April 29, 1995, the

was established, corresponding with the existing Pagué District.Cooperação Descentralizada Príncipe – Portugal: Eficiência da Existência de Redes de Cooperação
(2010), Ana Maria Luciano Barreira,

Universidade Técnica de Lisboa The Technical University of Lisbon (UTL; pt, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, ) was a Portuguese public university. It was created in 1930 in Lisbon, as a confederation of preexisting schools, and comprised the faculties and institutes of vete ...

, p. 42-43

Settlements

Príncipe has one town,

, and an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

( IATA code: PCP,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

: FPPR). Some other smaller settlements are Sundy and

Porto Real Porto Real () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 19,974 (2020) and its area is 50.9 km2.IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia ...

Demographics

Portuguese is the official and main language of the island. Portuguese creoles are also spoken:

Principense Principense Creole, also called ''lunguyê'' creole ("creole of the island") by its native speakers, is a Portuguese creole language spoken by a community of some four thousand people in São Tomé and Príncipe, specifically on the island of P ...

or Lunguyê and, in some scale, Forro are also spoken. In 1771, Príncipe had a population of 5,850: 111 whites, 165 free mulattoes, 6 mulatto slaves, 900 free blacks, and 4,668 black slaves. In 1875, the year when slavery was officially abolished in the archipelago, Príncipe's population had dropped to only 1,946, of whom 45 were Europeans, 1,521 were free natives, and 380 were freemen.

Nature

In 2006, the Parque Natural Obô do Príncipe was established, covering the mountainous, densely forested and uninhabited southern part of the island of Príncipe. There are numerous endemic species of fauna on Príncipe, including birds such as the

Principe scops owl The Principe scops owl (''Otus bikegila'') is a species of scops owl found only on Príncipe Island of São Tomé and Príncipe, an island country in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Africa. First noticed by its distinctive nighttime call, it ...

, the Príncipe kingfisher,

Príncipe seedeater The Príncipe seedeater (''Crithagra rufobrunnea'') is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found only on the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe Príncipe is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé ...

, Principe starling, Príncipe sunbird, Dohrn's thrush-babbler and the Príncipe weaver. The Príncipe white-eye also occurs on São Tomé. Geckos include the Príncipe gecko, frogs include the palm forest tree frog and the Príncipe puddle frog. Marine fauna includes '' Muricopsis principensis'', a mollusc and the

West African mud turtle The West African mud turtle (''Pelusios castaneus''), also known as the West African side-necked turtle or swamp terrapin, is a species of turtle in the family Pelomedusidae. ''Pelusios castaneus'' is a freshwater species and is endemic to West ...

Some endemic animals

Príncipe sunbird (Anabathmis hartlaubii) male.jpg, Príncipe sunbird Príncipe golden weaver (Ploceus princeps) male.jpg,

Príncipe golden weaver Príncipe is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Census;< ...

Príncipe speirops (Zosterops leucophaeus).jpg, Príncipe speirops Principe glossy starling (Lamprotornis ornatus).jpg,

Principe glossy starling The Principe starling (''Lamprotornis ornatus''), also known as the Príncipe glossy-starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is endemic to São Tomé and Príncipe. Its natural habitat In ecology, the term habitat ...

Príncipe puddle frog (Phrynobatrachus dispar).jpg, Príncipe puddle frog Oceanic tree frog (Hyperolius drewesi).jpg, Oceanic tree frog

Ecological reserve

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

established the

Island of Príncipe Biosphere Reserve The Island of Príncipe Biosphere Reserve (established 2012) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in São Tomé and Príncipe. It encompasses the entire emerged area of the island of Príncipe, its islets Bom Bom, Boné do Jóquei, Mosteiros, and P ...

in 2012 under the Man and the Biosphere Programme. The reserve encompasses the entire emerged area of the island of Príncipe, and its islets Bom Bom, Boné do Jóquei, Mosteiros, Santana, and Pedra da Galei, and the Tinhosas islands.

Notable people

* Damião Vaz d'Almeida, former Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe * João Paulo Cassandra, former autonomous president of the island * José Cassandra, current president of the island * Sara Pinto Coelho, colonial born Portuguese writer *

Camilo Domingos Camilo Domingos (February 14, 1965 – August 7, 2005) was a Santomean singer of Cape Verdean and Bissauan (now Bissauan Guinean) descent. Early life Domingos was born in the settlement of Conceição on the island of Príncipe to a family of ...

, singer * Manuela Margarido, writer *

Nuno Espírito Santo Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo (born 25 January 1974), often referred to as simply Nuno, is a Portuguese football manager and former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the manager of Saudi Professional League club Al ...

, association football goalkeeper and manager

Gallery

File:Praia Boi.jpg, ''Praia do Boi'', in Príncipe File:Praia Banana - panoramio.jpg, ''Praia das Bananas'', São Tomé and Príncipe File:Principe Island 3441.jpg,

Carambola Carambola, also known as star fruit, is the fruit of '' Averrhoa carambola'', a species of tree native to tropical Southeast Asia. The mildly poisonous fruit is commonly consumed in parts of Brazil, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the South Pacif ...

in Príncipe File:Principe 3181.jpg, ''Lagoa do Caixão'', Príncipe Island File:Principe 1220.jpg, Beach in Príncipe File:Igreja Nossa Senhora da Conceicao (21130421485).jpg, ''Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição'', in

, São Tomé and Príncipe. File:Bom Bom Island Bridge (21050088389).jpg, Bom Bom Islet, Príncipe

References

External links

Map of Príncipe

Principe portal

''Financial Times'' * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Principe Former Portuguese colonies Islands of São Tomé and Príncipe Volcanoes of the Atlantic Ocean Autonomous regions