nPostednon September 6, 2013
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I’mngoing to go out on a limb here and guess that Sao Tome and Principendo not have the largest military in the world. This island nation offnthe coast of Africa is the second smallest nation in Africa and thensmallest Portuguese-speaking country in the world (by population).
I’mngoing to go out on a limb here and guess that Sao Tome and Principendo not have the largest military in the world. This island nation offnthe coast of Africa is the second smallest nation in Africa and thensmallest Portuguese-speaking country in the world (by population).n
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nTodaynI am NOT going to tell about European colonizers killing off ornconquering the native people of a particular place—because nobodynlived on these islands before the Portuguese arrived in the laten1400s.
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Butnof course (as in all human history) there were some sordid bits innthe islands’ history. Apparently it was difficult to attract settlersnto the islands, so “undesirables”—mostly Jews—were sent fromnPortugal. And since the islands were suited to growing sugar, andnsugar cultivation needs a lot of labor, soon the settlers began tonimport slaves from mainland Africa.
Butnof course (as in all human history) there were some sordid bits innthe islands’ history. Apparently it was difficult to attract settlersnto the islands, so “undesirables”—mostly Jews—were sent fromnPortugal. And since the islands were suited to growing sugar, andnsugar cultivation needs a lot of labor, soon the settlers began tonimport slaves from mainland Africa.n
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nSigh!
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nEventually,nof course, slavery was outlawed. Along the way, two new cash cropsnwere introduced: coffee and cocoa. By 1908, Sao Tome had become thenworld’s largest producer of cocoa, and it is still the nation’s #1ncrop.
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nThenislands are volcanic in nature, so you get cool landforms such as theGreat Dog Peak (Pico Cao Grande), which is a volcanic plugnthat is often covered in mist.
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nA volcanic plug is formed when lava cools and solidifies inside the vent of a volcano. Often, the softer rock of the volcano itself erodes away—leaving a “plug” of rock sticking up toward the sky.
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nChecknout the photos of the 10 most awesome volcanic plugs in thenworld. (My husband and I traveled to one of these just a bit more than a month ago and really enjoyed seeing it. The one we saw is the only one on this list in the U.S.!)
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Checknout these photos ofnsome of the other natural beauties of Sao Tome and Principe.n(Remember, not only are they islands, they are tropical islands!)
Checknout these photos ofnsome of the other natural beauties of Sao Tome and Principe.n(Remember, not only are they islands, they are tropical islands!)n
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nAlsonon this date:
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nUnification Day in Bulgaria
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IndependencenDay in Swaziland
IndependencenDay in Swazilandn
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nBonaire Flag Day
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nPlannAhead!
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nChecknout my Pinterest pages on Septembernholidays, Septembernbirthdays,nand historicalnanniversaries in September.
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest pages on Octobernholidays, Octobernbirthdays,nand historicalnanniversaries in October.
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