São Tomé and Príncipe: Thoughts on aspects of its post-independence agricultural history

Abstract

The article proposed for the dossier presents reflections on aspects of the country's agricultural history at the time of independence and post-independence. The chosen approach presented itself as relevant to reflect on the country's politics during the decades that followed independence. Aspects of the country's agricultural history make up the thread chosen to guide this article. The relations between the members of the independent government and agricultural workers, the ambivalences of the state’s political discourse at the time of the nationalization of land and its distribution are here analyzed to begin a balance of the political independence (official date of July 12, 1975). I try to show that the various policy proposals applied to the agricultural sector led to an accentuation of the invisibility of minorities – especially the immigrant labor – that are eventually recognized as key actors in the agricultural history of São Tome and Principe. The management of land distribution after the nationalization of the territory caused social tensions incited identity claims and highlighted the consolidation of certain social actors in the sphere of political power. Notes from field work carried out in 1999-2000 and 2003-2004 and some primary and secondary sources enrich the text information and assist in arguments for the main ideas.