Latest / The History of Portugal: The Small Nation That Built a Global Empire — Fexingo History
The Portuguese Plantation System on São Tomé and Its Dark Legacy
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the tiny island of São Tomé became the blueprint for the Atlantic plantation economy. They trace the arrival of Portuguese settlers in the late 15th century, the introduction of sugarcane from Madeira, and the brutal importation of enslaved Africans from the Kongo kingdom and Benin. The episode covers the engenho (sugar mill) system, the use of slave labor on a scale never seen before in Europe, and how São Tomé's model directly influenced the plantations of Brazil and the Caribbean. Key figures include João de Paiva, the first donatary…
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