Roças of São Tomé and Príncipe Inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List
Roças of São Tomé and Príncipe Inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List
Among the ten newly inscribed sites, which were revealed during the UNESCO World Heritage Committee's 48th session in Busan, Republic of Korea, are six Portuguese colonial plantations across the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe:
▪ Monte Café;
▪ Água Izé;
▪ Diogo Vaz;
▪ São João;
▪ Sundy;
▪ Belo Monte.
Together, they represent a planned colonial plantation system comprising:
▪ coffee and cocoa plantations;
▪ agricultural land;
▪ industrial infrastructure;
▪ residential areas;
▪ social facilities arranged within highly structured spatial layouts.
The site bears witness to a large-scale colonial agro-industrial system that relied on forced migration and forced labor from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century—keeping global supplies of coffee and cocoa flowing even after slavery was abolished.
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