Santo António

Coordinates: 01°38′12″N 007°25′04″E / 1.63667°N 7.41778°E / 1.63667; 7.41778

Santo António
Town
Street in Santo António, 2015
Santo António Location on Príncipe Island
Coordinates: 1°38′12″N 7°25′04″E / 1.63667°N 7.41778°E / 1.63667; 7.41778
Country	São Tomé and Príncipe
Province	Príncipe
District	Pagué
Elevation	669 ft (204 m)
Population (2013)
• Total	1,357
Time zone	UTC (UTC+0)

Santo António is the main settlement of Príncipe Island in São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies on the north east coast and the Palhota River. It serves as the capital of both Príncipe Province and Pagué District and has an estimated population of 1,200 residents, about 15% of the island's population.

Population history

About the town

The town was the first settlement founded on the island, founded in 1502, it would use the name that used to be an island name. The village is named after Saint Anthony. From 1753 until 1852, it was the colonial capital of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe, also that time, the diocese seat was located in town.

Along with the island and the archipelago, the town was occupied by the Dutch under the context of the Habsburg Philippine Dynasty from August to October 1598. Later the Dutch ruled again and controlled the slave trade from 1641 to 1644, they were later expelled by the Portuguese. The town was destroyed in 1719 by the English pirate Bartholomew Roberts, nicknamed "John Roberts" and "Black Bart" in revenge of the death of the captain Howell Davis.

The town is known for its colonial architecture and for its churches, the largest of which is the main Roman Catholic church, begun in 1947. The town is also known for the Auto da Floripes play, which is performed by the citizens and watched by people coming from all over the world.

Nearby geographical features is Ponta da Mina located 2–3 km northeast in the hamlet of Fortaleza de Santo António da Ponta da Mina (locally as Fortaleza), it is famous for its old fortress built in 1695. 2 km north is the island's airport, Príncipe Airport and over 2 km south is the island's portion of Obo Natural Park and its Biosphere Reserve.

Climate

Winter temperature highs are 29-30 °C and 27 °C in the summer. Winter lows 22 °C in January and no lower than 20 °C in the summer. Winter precipitation is about 115 mm, over 200 mm in the spring and the wettest is nearly 400 mm in October, the driest are 21 mm in July and 36 mm in August. Most of the days have a wet season, daily precipitation has 11 days in February, 18 days in the Spring and 25 days in October where most of the days are wet and 142 mm in December. The driest is in the summer months with 21 mm in July, the driest and 36 mm in August. Humidity never lowers below 80% mainly and hovers over 90%, much of the years has it over 85% with 88% in January, May and November. The lowest is 83% which are in the months of June, July and August.

Transportation

Santo António is linked with remote unpaved roads that link to the northern and the southern part of the island as well as to near the mountain.

Santo António has a school or a collegiate (colegio), churches, beaches, a small port and a few squares (praças).The local currency is the dobra.

Sports

The town has the main sports facility of the island, Estádio Regional 13 de Julho. Football (soccer) clubs based in town include Sporting Clube do Príncipe which is the island's chief club and GD Os Operários.

International relations

Santo António is twinned with:

• Aveiro, Portugal

References

1. ↑ "Klimatafel von Santo Antonio / Insel Principe / Sao Tomé und Principe" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved February 6, 2016.