User:Yue/sandbox
History[edit]
The cocoa tree was introduced to São Tomé and Príncipe by Portuguese colonial administrators seeking a profitable cash crop for their colony. The islands' forests were first cleared in the 16th century for sugarcane plantations, and, through the use of slave labour, the colony became the largest producer of sugar in the world.[1][2] However, competition from the other Portuguese colony of Brazil diminished profits, and by the end of the century the colony's primary purpose had become to temporarily house African slaves being transported to the Americas.[1] Hoping to generate more income from the colony, the colonial administrators introduced the coffee plant in 1780 and the cocoa tree in 1824. The latter proved to be more profitable as global demand for cocoa gradually increased throughout the century.[1]
From the late 19th to the early 20th century, São Tomé and Príncipe was the world's top producer of cocoa, earning it the nickname of "the Chocolate Islands".[3] The United Kingdom's three largest chocolate makers at the time – J. S. Fry & Sons, Rowntree's, and the Cadbury Brothers – all sourced their cocoa primarily from the colony.[4] However, by 1910 cocoa production on the islands had entered a steep decline due to boycotts from British and German chocolate manufacturers, who were appalled by the poor working conditions of the cocoa plantations, known locally as roças (English: /ˈrɒsəz/).[5]
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^ a b c Wikle 2021, p. 2.
- ^ Freelon 2004.
- ^ Drew 2023.
- ^ Wikle 2021, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Wikle 2021, p. 3.
Sources[edit]
Journal articles[edit]
- Wikle, Thomas A. (2021). "Chocolate and the Ugly Secret of Cacao Production on São Tomé Island". Focus On Geography. 64. New York: 1–18. doi:10.21690/foge/2021.64.2f.
News and magazine articles[edit]
- Drew, Keith (6 July 2023). "How the Chocolate Islands are rediscovering their roots". BBC. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- Freelon, Kiratiana (15 June 2024). "White gold, Black bodies: how a tiny African nation shaped the world". The Guardian.
- Lo, Fei Pou (17 January 2023). "Chocolate's return to São Tomé and Príncipe". Macao Magazine.