São Tomé, Sao Tome and Principe - Sao Tome and Principe
Posted by: Torgut
N 00° 20.735 E 006° 44.362
32N E 248386 N 38227
Near the fortress of São Sebastião, a set of three statues represent the Portuguese navigators who discovered the islands of São Tomé and Principe.
Waymark Code: WMFN5F
Location: Sao Tome and Principe
Date Posted: 11/07/2012
Views: 4
From Wikipedia:
"The islands of São Tomé and Príncipe were uninhabited before the arrival of the Portuguese sometime around 1470. The islands were discovered by João de Santarém and Pedro Escobar. Portuguese navigators explored the islands and decided that they would be good locations for bases to trade with the mainland.
The dates of discovery are sometimes given as December 21 (St Thomas's Day), 1471 for São Tomé, and January 17 (St Anthony's Day), 1472 for Príncipe, though other sources give different nearby years. Príncipe was initially named Santo Antão ("Saint Anthony"), changing its name in 1502 to Ilha do Príncipe ("Prince's Island"), in reference to the Prince of Portugal to whom duties on the island's sugar crop were paid."
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These three statues, lined up in from of the fortress of São Sebastião, currently hosting the National Museum, have no labels or signs. But, looking from the museum entrance, Pedro Escobar is the one on the right, then João de Paiva (the first administrator of the island) and João de Santarém.
These statues were placed in different spots of the city during colonial times, and withdrawn after independence. Wisely, they were not destroyed, and were later redeployed on their current location.
Material used in the statue and plinth; stone for both, stone and plinth.
The size of the statue as a factor of life-size: the statues are about the double of life-size.
What the statue shows the person holding and doing: all the three persons are just posing
What the person is shown as wearing: all the three persons are wearing common clothes for people of their noble condition in the late 15th Century.