Archaeologists recently made a groundbreaking discovery on São Tomé, a small West African island. They uncovered the ruins of a 16th-century sugar mill and estate, which provide the earliest evidence of plantation slavery. This mill and estate played a significant role in shaping plantation economies across the Atlantic Ocean during the 1530s.
The researchers from the University of Cologne found that the scale of the structure indicates the presence of a large enslaved labor force. These enslaved individuals would work in the main room, where sugar was boiled. São Tomé, settled by the Portuguese in 1470, became the largest sugar producer by the 1530s. Enslaved Africans from the Slave Coast of West Africa, the Niger Delta, the island of Fernando Po, as well as from the Kongo and Angola were brought to São Tomé to support the sugar production.
The authors of the study emphasized the importance of São Tomé as a nexus between Europe and Africa. Unfortunately, the significance of this archipelago in the history of the Atlantic world and plantation slavery has been obscured due to lack of research.
Unlike other Portuguese sugar mills in Europe, which primarily used enslaved people for manual labor, the West African site required slaves to perform various tasks, including harvesting sugar cane, carpentry, and stone masonry. São Tomé, with its tropical climate, fertile soil, and abundant resources, was ideal for sugarcane cultivation. The first mention of sugarcane fields on the island dates back to 1506, and production rapidly increased by 1517.
The recently discovered ruins shed light on the craftsmanship of enslaved builders who constructed the mill and estate. The building was designed with windows that allowed for surveillance of the working areas, ensuring that enslaved laborers could be closely monitored.
The structure, with its two stories, rectangular plan, and division into three areas, features a large room adjacent to the headwall, which supported the mill race. The head-wall tail race housed the hydraulic mill or mills. Researchers found evidence of fire-damaged walls in the room where sugar was boiled, while the top floor served as living quarters. The upper floor boasted wall cabinets, balconies, and windows for overseeing the working areas.
While parts of the building have collapsed and hidden features may be concealed beneath rubble, the surviving walls stand between 5m and 9m high. The upper-floor domestic areas display stuccoed walls, while the work areas exhibit rough finishes and graffiti with symbols and lettering. Although it is not known for certain, it is believed that the kitchen and slave quarters were located elsewhere.
The sugar mill remained operational for about 400 years until the sugar business traveled across the Atlantic with the establishment of slavery. Poor sugar quality, increased Brazilian production, and numerous slave insurrections led to the decline of São Tomé’s prominence by the early 17th century. Political instability and the destruction of mills prompted major landowners to relocate to Brazil. Consequently, the European population on the island diminished, while the Creole elite and free Black individuals gained political and social power, controlling land ownership and trade, particularly in the transportation of humans to Brazilian and Caribbean plantations.
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