The island of São Tomé, the larger of the two main islands of the tiny equatorial African country, was in the nineteenth century essentially a network of large cocoa, coffee, and palm plantations. This system of “roçcas,” thirty years on from independence from Portugal and a hundred years on from the peak of the industry, left the island absolutely littered with massive colonial architecture in various states of repair. Driving the main road around the island, I saw town after town had sprouted up around and even in the middle of the burned or simply crumbling architecture of these estates. I also stayed at the two of the estates that have been turned into low-frills hotels. There’s a whole post-colonial studies dissertation to be written on these roçcas, but I did my best to just enjoy watching the rain forest slowly creep up on these once imposing buildings.
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nonphallic-eclairs reblogged this from gardant and added:
This place just looks like it has soul crushing humidity.
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This is Africa, our Africa
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tessshebaylo said:
So beautiful!
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matthew posted this
