THE FIELDS (ROÇAS) OF SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE — A LUSOPHONE HERITAGE

Abstract

The word “roça” originally means “cut scrub”, “cut vegetation to create a clearing” or “field whose scrub was cut”. However, there is no clear explanation as to why this term was chosen to name the fields of São Tomé and Príncipe. These fields hold some resemblance, in terms of their foundation and organization, to similar ones in Brazil (the sugar mills) and in Spain (the “fincas”). In view of the several architectural influences, the “roças” are more than a heritage of Sao Tome and Principe, they are a Lusophone heritage. The “roças” are the most inner heritage of a people, one that should be preserved and protected for the benefit of Lusophone culture and the future development of the archipelago.

Keywords: “roças” São Tomé and Príncipe, Lusophone, architecture, heritage

“There is a special place in Africa, a rather unique one, which, though small – two small islands in the Gulf of Guinea – have an important and unparalleled architecture and territory. This place is the archipelago of Sao Tome and Principe and its cities and, especially, its famous ‘roças’.”

This small excerpt by Architect José Manuel Fernandes summarizes a good description of Sao Tome and Principe. A territory of about 1000 square kilometres on the Equador, the islands hold an extremely significant architectural heritage for Lusophone countries, mixing South American, African and European influences.

We are referring to the rural settlements known as “roças”, which are highly relevant in the archipelago’s occupation process and which, due to the coffee and cocoa cycles, led to the islands’ economic development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In its origin, this process is not innovative in the Portuguese expansion movement. In fact, if we analyze the occupation of the territory since its discovery, in 1470, up to the cocoa cycle, we realize that the urban strategy implemented was similar to that used in other islands in the Atlantic and in South America, more specifically, in Brazil.

The morphology of the cities of Sao Tome and Santo Antonio, in the island of Principe is similar to other sea cities, such as: Ponta Delgada, in the Azores; Ribeira Grande, in Cape Vert; or Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, which evidences a specificity in overseas cities built by the Portuguese.

The colonization strategy of Atlantic islands shows common elements as well, such as the intensive agriculture of lucrative crops in large areas; using both free men and slaves to foster mixing of Europeans and Africans and thus give origin to a new free population.

The acculturation process of these islands also evidences several attempts to introduce Mediterranean subsistence crops, which deeply changed the native landscape and gave ‘the territory a Portuguese home flavour’.

The origin of the word “roça”

The word “roça” originally means “cut scrub”, “cut vegetation to create a clearing” or “field whose scrub was cut”. However, there is no clear explanation as to why this term was chosen to name the fields of São Tomé and Príncipe. These fields hold some resemblance, in terms of their foundation and organization, to similar ones in Brazil (the sugar mills) and in Spain (the “fincas”).

In the sugar cycle (15th century), the common agricultural unit in the archipelago was known as mill. The term, very common in Brazil, evokes the milling of the sugar cane. In Brazil, this huge agricultural structure typically included the owners’ house (casa grande – the big house), the servants’ quarters (sanzala), the production support structure (warehouses and mill) and the church or chapel. The mill in Sao Tome has some resemblances in terms of housing and agriculture and production units, in structure and shape, as well as in terms of the social systems – owners, free workers and slaves sharing spaces.

Although in Brazil the mill lasted, though with changes, until the end of the 19th century, in Sao Tome it was a failure right at the end of the 16th century due to lack of profitability and quality.

In the mid 1900s, in the beginning of a new production cycle (coffee), several references may be found of the term “fazenda” applied to the territory of Sao Tome. In fact, that was the name given to Brazilian agricultural structures for one- crop of cocoa, coffee or tobacco, while the term “roça” was only used in the Northeast of Brazil with the meaning “small field for family farm production”. In Sao Tome, in the 16th and 17th centuries, the word “roça” stood for a small field that resulted from cutting scrub and was used for subsistence crops by Europeans and Africans. This was a similar meaning to the one given in Brazil.

The different terms used to name the agricultural settlements (mills, “fazenda”, “roça”) corresponded to similar methods used to occupy the territory – cutting scrub and burning the soil.

The large agricultural production and exporting units are internationally known as “plantations”. If directly translated, the word “plantation” (“plantação”) has several meanings in Portuguese and is therefore not adequate to designate an estate.

The success of coffee and cocoa plantations in Sao Tome led to the implementation of several agricultural structures and to large production. The dimension and magnificence of the “roças” led to the need to establish a specific name for these estates. This name would identify fields that had started as scrub, which had been cut to become an agricultural field, which had been named, in a process of acculturation, “engenho” (mill) and “fazenda” and had finally acquired the name “roça”.

The development of the “roça”

The creation of many production units in Sao Tome and Principe led to the foundation of around two hundred “roças”, considering their main and secondary locations. This number was the result of former experiences (“engenhos” – mills) and their social and architectural organization (housing and production structure). Thus, the implementation of “roças” was structured and included housing (the administrators’ house, the houses for the European workers and “sanzalas”), agricultural and industrial units (driers, warehouses and production support buildings) and social equipment (health, education and social care units). This structure evolved significantly due to three main factors: the constant demand for strategies to boost production, the need for self-sufficiency and the changes in labour conditions – slaves became hired workers.

From small agricultural settlements (with a main house, “sanzalas” and warehouses), “roças” became complex production plants highly mechanized and industrialized, with a rich and varied structure.

The increase in production occurred at the same time as the knowledge on coffee and cocoa production grew. Adapting new production techniques implied adopting new technologies and building new structures in the “roças”. The fact that these structures, with communities of thousands of people, were on an island forced them to obtain maximum autonomy and self-sufficiency. Thus, equipment for maintenance (stables, sawmills, carpentries or repair shops) transformation (soap and palm oil factories) and food production (bakeries, pig sties, chicken coops, barns and shops) was introduced. The agricultural companies would thus meet most of their workers’ needs not only in terms of housing, health and education, but also in terms of food and clothing.

The two small islands of Sao Tome and Principe were provided with goods and services structure for all the “roças”. Each would play a specific and significant role in the industrial and productive network implemented in the territory (administrative headquarters, “roças” dedicated exclusively to housing or import and export harbours).

The changes in labour was forced by slavery having been abolished in 1875, when provincial regulations were laid down on new health and sanitation conditions in the “roça”. These law-decrees aimed to decrease the high mortality rate and included preventative measures against the harsh climate, perfect for the appearance of endemic and epidemic diseases. The architecture of the new buildings, regardless of their function, aimed to integrate principles of sustainable construction (localization, implementation, ventilation and materials). New neighbourhoods (“sanzalas” – (in Brazil they are called “senzalas”)were built, as well as health units (hospitals, infirmaries, maternities, clinics and pharmacies) and education facilities (nurseries and day-care centres).

Besides the laid down regulations, the constant need for workers, crucial for the sustainability of the plantations, forced “roça” owners to improve the working conditions and the services provided to attract new workers and as a means to show the world the efforts made to change the working conditions in the plantations. The improvements in housing and health conditions allowed to keep the population active and healthy, thus maximizing the hired workforce. What was created as mere provincial regulation and an element of propaganda became crucial for the sustainability of the agricultural companies. In the second half of the 19th century, units with more than a thousand workers had to have a hospital.

Leisure activities were also part of the program at “roças” and a growing concern for their owners, not only as a means to ease the regime and the isolation of the islands, as well as a way to motivate the communities. Festivities and cultural rituals were imported from Portugal for the workers’ acculturation and support to the Portuguese diaspora. Throughout the archipelago, dovecotes, bullfighting arenas (at Java and Bombaim “roças”) bandstands (at Colónia Açoreana) and museums (at Sundy and Rio do Ouro), among others, were bilt.

The hierarchy of spaces and constructions was established based on a central and unifying element, called “terreiro” (yard). The yard was square and open and its origin lies in Mediterranean culture, evoking the traditional Portuguese squares or, with a similar scale, the patio of Roman villas. In the “roças”, the yard is almost always present; it is the place where goods and products, workers and owners, converge. The yard was the “heart” of the structure, having several functions and uses, among which drying the cocoa bean, daily formation, payment to workers and festivities. This constant activity was part of the routine at the “roças”.

The permanent enhancement of the “roças” and their functioning led to occupation models which we could designate as patterns or types: RoçaTerreiro (“roça”-yard), Roça Cidade (“roça” city) and Roça Avenida (“roça” avenue).

Conclusion

The layout of the complex building structures is of significant value, namely as to how they were implemented and penetrated the hilly territory and as to their architecture and know-how. The “roças” are remarkable for their size, magnificence and urban relevance. Nevertheless, the richness of the “roças” lies not only in their typologies, in iconic cases such as Rio do Ouro, Água-Izé and Sundy, or in their elegant and luxurious architectural elements.

More than the uniqueness and the richness of a given structure, the impact and relevance of “roças” lie especially in their whole as networks on which a thriving production cycle was based. Moreover, the “roças” were an important factor in the mixing of races, as there were workers from Angola, Mozambique, Guinea- Bissau or Cape Vert. As such, they became and will remain symbols of the history of the archipelago, representing not just an architectural legacy as well as an identity and cultural legacy. In view of the several architectural influences and the different origins of the people inhabiting the islands, the “roças” are more than a heritage of Sao Tome and Principe, they are a Lusophone heritage. Finally, the “roças” are, without a doubt, the most important legacy of Sao Tome and Principe, and should be preserved and protected for the benefit of Lusophone culture and, especially, for the future development of the archipelago.