Black Literature of the Portuguese Territories in Africa

Abstract

The territories that are still dominated by the Portuguese, i.e. Angola, Guinea-Bissau, the Cabo Verde Islands, Mozambique and São Tomé, were discovered in the 15th century by Portuguese seamen or by foreign sailors serving Prince Dom Henry of Portugal. These territories were soon settled by merchants and missionaries. In order to obtain a cheap labour force for the settlers’ newly-established plantations and roads, the administration turned the local population into slaves. Each chief was responsible for providing a prescribed number of slave labourers from the villages.