Travel Guide Batepa

About 11 km from São Tomé, it is a small village, historically symbolic since it was the scene of the Batepá massacre in 1953. A colourful stele pays homage to the men who rebelled against the Portuguese authorities who wanted to impose foreign workers on the plantations, the first signs of the nationalist feelings that would lead to independence in 1975. At the National Museum in São Tomé, a room shows some photos of the torture they suffered (sensitive souls please). Every February 3, Santomeans commemorate this massacre: it is the day of the Martires da Liberdade, the feast of the martyrs of the Liberation.