Fodor's Expert Review São Sebastião Museum

The ruins of this fort recall a period of history difficult to imagine against the stunning view of Ana Chaves Bay. It was built in 1585, at a time when Sao Tome exported 5,000 to 6,000 slaves annually. Most were sold to the Americas, but thousands were held on the island to work sugar plantations. By the 1800s, fugitive slaves regularly protested the colonial order. The Portugese finally surrendered the fort in the 1960s. The museum, founded in 1976, exhibits African and religious art and bits of colonial history, including the bones of a Cacao king, which are stored in a box under his portrait.