(Ribeiro, Gregorio José). Relatorio do governador da provincia de S. Thomé. No fim do primeiro anno de sua administração.

€ 4.500,00

First and only edition. Exceedingly rare, comprehensive report on the administration of São Tomé e Principe by the Portuguese, including a section on labour conditions and the impending abolition of slavery. Further addresses public works, education, hospitals and sanitary conditions, the secretary general, legal system, postal service, customs, national press, and public works, as well as the clergy, parochial administration, and armed forces. The folding plates include plans of the governor's residence, government expenditure, and lists of male and female pupils receiving primary education on the islands.

Prepared by Gregorio José Ribeiro (1828-84), a Portuguese naval officer serving as governor of São Tomé e Príncipe from 23 October 1873 to 1 November 1876. He is best known for legally abolishing slavery on the islands on 8 November 1875, an important act though not yet ending forced labor in general. Following abolition, a system of contract workers (contratados) was introduced, with laborers from Angola, Cabo Verde, and Mozambique brought to work on the expanding coffee and cocoa plantations under conditions that were often comparable to slavery.

Printing began in São Tomé e Príncipe with the appearance of the "Boletim oficial" in 1857. Nineteenth-century imprints from São Tomé are very scarce, seldomly appearing on the market at all.