Martyrs' Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)

Martyrs' Day is a public holiday in São Tomé and Príncipe, observed on February 3 each year. The holiday commemorates those who died in the years struggling for the nation's independence. The celebration day is February 3 in memory of the Batepá massacre in 1953.

São Tomé and Príncipe is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, and it consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands: São Tomé and Príncipe. The islands were not inhabited when the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century.

The Portuguese established the first settlement on the islands in 1493. São Tomé and Príncipe became the world's largest sugarcane fields and producers of sugar in the 16th century, but the economy declined over the years. In the early 19th century, Portuguese companies introduced coffee and cocoa, and the islands became the world's largest cocoa producer. The labor-intensive plantations required many contract workers. However, their working conditions were barely better than the enforced slaves, which caused sporadic labor unrest in the early 20th century.

The unrest cumulated the outbreak of the riots on February 3, 1953, and hundreds of protestors were killed by the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners. The tragedy was known as the Batepá massacre, and it marked the beginning of the nationalist movements, which led to the nation's independence on July 12, 1975.

The following is the list of Martyrs' Day in São Tomé and Príncipe from 2022 to 2026.

Please check more public holidays in São Tomé and Príncipe: