Abstract
The forced migration of millions of Africans during the Atlantic Slave Trade led to the emergence of new genetic and linguistic identities, thereby providing a unique opportunity to study the mechanisms giving rise to human biological and cultural variation. Here we focus on the archipelago of São Tomé and Príncipe in the Gulf of Guinea, which hosted one of the earliest plantation societies relying exclusively on slave labor. We analyze the genetic variation in 25 individuals from three communities who speak distinct creole languages (Forros, Principenses and Angolares), using genomic data from expanded exomes in combination with a contextual dataset from Europe and Africa, including newly generated data from 28 Bantu speakers from Angola. Our findings show that while all islanders display mixed contributions from the Gulf of Guinea and Angola, the Angolares are characterized by extreme genetic differentiation and inbreeding, consistent with an admixed maroon isolate. In line with a more prominent Bantu contribution to their creole language, we additionally found that a previously reported high-frequency Y-chromosome haplotype in the Angolares has a likely Angolan origin, suggesting that their genetic, linguistic and social characteristics were influenced by a small group of dominant men who achieved disproportionate reproductive success.
Highlights
While São Tomé and Príncipe were both settled in the last decade of the 15th century, the permanent settlement of Annobón only started in the mid-16th century, and the island always remained sparsely populated until it was ceded to Spain, together with Bioko, in 1778
The islands of São Tomé and Príncipe saw the rise of sugar cane cultivation, African slave labor and marronage, which led to the emergence of new ethnic identities and new languages
In contrast to other instances of European conquest where local societies were subjected to colonial rule, the plantation complex that was installed in the New World, especially in the Caribbean, relied on the mass replacement of indigenous groups with Africans of different geographical origins [1]
Summary
While São Tomé and Príncipe were both settled in the last decade of the 15th century, the permanent settlement of Annobón only started in the mid-16th century, and the island always remained sparsely populated until it was ceded to Spain, together with Bioko, in 1778. During their intertwined history, the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe saw the rise of sugar cane cultivation, African slave labor and marronage, which led to the emergence of new ethnic identities and new languages
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