John II licences 1,080 slaves to be imported to São Tomé from the slave rivers

To meet the initial needs of the colony of young Jews, Portuguese settlers and exiles sent to São Tomé in 1493, and to encourage voluntary settlement, John II gave the captain of the island a licence to import 1,080 slaves from the "slave rivers" over a period of five years. By July 1499 about 920 of this number had been landed. In addition to these labour imports for the colony, slaves from Benin and the rivers were also carried to São Jorge da Mina to be bartered for gold.