In a prelude to the discovery of the New World, Iberian sailors ventured to a number of islands in the Atlantic. One of these is Saõ Tomé, an island 150 miles off the African coast that was uninhabited when the Portuguese discovered it in 1470. M. Dores Cruz, Larissa Thomas, and M. Nazaré Ceita report on their recent archaeological investigation of a sugar mill and estate house—and include a tantalizing detail:

In the 16th century CE, São Tomé was a major nexus between Europe and Africa, yet the island was perceived as remote and lethal; early settlement was rarely voluntary: it primarily involved degredados (transported convicts), and Jewish children from Portugal, and enslaved people from the African coast.

Sugarcane fields [on the island] are first documented in 1506, and by 1517 production had taken off, with two sugar mills in operation and plans to build ten more. Although enslaved Africans had been brought to populate the island, since 1495, the labor-intensive nature of sugar production spurred the importation of far greater numbers, mainly from Benin, Congo, and Angola. São Tomé became the first plantation economy in the tropics based on sugar monoculture and slave labor, a model exported to the New World where it developed and expanded.

There were hundreds of these Portuguese Jewish children, mostly refugees from Spain—whence they had been expelled a year before—who were exiled to São Tomé in 1493 by King John II. John’s successor, Manuel I, decreed in 1497 that all Portuguese Jews had to convert to Catholicism, or be forcibly baptized, and in 1506 deported thousands of these converts to São Tomé.

For more than a year, the Iran-backed Houthis have been launching drones and missiles at ships traversing the Red Sea, as well as at Israeli territory, in support of Hamas. This development has drastically curtailed shipping through the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, driving up trade prices. This week, the Trump administration began an extensive bombing campaign against the Houthis in an effort to reopen that crucial waterway. Burcu Ozcelik highlights another benefit of this action:

The administration has a broader geopolitical agenda—one that includes countering China’s economic leverage, particularly Beijing’s reliance on Iranian oil. By targeting the Houthis, the United States is not only safeguarding vital shipping lanes but also exerting pressure on the Iran-China energy nexus, a key component of Beijing’s strategic posture in the region.

China was the primary destination for up to 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports in 2024, underscoring the deepening economic ties between Beijing and Tehran despite U.S. sanctions. By helping fill Iranian coffers, China aids Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in financing proxies like the Houthis. Since October of last year, notable U.S. Treasury announcements have revealed covert links between China and the Houthis.

Striking the Houthis could trigger broader repercussions—not least by disrupting the flow of Iranian oil to China. While difficult to confirm, it is conceivable and has been reported, that the Houthis may have received financial or other forms of compensation from China (such as Chinese-made military components) in exchange for allowing freedom of passage for China-affiliated vessels in the Red Sea.