Superior sugar colonies in the western hemisphere have begun to hurt the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe.

The large enslaved population also proves difficult to control, with Portugal unable to invest many resources in the effort.

Sugar cultivation thus declines as the Dutch take their fight overseas, attacking Spanish and Portuguese colonies and shipping, allying in turn with rival local leaders, and dismantling the Portuguese trade monopoly in Asia.

The Portuguese Empire, consisting primarily of exposed coastal settlements vulnerable to being picked off one by one, proves to be an easier target than the Spanish Empire.

The Dutch–Portuguese War begins with an attack on São Tomé and Príncipe in 1597.