According to ethnicityology, Cape Verde is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, located approx. 570 km off the west coast of Africa (near Dakar, Senegal) and is an independent republic. The name means “The Green Forbjerg”.

The Cape Verde archipelago consists of 10 main islands and 8 smaller islands, which are divided into two archipelagos: Barlaventos (northern archipelago) and Sotaventos (southern archipelago). All the islands are volcanic, and an active volcano is found on one island, Fogo (“Pico de Fogo”). The most recent eruption was in 1995. The other Cape Verde islands are São Vicente, São Nicolau, Santo Antão, Maio and Little Brava.

The then uninhabited islands were discovered by the Portuguese during the great voyages of discovery in the middle of the 15th century and were later used as a hub for the Portuguese slave trade. Cape Verde became independent in 1975 after the Carnation Revolution in Portugal on April 25, 1974. Cape Verde’s largest city is the capital Praia, located on the island of São Tiago, which is also Cape Verde’s most populous island.

Due to its location off the west coast of Africa, which was strategic in relation to the trade route between Africa, Europe and the New World, Cape Verde became an important port and hub for the slave trade.

Cape Verde’s culture reflects the country’s Portuguese and African roots.

In recent years, a lot of tourism has arisen on the island of Sal, where the international airport is also located. The island is flat and barren, but has long sandy beaches along the south coast. The trade winds and the very steep volcanic islands make the place ideal for surfing and windsurfing, which is also an essential part of the core of tourism on Sal. The local population on Sal is very limited. In the other islands, tourism is very limited. Here, the language can constitute a barrier, as only a few speak English.

Google Maps TIMELINE:

1456 – The explorer Alvise Cadamosto is sent out by Henry the Navigator to explore the Atlantic coast. He discovered several of Cape Verde’s islands. When Cadamosto and his men arrived in Cape Verde, the islands were uninhabited, and on behalf of the Portuguese Crown, he claimed the archipelago. In the following decade, captains Diogo Dias and António Noli explored the rest of the archipelago on behalf of Henrik Søfareren.

1582/1585 – Sir Francis Drake of England plunders Riberia Grande (now Cidade Velha ) during the growing economic growth of the slave trade.

1747 – The islands are hit by the first of many droughts, which have since hit the islands about five years apart. Conditions worsened due to deforestation and overgrazing. Three major periods of drought in the 18th and 19th centuries led to more than 100,000 people starving to death. The Portuguese colonial masters sent very little help to the islanders during the droughts.

1770 – Praia becomes the capital.

1832 – The islands are visited by Charles Darwin ‘s expedition.

1910-25 – During this period, Portugal had 40 different governments as well as 18 revolutions and coup attempts, and in 1926 the last of a long series of military coups took place in Portugal. The country became a right-wing dictatorship, which regarded the colonies as a means of increasing the country’s prosperity, and that these had to be developed in the interests of Portugal and the Portuguese. Several cases of famine, high unemployment and poverty as well as the inability of the Portuguese colonial masters to solve the problems led to increased resistance to the colonial power of the population.

1956 – The African Party of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Independence (Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde – PAIGC) is founded by Amílcar Cabral.

1959 – April 3. After three years of preparation, it was ready with its first action, which marked the start of a fifteen-year war of liberation for Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea. It happened in connection with the strike in the port of Pijuguiti in Porto de Bissau in Portuguese Guinea. The Colony Police (PIDE) cracked down on the strike and opened fire on the striking dock workers, killing 50 people. In addition to local forces, 10,000 Soviet and 35,000 Portuguese soldiers also took part in the ensuing War of Independence, which was to prove to be the longest-running of the African Liberation Wars.

1974 – April 25. The fascist regime Portugal was deposed in a military coup called the Carnation Revolution. The following year, the Republic of Cape Verde gained full independence with Aristides Pereia of PAICV as President. He promised to lead a democratic and socialist nation when he was elected president, but he instead worsened the country’s economic situation and persecuted dissidents by the regime. Cape Verde now became a one-party state, and the country entered into alliances with countries such as the People’s Republic of China and Libya. The one-party rule lasted until 1990.