Cape Verde
The Cape Verde Islands are located in the mid-Atlantic Ocean some
450 kilometers (about 300 mi.) off the west coast of Africa. The
archipelago includes 10 islands and 5 islets, divided into the
windward (Barlavento) and leeward (Sotavento) groups. The main
islands in the Barlavento group are Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa
Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, and Boa Vista; those of the Sotavento group
include Maio, Santiago, Fogo, and Brava. All larger islands but
Santa Luzia are inhabited.
Three islands--Sal, Boa Vista, and Maio--generally are level and
very dry. Mountains higher than 1,280 meters (4,200 ft.) are found
on Santiago, Fogo, Santo Antão, and São Nicolau.
Sand carried by high winds has created spectacular rock formations
on all islands, especially the windward ones. Sheer, jagged cliffs
rise from the sea on several of the mountainous islands. Natural
vegetation is sparse in the uplands and coast, but interior valleys
support denser growth.
Rainfall is irregular, and the archipelago suffers periodic droughts
and consequent food shortages. The average precipitation per year in
Praia is 24 centimeters (9.5 in.). During the winter, storms blowing
from the Sahara sometimes cloud the sky, but sunny days are the norm
year round.
The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the Portuguese
discovered the islands in 1456. Enslaved Africans were brought to
the islands to work on Portuguese plantations. They were joined by
entrepreneurs and refugees fleeing religious persecution in Europe,
leading to a rich cultural and ethnic mix. The influence of African
culture is most pronounced on the island of Santiago, where half the
population resides. Sparse rain and few natural resources
historically have induced Cape Verdeans to emigrate. It is believed
that of the more than 1 million individuals of Cape Verdean
ancestry, fewer than half actually live on the islands. Some 500,000
people of Cape Verdean ancestry live in the United States, mainly in
New England. Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, France, and Senegal also
have large communities.
The official language is Portuguese, but most Cape Verdeans also
speak a Creole dialect--Crioulo--which is based on archaic
Portuguese but influenced by African and European languages. Cape
Verde has a rich tradition of Crioulo literature and music. |
|
In 1462, Portuguese settlers arrived at Santiago and founded Ribeira
Grande (now Cidade Velha)--the first permanent European settlement
city in the tropics. In the 16th century, the archipelago prospered
from the transatlantic slave trade. Pirates occasionally attacked
the Portuguese settlements. Sir Francis Drake sacked Ribeira Grande
in 1585. After a French attack in 1712, the city declined in
importance relative to Praia, which became the capital in 1770.
With the decline in the slave trade, Cape Verde's early prosperity
slowly vanished. However, the islands' position astride mid-Atlantic
shipping lanes made Cape Verde an ideal location for re-supplying
ships. Because of its excellent harbor, Mindelo (on the island of
São Vicente) became an important commercial center during the 19th
century.
Portugal changed Cape Verde's status from a colony to an overseas
province in 1951 in an attempt to blunt growing nationalism.
Nevertheless, in 1956, Amilcar Cabral, a Cape Verdean, and a group
of Cape Verdeans and Guinea-Bissauans organized (in Guinea-Bissau)
the clandestine African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau
and Cape Verde (PAIGC), which demanded improvement in economic,
social, and political conditions in Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea
and formed the basis of the two nations' independence movement.
Moving its headquarters to Conakry, Guinea in 1960, the PAIGC began
an armed rebellion against Portugal in 1961. Acts of sabotage
eventually grew into a war in Portuguese Guinea that pitted 10,000
Soviet bloc-supported PAIGC soldiers against 35,000 Portuguese and
African troops.
By 1972, the PAIGC controlled much of Portuguese Guinea despite the
presence of the Portuguese troops, but the organization did not
attempt to disrupt Portuguese control in Cape Verde. Portuguese
Guinea declared independence in 1973 and was granted de jure
independence in 1974. Following the April 1974 revolution in
Portugal, the PAIGC became an active political movement in Cape
Verde. In December 1974, the PAIGC and Portugal signed an agreement
providing for a transitional government composed of Portuguese and
Cape Verdeans. On June 30, 1975, Cape Verdeans elected a National
Assembly, which received the instruments of independence from
Portugal on July 5, 1975.
Immediately following the November 1980 coup in Guinea-Bissau,
relations between Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau became strained. Cape
Verde abandoned its hope for unity with Guinea-Bissau and formed the
African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). Problems
have since been resolved, and relations between the countries are
good. The PAICV and its predecessor established a one-party system
and ruled Cape Verde from independence until 1990.
Responding to growing pressure for pluralistic democracy, the PAICV
called an emergency congress in February 1990 to discuss proposed
constitutional changes to end one-party rule. Opposition groups came
together to form the Movement for Democracy (MPD) in Praia in April
1990. Together, they campaigned for the right to contest the
presidential election scheduled for December 1990. The one-party
state was abolished September 28, 1990, and the first multi-party
elections were held in January 1991. The MPD won a majority of the
seats in the National Assembly, and MPD presidential candidate
Mascarenhas Monteiro defeated the PAICV's candidate with 73.5% of
the votes. Legislative elections in December 1995 increased the MPD
majority in the National Assembly. The party won 50 of the National
Assembly's 72 seats. A February 1996 presidential election returned
President Mascarenhas Monteiro to office. Legislative elections in
January 2001 returned power to the PAICV, with the PAICV holding 40
of the National Assembly seats, MPD 30, and Party for Democratic
Convergence (PCD) and Party for Labor and Solidarity (PTS) 1 each.
In February 2001, the PAICV-supported presidential candidate Pedro
Pires defeated former MPD leader Carlos Veiga by only 13 votes. |
|
