“Whoever tells the truth is chased out of nine villages” - Cape Verdean Proverb
(Cape Verde flag (1992-Present))
Cape Verde is a group of 10 islands off the west coast of Africa.
(Map of where Cape Verde is located)
Its capital is Praia. Praia is also its largest city. The official language is Portuguese. The country is 1,557 square miles. Cape Verde is 54% African and 44% European. 95% of Cape Verde practice Christianity, 2% practice Islam, 2% practice Judaism, and 1% are atheist. The total population is 525,000. The climate is tropical. Cape Verde is a unitary semi presidential republic.
(Praia, capital of Cape Verde)
Cape Verdean cuisine consists of fish, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, manioc, cabbage, kale, dried beans and cachupa.
(Cape Verdean cuisine)
The major style of music is morna.
(Cape Verdeans performing during a celebration)
Cape Verde’s most popular sport is soccer.
(Cape Verde’s soccer team)
The Cape Verde islands were originally uninhabited. In 1456 the Portuguese came to the islands.
(A drawing of the Portuguese colonizing Cape Verde)
In the 1500s the Portuguese used the islands as a slave port.
(A painting of the slave trade in Cape Verde)
Pirates occasionally attacked the Portuguese settlements. In 1712 the French attacked the islands’ capital of Ribeira Grande. In 1770 the capital was changed to Praia. In 1951 Portugal changed Cape Verde's status from a colony to an overseas province in an attempt to blunt growing nationalism.
(Cape Verde flag (1456-1975))
In 1956 Amílcar Cabral and a group of fellow Cape Verdeans and Guineans organised the clandestine African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). It demanded improvement in economic, social and political conditions in Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea and formed the basis of the two nations' independence movement.
(Amilcar Cabral)
In 1961 the PAIGC began an armed rebellion against Portugal. 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. The organization did not attempt to disrupt Portuguese control in Cape Verde. In 1974 the PAIGC became an active political movement in Cape Verde. On July 5th, 1975 Cape Verde gained its independence.
(Cape Verde flag (1975-1992))
In the 1980 coup in Guinea-Bissau, relations between Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau became strained. In 1990 Cape Verde’s 1 party system was abolished. In 1992 Cape Verde changed its flag.
(Cape Verde flag (1992-Present))
In 1996 António Mascarenhas Monteiro was elected president.
(António Mascarenhas Monteiro)
In 2001 Pedro Pires became president. In 2014 a volcano erupted causing 1000 people to spend the night outside their homes due to the strong earthquakes caused by the eruption. The eruption destroyed the housing stock of the village of Portela in the Chã das Caldeiras.
(Destruction caused by the volcano)
Today marks the 42nd anniversary of Cape Verde’s independence and we would like to say happy independence day Cape Verde.
Videos of Cape Verde Independence
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjQjp-SWkbw “Cape Verdeans Celebrate at 38th annual Independence Day Festival”
Very informative article, I enjoyed reading it!
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