Cape Verde (Portuguese: Cabo Verde) is a country in West Africa. It comprises a group of islands of the Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal.
Regions
Cape Verde is formed by 10 main islands and about 8 islets. The main islands are:
Cities
Other destinations
Understand
Cape Verde (pop. 480.000) is located 500 km from the west coast of Africa. The once uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; they subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and re-supply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Independence was achieved in 1975.
Most Cape Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents.
Climate
Cape Verde’s climate is temperate, with a warm, dry summer. Precipitation is meager and very erratic.
Holidays
The national holiday is the 5th of July, Independence Day.
Get in
By plane
International flights land at the island of Sal, 110 miles (170 km) northeast of the capital.
There are regular flights from Amsterdam, Boston (weekly), Fortaleza (Brazil) (weekly), Lisbon (daily), Madrid, Milan, Munich and Oporto operated by TACV.
Cape Verde is also serviced by Air Senegal (from Dakar), SAA (from South Africa) and TAP airlines.
As of November 06 you can fly direct to Santa Maria on Sal from London Gatwick and Manchester on Astraeus and also with Thomson Holidays
By boat
There are only infrequent, expensive connections to the mainland.
Get around
Timetables in Cape Verde are not to be taken too seriously - don't be too surprised if that boat departs ahead of schedule or if that flight suddenly gets postponed until tomorrow. This is important to consider if you decide to do some island-hopping. Do not risk missing your flight home by being too optimistic regarding domestic transport between the islands.
By plane
TACV Cabo Verde airlines has regular flights between the majority of the islands. If you can afford to wait until you arrive, domestic tickets are cheaper if purchased in Cape Verde.
By boat
There are ferry services between the islands. Depending on the distance between the islands you are going from and to, flying can be significantly shorter but also significantly more expensive.
By taxi
Nice, new taxis are available in the major cities and are metered. Aluguers, which are usually either open back pickup trucks with bench seats or 15 passenger Toyota vans, tend to travel between more rural destinations, particularly on Santa Antao.
Talk
The official language is Portuguese. Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words) is widely spoken. Because of Cape Verde's proximity to Francophone Africa, French is the number one foreign language but is still not widely spoken.
Buy
Costs
Eat
European food is common on all the islands. Italian is especially popular on Sal. Not very many options for vegetarians
Stay safe
Crime rates are relatively low. The emergency number is 132.
Stay healthy
The tap water is all desalinated and is perfectly good for anyone to drink.
Contact
The telephone system is effective and improving. There is mobile phone coverage.
The country also has one internet service provider.
The Republic of Cape Verde or Cape Verde (Portuguese: Cabo Verde, pron. ) is a republic located on an archipelago in the Macaronesia ecoregion of the North Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast of Africa. The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century.
The country is named after Cap Vert (meaning Green Cape) in Senegal, the westernmost point of continental Africa.
History
Cape Verde was uninhabited when the Portuguese arrived in 1456 and made the islands part of the Portuguese empire. Due to its location off the coast of Africa, Cape Verde became an important watering station, then sugar cane plantation site, and later a major center of the slave trade.
In 1975, the islands achieved independence, partly due to the efforts of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC). After independence, the PAIGC attempted to unite Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau into one nation, the PAIGC controlling both governments, but a coup in the latter nation in 1980 ended these plans. In Cape Verde itself the PAICV (affiliated with the PAIGC) governed until democratic elections, held in 1991, resulted in a change of government. The Movimento para a Democracia (MPD) won that election. The MPD was re-elected in 1996. The PAICV returned to power in 2001, and were re-elected in 2006.
Politics
Politics of Cape Verde takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Cape Verde is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Geography
Cape Verde is an archipelago off the west coast of Africa at 15.02N, 23.34W. It is formed by 10 main islands and about 8 islets. The main islands are:
Of these, only Santa Luzia and the five islets are uninhabited. Presently it is a Natural Reserve. All islands are volcanic, but an active volcano only exists on one of the islands, Fogo (see Mount Fogo).
The islets are Branco, Razo.
Environment
The isolation of Cape Verde about 500 km from the African mainland has resulted in the islands having a large number of endemic species, many of which are endangered by human development. Endemic birds include Alexander's Swift (Apus alexandri), Raso Lark (Alauda razae), Cape Verde Warbler (Acrocephalus brevipennis), and Iago Sparrow (Passer iagoensis), and reptiles include the Cape Verde Giant Gecko (Tarentola gigas).
Climate
Cape Verde is in the subtropical zone. Average temperatures range from 24°C (75°F) in January and February to 29°C (85°F) in September. The average annual rainfall for Cape Verde is 68.4 mm, with September the wettest month with 33.6 mm. Conversely, the months April to July record less than one millimetre of rainfall each. Cape Verde's position in the Atlantic contributes to its mild, moist climate.
Counties
Cape Verde is divided into 17 counties (concelhos, singular concelho), sometimes referred to as municipalities (municÃpios, singular municÃpio), listed roughly clockwise:
Economy
Cape Verde is a small nation that lacks resources and has experienced severe droughts. Agriculture is made difficult by lack of rain, and is restricted to only four islands for most of the year. Most of the nation's GDP comes from the service industry. Cape Verde's economy has grown since the late 1990s, and it is now considered a country of average development. Cape Verde has significant cooperation with Portugal at every level of the economy, leading it to link its currency first to the Portuguese escudo, and, in 1999, to the euro.
Former Portuguese prime minister José Manuel Durão Barroso, now (second semester 2004) president of the European Commission, has promised to help integrate Cape Verde within the European Union sphere of influence via greater cooperation with Portugal. In March 2005, former Portuguese president Mário Soares launched a petition urging the European Union to start membership talks with Cape Verde.
Demographics
Most inhabitants of Cape Verde are mestiços, descendants of enslaved Africans and white Portuguese settlers. Mestiços’ European ancestors also include Spanish and Italian seamen who were granted land by Portuguese Empire and followed by Portuguese settlers and exiles and Portuguese Jews who were victims of the Inquisition. The remainder includes mostly black Africans or Europeans (most Portuguese left the country after independence). Many foreigners from other parts of the world settled Cape Verde as their permanent country. Most of them were Dutch, French, British, Arabs and Jews (from Lebanon and Morocco), Chinese (especially from Macau), Americans, and Brazilians (including people of Portuguese and African descent) settlers. All of these have been absorbed into the mestiço population.
The majority of the population adheres to Christianity, mostly Catholicism which constitutes some 90% of the population (in many areas Catholicism and indigenous are syncretised). The remaining includes a sizeable Protestant community as well as a small number of Bahai and even smaller Muslim groups.
More Cape Verdeans live abroad than in Cape Verde, with significant emigrant Cape Verdean communities in the United States (500,000 Cape Verdeans), Portugal (80,000) and Angola (45,000). There are also significant number of Cape Verdeans in São Tomé and PrÃncipe, Senegal, France, Brazil and the Netherlands. Cape Verdean populations also settled Spain, Germany, and other CPLP countries (Brazil and Guinea-Bissau).
Culture
The culture of Cape Verde reflects its mixed African and Portuguese roots. It is well known for its diverse forms of music such as Morna and the urban Angolan kizomba, and a wide variety of dances: the soft dance Morna, and its modernized version, passada, the Funaná - a sensual mixed Portuguese and African dance, the extreme sensuality of coladeira, and the Batuque dance. These are reflective of the diverse origins of Cape Verde's residents. The term "Cabo" is used to refer to residents as well as the culture of Cape Verde.
: See also: List of writers from Cape Verde
Cape Verdean literature
Cape Verdean literature is one of the richest of Lusitanian Africa.
Music
; Artist
Bricks and Burnz, Eugénio Tavares, Francisco Xavier da Cruz (B.Leza), Adalberto "Betú" Silva, Carlos Alberto "Kaká" Barbosa, Ano Nobu, Renato Cardoso, Amândio Cabral, Patric Anjos, Paulino Vieira, Codê di Dona, Daniel "Nhelas" Spencer, Orlando Pantera, Daniel Rendall, LuÃs Rendall, Fantcha, Manuel de Novas , Vasco Martins, Jorge Fernandes Monteiro (Jotamont), Malamba Caçanhé, Frank Cavaquim (Francisco Vicente Gomes)
; Genres
Morna, Coladeira, Colá, Batuque, Funaná, Mazurka, Hip Hop
External links
Artists
BRICKS AND BURNZ, Antoninho Travadinha, Antoni Denti D'Oro, Ana Firmino, Arlinda Santos, Bana, Bulimundo, Bius, Bau, Boss AC, Blick Tchutche, Codé di Dona, Cabo Verde Show, Cesária Évora, Celina Pereira,
Cordas do Sol, Dany Silva, Suzanna Lubrano, Daniel Rendall, Dom Clifton aka DECYFA, Eddy Moreno, Frank Mimita, Fantcha, Fernando Quejas, Fortinho, Ildo Lobo, Jorge Humberto, Jacqueline Fortes, Jorge Neto, José Casimiro, João Cirilo, LuÃs Morais, Leonel Almeida, Livity, Lura, Maria-Alice, Mayra Andrade, Marinho Silva, Maria de Barros, Malaquias, Nancy Vieira, Nácia Gomi, Os Tubarões, Orlando Pantera, Paulino Vieira, Raiss di Funaná, Gé Mendes, Tcheka, Teofilo Chantre, Titina, Tututa, Tulipa Negra, Tito Paris, Tó Cruz, Sara Tavares, Simentera, Splash, Gil Semedo, Grace Évora, Gilyto, Voz de Cabo Verde, Voz d'Ãfrica, Voginha, Xema Lopi, Zeca Nha Reinalda, Zézé Nha Reinalda, Kiki Lima, Gabriela Mendes, Noah Andrade
Language
Cape Verde's official language is Portuguese. It is the language of instruction and official acts. However, the Cape Verdean Creole is used colloquially. It is a dialect continuum of a Portuguese-based creole, which vary considerably from island to island.
There is a substantial body of literature in Creole, especially in the Santiago Creole and the São Vicente Creole. Creole has been gaining prestige since the nation's independence from Portugal.
However, the substantial differences between the different forms of the language within the islands, have been a major obstacle in the way of standardization of the language. Some people have advocated the development of two standards: a North (Barlavento) standard, centered on the São Vicente Creole, and a South (Sotavento) standard, centered on the Santiago Creole.
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References
External links
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