Cape Verde Island History
Cape Verde (04/05)
The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the Portuguese discovered the islands in 1456. African slaves were brought to the islands to work on Portuguese plantations. As a result, Cape Verdeans are of mixed African and European origin. 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. ... [Read More]
Cape Verde
The country has a market-based economy but little industry and few exploitable natural resources. Based on 1998 data, per capita income was $1,312 (162,105 Cape Verdean escudos). The country has a long history of economically driven emigration, primarily to Western Europe and the United States, and remittances from citizens abroad remained an important source of income. Even in years of optimum rainfall, the country can produce food for only 25 percent of the population of approximately 480,000 persons, which resulted in heavy reliance on international food aid. ... [Read More]
Country Commercial Guide
Rua Abilio Macedo n 6, Praia, Cape Verde Tel.: (238)-261-56-16 Fax: (238)-261-13-55 Versão em Português [Read More]
Cape Verde
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US Department Of State Post Report
Cape Verde is a fascinating and unique place to call home. The country is made up of 9 populated islands situated 15 degrees north of the equator and about 400 miles due west of Senegal, West Africa. The total country covers just over 4,000 sq. Km (1,500 sq. Mi.) and is about the same size as Rhode Island, the smallest U.S. State. The islands have about 450,000 inhabitants. The official language is Portuguese, but the real spoken language of the Cape Verdean people is Crioulo, an original combination of African dialects and Portuguese. The climate is sub-tropical, dry and sunny throughout most of the year - a byproduct of the Canary Current from the north and the northeast trade winds that arrive from the Sahara in northern Africa. Seasonal temperature variations are small on Santiago Island (where the capital Praia is located), ranging within the 70's and 80's most of the year. Throughout the island archipelago, micro- ... [Read More]
Guinea-Bissau (01/05)
The rivers of Guinea and the islands of Cape Verde were among the first areas in Africa explored by the Portuguese in the 15th century. Portugal claimed Portuguese Guinea in 1446, but few trading posts were established before 1600. In 1630, a "captaincy-general" of Portuguese Guinea was established to administer the territory. With the cooperation of some local tribes, the Portuguese entered the slave trade and exported large numbers of Africans to the Western Hemisphere via the Cape Verde Islands. Cacheu became one of the major slave centers, and a small fort still stands in the town. The slave trade declined in the 19th century, and Bissau, originally founded as a military and slave-trading center in 1765, grew to become the major commercial center. ... [Read More]
Outline of American History - Chapter 1
Settlement on the island of Manhattan began in the early 1620s. In 1624, the island was purchased from local Indians for thereported price of $24. It was promptly renamed New Amsterdam. ... An Outline of American History ... In 1585 Raleigh established the first British colony in NorthAmerica, on Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina. Itwas later abandoned, and a second effort two years later alsoproved a failure. It would be 20 years before the British wouldtry again. This time -- at Jamestown in 1607 -- the colony wouldsucceed, and North America would enter a new era. ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: President Bush Pledges New Partnership With Africa at Start of Trip
Bush and his delegation then traveled to the port of Dakar where they boarded Senegal's presidential yacht for the half hour trip to Goree Island. The island is the westernmost point of the African continent as well as the symbolic "point of no return" for the millions of Africans who were sent as slaves to the Western Hemisphere from the 16th through the 18th century. ... Dakar, Senegal -- In the shadow of Goree Island's "Door of No Return" that saw so many Africans shipped to the Americas as slaves, President Bush marked the beginning of his five-nation tour in Africa with the pledge, "We will ensure that the nations of Africa are full partners in the trade and prosperity of the world," stand side by side with them for peace and justice, confront "desperate hunger with food and compassion" and join together "in turning the tide against AIDS in Africa." ... [Read More]
The United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria: POTUS Visit to Nigeria - President Bush Pledges New Partnership With Africa at Start of Trip
Bush and his delegation then traveled to the port of Dakar where theyboarded Senegal's presidential yacht for the half hour trip to GoreeIsland. The island is the westernmost point of the African continentas well as the symbolic "point of no return" for the millions ofAfricans who were sent as slaves to the Western Hemisphere from the16th through the 18th century. ... July 8, 2003President Bush Pledges New Partnership With Africa at Start of Trip(Meets leaders of West African democracies, visits former slave houseon Goree Island)By Jim Fisher-Thompson ... [Read More]
Sao Tome and Principe (04/05)
The islands of Sao Tome and Principe, situated in the equatorial Atlantic about 300 and 250 kilometers (200 mi. and 150 mi.), respectively, off the northwest coast of Gabon, constitute Africa's smallest country. Both are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range, which also includes the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea to the north and Mount Cameroon on the African west coast. Sao Tome is 50 kilometers (31 mi.) long and 32 kilometers (20 mi.) wide and the more mountainous of the two islands. Its peaks reach 2,024 meters (6,640 ft.). Principe is about 30 kilometers (19 mi.) long and 6 kilometers (4 mi.) wide. Swift streams radiating down the mountains through lush forest and cropland to the sea cross both islands. ... [Read More]
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