Welcome to Cape Verde

Let’s travel southeast across the Atlantic Ocean. The Cape Verde islands are 300 miles off the coast of

Africa.

About the

Islands

Cape Verde is made up of ten islands—Sao Vicente, Santa Antao, Sal, Sao Nicolau, Boa Vista, and Santa Luzia are the northern islands; Santiago, Fogo, Brava, and Maio are the southern islands.

Alvise Cadamosto, an explorer from Venice, Italy first discovered Cape Verde in 1456. He was sailing for Prince Henry of Portugal.

All of the islands were not discovered at the same time. Sal, Boa Vista, Santiago, and Maio were discovered in 1460, and Sao Vicente was discovered in 1462.

If we put all ten of the islands together, they would add up to 1,557 square miles. That is only slightly bigger than the state of Rhode Island (1,545 square miles).

The smallest island of Cape Verde is Santa Luzia. It is only 13 square miles. Southbridge is bigger, at 20 square miles.

No one lives on Santa Luzia.

Santiago is the largest island. Praia, the capital city of Cape Verde is located there.

Cidade Velha, the first Portuguese settlement on Cape Verde is also located on Santiago. It is an old historical city which is visited by many tourists each year.

Sal is the most popular tourist island of Cape Verde. People enjoy water sports such as diving and windsurfing at the beautiful beaches.

Sal got its name from the salt that was found there—“sal” means “salt”. These salt mines are no longer in use, but are still an interesting sight to see.

Sao Vicente is famous for Carnival in February and the 'Festival de Música da Baía das Gatas’ in August.

Cesaria Evora, a popular Cape Verdean singer was born in Sao Vicente.

Mt. Fogo, at 9, 281 feet, is the highest mountain of Cape Verde. It is also an active volcano!

Landforms

Mt. Fogo last erupted in 1995.

A small village, Chã das Caldeiras, is built in a crater of the volcano.

Here is a different picture of Monte Cara. Do you see the face that is hidden in the shape of the mountain?

Look closely at this picture. Do you notice anything special? Here is a clue for people who understand Spanish—the name of the mountain is Monte Cara.

People

The population of Cape Verde is 513,000 people. 71% of them are Creole (mixed Portuguese/African), 28% are African, and only 1% are European.

Many people from Cape Verde have left the islands and moved to New England. There are almost as many Cape Verdeans living in Massachusetts as there are living on the islands themselves.

These members of the Cape Verde National Football Team have two different uniforms. Blue uniforms are for home games and white uniforms are for away games. Both uniforms proudly show the stars that decorate Cape Verde’s flag.

Portuguese is the official language of Cape Verde, but most people speak Creole, which is a mix of Portuguese and African.

Cape Verdean Creole (Kriol) Alphabet

Some of the creole words are very similar to familiar Spanish words:

English Creole Spanish

Sunday Dia Dumingu domingo

Saturday Sábadu sábado

you're welcome di nada de nada

please pur favor por favor

water agu agua

one un uno

two dos dos

three tres tres

four kuátu cuatro

Education

Not only do children have to do their homework, but many also start working with their parents at a very young age. Children tend to follow in their parents’ footsteps, and they must learn the skills of fishing and farming very early in their lives.

All children must attend school from the ages of 6-14.

The Flag

The most recent flag of Cape Verde was adopted on September 22, 1992.

The blue stands for the sea and the sky.The white is for peace.The red represents effort.

The ten yellow stars represent the 10 islands.

The red and white stripes are the road to the construction of the country.

National Anthem

PORTUGUESE LYRICS

Canta, irmão

canta meu irmão

que a Liberdade é hino

e o Homem a certeza.

Com dignidade, enterra a semente

no po da ilha nua:

No despenhadeiro da vida

a esperança e do tamanho

do mar que nos abraça.

Sentinela de mares e ventos perseverante

entre estrelas e o Atlântico

entoa o cântico da Liberdade.

CHORUS

Canta, irmão

canta meu irmão

que a Liberdade é hino

e o Homem a certeza.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Sing, brother

Sing, my brother

For Freedom is a hymn

And Man a certainty.

With dignity, bury the seed

In the dust of the barren island:

In life ís precipice

Hope is as big as the sea

Which embraces us.

Unwavering sentinel of the seas and winds

Between the stars and the Atlantic ocean

Sing the Chant of Freedom.

CHORUS

Sing, brother

Sing, my brother

For Freedom is a hymn

And Man a certainty.

Cape Verde’s Independence Day is July 5, 1975.

Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires is the president of Cape Verde.

WeatherCape Verde is very warm all year round. What? You don’t think that 24-30 degrees is very warm? These temperatures are given in Celsius. In Fahrenheit, the temperatures would be 75-86. That sounds like beach weather to me!

Average Temperature

Average Hours of Sunshine

In Portuguese, “verde” means “green”, but there is not a lot of plant life on the islands. There are no fresh water lakes or rivers in Cape Verde, and there is very little rain (an average of 9.5 inches per year). With little water, plants do not grow.

Sea LifeCape Verde’s climate and warm ocean waters are helpful to some animals. Loggerhead turtles lay their eggs on the beaches of Maio.

Humpback whales come to Cape Verde to eat and to have their babies.

Blue Whale Long-beaked dolphin Bridled dolphin

Whale SharkManta Ray

Other Animals

Frigate Bird

Raso Lark

Red-Tailed Tropic Bird

The escudo is the national currency of Cape Verde.It takes 83 escudo to equal 1 U.S. dollar.

CURRENCY

Food Surrounded on all sides by water, Cape Verde’s islands offer access to many types of fish and shellfish, including tuna and lobster.

Cachupa is the most famous dish from Cape

Cachupa is the most famous dish from Cape Verde. Cachupa is a stew made from corn, meat, beans, vegetables, and sausages.Cachupa can also be made with fresh tuna.

The National Emblem of

Cape Verde