15th century The islands of Cape Verde were first discovered by Europeans in 1460-62 by
Prince Henry the Navigator (Son of King John I) and Antonio Noli, in the service of Henry's relative
King Afonso V. The southeastern islands, including the largest island
Santiago, were discovered in 1460 by
António de Noli and
Diogo Gomes. The remaining northwestern islands
São Nicolau,
São Vicente and
Santo Antão were discovered in 1461 or 1462 by
Diogo Afonso. There is no evidence of human settlement on Cape Verde prior to the arrival of the Portuguese. Other early Portuguese settlements were
São Filipe on the island of
Fogo (between 1470 and 1490),
Praia on Santiago (before 1516), Between 1492 and 1497, Most married or had unions with African women, creating close trade ties with their families and clans.
16th—19th centuries The riches of Ribeira Grande and conflicts between Portugal and rival colonial powers France and Britain attracted pirate attacks, including those by
Francis Drake (
1585) and
Jacques Cassard (
1712). The eruption of the volcano
Pico do Fogo in 1680 covered much of the island of Fogo in ash, which forced many inhabitants to flee to the nearby island of
Brava. From the end of the 18th century,
whaling ships from
North America started hunting whales around the Azores and the Cape Verde Islands. They used the harbours of Brava to stock up on supplies and drinking water. They hired men from Brava as sailors, and several of these settled around the Massachusetts whaling port of
New Bedford. The port city of
Mindelo grew rapidly after 1838, when a
coal depot was established to supply ships on
Atlantic routes. In the course of the 19th century, the
Plateau of Praia was completely redeveloped with streets according to a
grid plan, lined with grand colonial buildings and mansions.
20th century From the beginning of the 20th century the port of Mindelo lost its importance for transatlantic navigation. Causes for this were the shift from coal to oil as fuel for ships, the rise of competing ports like Dakar and the Canary Islands and the lack of investment in port infrastructure. Several thousands of islanders emigrated, for instance accepting contract labour on the cocoa plantations of
Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe. In the lead-up to and during the
Portuguese Colonial War, those planning and fighting in the
armed conflict in
Portuguese Guinea often linked the goal of liberation of
Guinea-Bissau to the goal of liberation in Cape Verde. For instance, in 1956,
Amílcar and
Luís Cabral founded the
African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). However, there was no armed conflict in Cape Verde, and ultimately independence for Cape Verde resulted from negotiation with Portugal after the April 1974
Carnation Revolution. In August 1974, an agreement was signed in
Algiers between the Portuguese government and the PAIGC, recognising the independence of Guinea-Bissau and the right to independence of Cape Verde. On 5 July 1975, at Praia, Portugal's Prime Minister
Vasco Gonçalves turned over power to National Assembly President
Abílio Duarte, and Cape Verde became independent. Cape Verde Islanders had higher educational levels and were often appointed to low-level administrative posts in Portuguese territories. Thereby they acquired a reputation of loyalty to Lisbon. ==Gallery==