About Cape Verde

The country of the warm ‘Morabeza’ welcome. There is a word you will not find in any Portuguese dictionary and yet any visitor to Cape Verde will understand exactly what it means. The word is 'Morabeza'. It is a Cape Verde colloquialism that describes the inimitable welcome there is for visitors to their country, into their homes and to their tables.

This unmistakable charm wraps itself around visitors like the warm summer's breeze of these temperate tropical islands; a charm that exists in the smiling faces of Cape Verdeans, that exudes through their rhythmic dance and calls out through their music. It's a charm that was borne of a difficult colonial history, a charm that sustained them through it and a charm that is today flourishing amid an excess of spectacular indulgences available to visitors on this tropical archipelago.

In a frenetic world, Cape Verde is the quintessential island paradise retreat. Still largely undiscovered by the populist tourist trail, it is an unspoilt haven for people seeking to escape from hectic daily lives to a place where they can find can relax in an effortlessness and sumptuous environment.

The mix here on these islands is quite unbeatable. It is the tropical paradise with the golden and white sandy beaches, warm weather all year round, magnificent (dormant) volcanic mountains, exotic local cuisine, coastal flatlands and a rich indigenous culture celebrated with a great sense of abandon.

Cape Verde Islands are a republic in the Atlantic Ocean, 500km west of the 'bulge' of Africa. The archipelago is formed by ten sun-kissed islands and eight islets, which are divided into windward and leeward groups. The windward, or Barlavento, group to the north includes Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Santa Luzia, Sal, and Boa Vista; the leeward, or Sotavento, group to the south includes Santiago, Fogo, Maio and Brava. Cape Verde has a total area of 4,033 sq km.

 Land and resources

The Cape Verde Islands were created all of sixty million years ago from prolonged volcanic activity. While all volcanic in origin, three of the islands - Maio, Sal, and Boa Vista - are non-mountainous.

The climate is tropical and dry, showing little variation throughout the year. The average temperature in the capital, Praia, ranges from 20° to 25°C in January and 24° to 28°C in July. Precipitation is slight and irregular, resulting in sparse vegetation mostly, almost taking on a lunar like effect in areas but punctuated by rich oases and deep and breathtaking luscious green valleys. The country's official language is Portuguese, but there is also the national language, Crioulo - a hybrid of Portuguese and African dialects. Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion.

The Cape Verde economy is largely service-oriented, with commerce, transport, and public services accounting for more than 70% of GDP. Some 70% of the population still live in rural areas, although agriculture and fishing contribute only about 10% of GDP. Light manufacturing accounts for most of the remainder.

Natural resources include salt, pozzolana (sandy, volcanic ash used to produce cement) and limestone; agriculture products include bananas, corn, beans, sugarcane, coffee, fruits, vegetables, livestock products. Cape Verde is also moderinising its fish processing industry (shellfish are a particular delicacy here), while other products produced on the island include clothing, shoes, beverages, salt, construction, building materials, ship repair, furniture and metal products.

The tourism sector is fast emerging as one of Cape Verde's most significant economic driversm, although the Cape Verde Government has strategic plans in place to ensure its continued growth can only be in a sustained way and does not compromise the unique unspoilt beauty of the islands.

There are two international airports, on the islands of Sal and Santiago, and two more are nearing completion, on Boa Vista and São Vicente.

Cape Verde has a multiparty democracy. The President, Mr Pedro PIRES, is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term. The Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Pereira NEVES, holds executive power and is nominated by the assembly and appointed by the president.

 History

Portuguese explorers discovered the islands around 1460 and two years later began settling there. Due to its strategic location just off the African coast with next stop Brazil, Cape Verde became a transhipment centre for slave trade. When slave trade was abolished in 1876, its importance dwindled, although it was replaced by altogether more approvable cargo as the British developed Sao Vicente's natural deep water port, Porto Grande, as a major coal deposit centre to supply ships on transatlantic routes. A submarine cable station was also developed at Mindelo, capital of Sao Vicente in the late 19th century and still attracted many ships until World War I. Trade increased again toward the middle of the 20th century.

In an attempt to abate the growing spirit of nationalism, Portugal in 1951 designated its African colonies, including Cape Verde, as overseas provinces. The provincial status gave Cape Verdeans access to higher education but lack of job opportunities and poverty in the islands forced many of the educated to take administrative jobs on the African mainland. There, they began to participate in growing nationalist movements. The Portuguese revolution in 1974 prompted mass mobilizations in Cape Verde, forcing the new Portuguese Government into negotiations with the PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde). The African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) was later formed and talks with the Portuguese culminated in independence for Cape Verde on July 5, 1975, ending five centuries of Portuguese rule. July 5th, Independence Day, remains a National Holiday on Cape Verde and is celebrated with a colour and pageantry typical of these islands.

A one-party system ruled Cape Verde from independence until 1990 when it had its first free presidential election. Since then, the economy has grown across all islands, with the Government adopting and pursuing market-oriented economic policies, including an open welcome to foreign investors, as well as a comprehensive privatization program.

The country's Diaspora, who are scattered through the United States, Europe, South America and Africa, have not forgotten their homeland and generate around 20% of the country's GDP through remittances to Cape Verde.

Those who come to Cape Verde will not forget either; will not forget the unique beauty of the islands, the tropical weather, the extraordinary hospitality and the engaging invitation to experience it all.