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The Republic of Cape Verde or Cape Verde (Portuguese: Cabo Verde, pron. IPA: ['kabu 'veɾdɨ]) 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
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. PoliticsPolitics 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.
GeographyImage:Capeverde.jpg Cape Verde satellite image 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:
EnvironmentThe 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). ClimateCape 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. CountiesImage:Cape Verde counties named.png Counties of Cape Verde Image:CapeVerdeIslands.jpg An aerial view of Cape Verde Image:IMG0078.jpg Cidade Velha Cape Verde is divided into seventeen counties (concelhos, singular concelho), sometimes referred to as municipalities (municípios, singular município), listed roughly clockwise:
EconomyImage:Mindelo portogrande.jpg Porto Grande, the harbour of Mindelo, Sao Vicente Island Image:Praia aerialview.jpg An aerial view of the capital Praia 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. DemographicsImage:Pecheurs tarrafal.jpg Fishermen in Cape Verde Image:Sea-salt-minemaio.jpg Sea salt mine in Cape Verde Image:Santo Antao 01.jpg Santo Antão, Cape Verde Image:Sao Vicente.jpg Sao Vicente, Cape Verde Image:IMG0098x.jpg Assomada.S.Catarina. 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 (English), 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. 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 Príncipe, Senegal, France, Brazil and the Netherlands. Cape Verdean populations also settled Spain, Germany, and other CPLP countries (Brazil and Guinea-Bissau).
CultureThe culture of Cape Verde reflects its mixed African and Portuguese roots. It is well known for its diverse forms of music such as Morna (like the Portuguese Fado) and the urban Angolan kizomba, and a wide variety of dances: the soft dance Morna, and its modernized version, pasada, the Funana - a sensual mixed Portuguese and African dance, the extreme sensuality of coladeira (literally "glued"), and the African 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.
Cape Verdean literatureCape Verdean literature is one of the richest of Lusitanian Africa.
Image:Old postcard SaoVicente2.jpg postcard from Sao Vicente Music
Bricks and Burnz, Eugénio Tavares, Francisco Xavier da Cruz (B.Leza), Adalberto "Betu" Silva, Carlos Alberto "Kaka" Barbosa, Ano Nobu, Renato Cardoso, Amandio Cabral, Paulino Vieira, Code di Dona, Daniel "Nhelas" Spencer, Orlando Pantera, Daniel Rendall, Luís Rendall, Fantcha Manuel de Novas [1], Vasco Martins, Jorge Fernandes Monteiro (Jotamont), Malamba Caçanhé, Frank Cavaquim (Francisco Vicente Gomes)
Morna, Coladeira, Cola-Sanjon, Batuque, Funaná, Mazurca, Hip Hop
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