The caravel has left Lisbon to discover new land...the Infante Henrique, Duke of Viseu, bears the ambition of expanding the Portuguese Kingdom throughout the seas…
1456: 12 uninhabited islands are discovered (5 by the Italian Antonio da Noli and 7 by the Portuguese Diogo Gomes and Diogo Afonso – all working for the Portuguese throne). This archipelago was baptized “Cape Verde” (formed by the following Islands: Brava, Fogo, Santiago, Maio, Boa Vista, São Nicolau, São Vicente, Santo Antão, Santa Luzia, Ilhéu Branco e Ilhéu Grande).
In the following centuries, the strategic location of Cape Verde, contributed immensely not only to its economic development (since it supplied ships with goods and all slaves going to Vera Cruz, the Caribbean and south of the United States were fetched here); but also to Brazil’s colonisation process and economic history (several animal and plant species introduced in the new colony had come from the archipelago).
1650: Cape Verde becomes the administrator of the Portuguese territory of Guinea.
1817: The opening of the first public primary school, in Praia city (Santiago Island).
1831-1833: Period of hunger, resulting in the death of thousands of people. International help arrived from the United States, since Portugal was going through a civil war (1828-1834).
1838: The British install, in Mindelo (São Vicente Island), a coal deposit (due to steam boats). New periods of hunger, that provoked a mass emigration of Cape Verdeans.
1876: Abolition of the slave trade. The interest for the islands decreased until the 20th century, after the WWII.
Cape Verde achieved its independence in the 5th of July, 1975 (after the Portuguese revolution of 1974).
The majority of Cape Verdeans is mulatto (since they are a mix of the descendants of slaves and their Portuguese masters).
The language spoken in this country is the crioulo of Portuguese lexical basis (since it preserved some lexical, phonological and semantic roots of the Portuguese spoken during the 16th and 17th centuries).
The traditional music of the archipelago stems from European musical elements (mainly from Portugal); and its genres are: batuque, koladera, funáná, morna (which is similar to fado) and tabanca.
We shall start by funáná: the video below introduces you to Gilyto, singing "Larga", where he encourages us never to quit on our ambitions, to believe in ourselves and to have faith in God (the chorus "Cá bu larga" = don't quit).
I must warn you that the rythm of this song is contagious...so have fun!
