History of Cape Verde
The history of Cape Verde traces the islands from Portuguese settlement and colonial rule through independence in 1975 to the modern republic.
Portuguese colonization of Cape Verde: Portuguese settlement and rule established Cape Verde as a colonial society and Atlantic waystation. The islands’ recorded history begins with Portuguese settlement in the fifteenth century.
Amílcar Cabral: A Cape Verdean-born agronomist and anticolonial leader who co-founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde. His political thought and organizing helped lead the independence movement.
Aristides Pereira: A Cape Verdean independence leader who became the country’s first president in 1975. As president, he led the newly independent state through its one-party era.
Cape Verdean diaspora: Communities of Cape Verdean origin living outside the islands, especially in Portugal, the United States, and other Atlantic countries. Emigration has long affected the islands’ population, economy, and ties to the wider world.
History of Guinea-Bissau: The history of Guinea-Bissau, from precolonial societies and Portuguese rule through armed independence and the modern state. The shared liberation movement ended in separate states with different postcolonial trajectories.
Portuguese Empire: A global empire ruled by Portugal from the fifteenth century into the twentieth. Cape Verde’s colonial history unfolded within Portugal’s wider imperial system.
African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde: An anticolonial movement that led the struggle for independence in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. The party organized resistance to Portuguese rule and became the ruling party after independence.
Pedro Pires: A Cape Verdean independence leader and politician who served as prime minister and later president. His career links the liberation movement, the transition to multiparty politics, and the modern republic.
Cape Verdean famine: Recurring famine in Cape Verde, especially during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, caused by drought and colonial vulnerability. Drought and inadequate relief made famine a defining part of colonial and postcolonial memory.
Portuguese Guinea: The Portuguese colonial territory that became the independent state of Guinea-Bissau in 1973–1974. It was paired with Cape Verde in the independence movement but had a distinct colonial and wartime history.