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Portuguese, Cape Verdean, and Hawaii history is intermixed. It was part of the Portuguese empire. And, Cape Verdean whalers were some of the earliest non-native settlers in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
This is a timeline of historical events for Cape Verde (known to natives as Cabo Verde) and covers the 1400s to 2001.
Historical Timeline for the Island of Cape Verde
- Pre-1400s–The Moors and others may have visited the islands but never inhabited them.
- 1456–Islands discovered by Luigi de Cadamosto, a navigator for Portugal
- 1460–Islands scouted by Diogo Gomes and Antonio de Nola, Portuguese explorers
- 1462–Colonists from Portugal begin settling in Ribeira Grande (now Cidade Velha), Santiago Island, Cape Verde
- 1460s–Slaves from West Africa are brought to the islands to work on plantations
- 1495–Cape Verde becomes part of the Portuguese empire
- 1500s–A penal colony is established for Portuguese convicts
- 1585–Sir Francis Drake sacks Ribeira Grande
- 16th Century–Cape Verde becomes a shipping center for the slave trade in Brasil and America
- 1747–First of many droughts hits the islands
- 1832–Charles Darwin visits Cape Verde and notes deforestation and overgrazing
- 1830s–Immigration to New England and Hawaii mostly by whalers begins
- 1876–Slavery abolished
- 1800s to 1900s–Cape Verde becomes a major shipping port in the Atlantic
- 1951–Status changed from colony to province
- 1961–Caboverdeans are given full Portuguese citizenship
- 1960s–Demonstrations and armed struggles against colonial army begin in Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau
- Jan 1973–Aristides Pereira becomes the first President and Pedro Pires is named first Prime Minister
- 1974–The Caetano regime falls in Portugal to Marxists
- July 1975–Cape Verde gains independence from Portugal
- 1991–First multiparty elections are held. Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro is the first freely elected President
- 1995–Literacy measured at 71.6% (one of the highest among African nations)
- 1997–Drought wipes out 80% of grain crops
- Jan 2001–Disenchantment with unemployment and the economy causes defeat of MPD party. Jose Maria Neves becomes prime minister
Copyright © 2003-2018 Melody Lassalle
Sources:
1. Embassy of Cape Verde.
2. Mary Winston Nicklin. “Cape Verde Gets Its Moment in the Sun“. Washington Post : 2018.
3. World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1993. Pharos Books, 1992.
4. New American Desk Encyclopedia, Signet, 1989. “Cape Verde” (page 222).
5. Infoplease.com. “Cape Verde“. Family Education Network Inc : 2000-2018.
