An archipelago known as a dream destination, Cape Verde is formed of ten islands. This small island state is located off the coast of West Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean. Discovered in the 1450s, Cape Verde held many mysteries! Since then, this country is populated and has developed a culture that is waiting to be discovered.
As soon as the islands were discovered by the Portuguese navigators, they served as an important trading place. Indeed, Cape Verde was a land where slaves circulated and were picked up by boat. It was
also a place to get supplies, when the sailors needed to make a stopover, for example. Moreover, the archipelago offered important resources at the time, such as coal. Finally, the last center of interest for Cape Verde, at the time, was the maritime fauna. Whaling was a widespread and often practiced activity around Cape Verde, which represented an economic advantage in the past. The country was thus marked by exploitation and lost this dynamic from the 19th century, when slavery was abolished. Despite this, the archipelago remained under the control of the Portuguese nation until 1975, when it gained independence after decolonization.
Of all the islands of the archipelago, Santiago is the one with the largest surface and the largest population. Conversely, the most populated island in the country is Santiago, which we will discuss in the second fact. If we are really interested in the civilian population of Cape Verde, it is necessary to know that this country is inhabited by 555,000 inhabitants. Among all this population, which is moreover varied between ethnic groups of Africa and Europe, 274 000 populate Santiago! This represents almost half of the population concentrated in one island! After all, the island of Santiago has an area of 991 square kilometers. That's where the capital, the city of Praia, is located. This place is a capital worthy of the name, since it meets all possible needs! It is both the port for fer