Colonization

The islands were found by Aloysia Cada-Mosto, a Venetian navigator working for Portugal. This occurred in 1456, and from then on, Portuguese colonization steadily established on the islands. At the same time, the islands have been mentioned in older eras — among Arab visitors.

Beginning in 1462, European colonists began to arrive on the islands in small groups. The islands were not only populated by Portuguese, but also by Spaniards, Genoese, and French. Thousands of Jewish political refugees also came on the islands a short time afterwards.

The location of the islands was essential to the colonists since numerous commercial ships from Europe and America travelled through that part of the Atlantic Ocean. Slavery was practiced in every part of the islands. As a result, in today's Cape Verde, the majority of the population is mulatto. Throughout this time, the archipelago was a Portuguese colony, and it was only in 1974 that it became a sovereign country.