São Vicente, Cape Verde
Encyclopedia
São Vicente also Son Visent or Son Sent in Cape Verdean Creole, is one of the Barlavento island
s of Cape Verde
. It is located between the islands of Santo Antão and Santa Luzia
, with the Canal de São Vicente
separating it from Santo Antão.
in shape with a surface area of ca. 227 km² (87.6 sq mi). From east to west it measures 24 km (14.9 mi) and from north to south no more than 16 km (9.9 mi). The terrain includes mountains in the west, the southwest, the south, the east-central and the north. The area is flat in the north-central, the central part, the eastern part south of Calhau and the northern part in the Baía das Gatas area. The urban area of Mindelo is in the northern part. Much of the island is deforested.
Although volcanic
in origin, the island is quite flat. Its highest point is Monte Verde (Portuguese for green
mountain
) located in the northeast-central part with an altitude of 725 metres (2,378.6 ft). Although a great amount of erosion
has taken place, some craters still remain — in particular near the bay of Mindelo
. Other mountaintops include Monte Cara
and Topona.
's Day (January 22) in 1462. Due to its lack of water, the island was initially used only as a cattle pasture by some proprietors of the neighboring island of Santo Antão. The island remained practically uninhabited until the middle of the 19th century. It was only in 1838, when a coal
deposit was established in Porto Grande
to supply ships on Atlantic
routes, that the population started to grow rapidly. Due to the lack of rain and consequent lack of natural resources, the economy of São Vicente is based mainly on commerce and services.
is around 1.3% (higher than the state (national) level of 1.2%). 92.6% of the population live in urban areas, higher than the Cape Verde's level of 61.8% and is the highest in all of Cape Verde. Life expectancy is 70,4 for males and 78 for females, higher than some other parts of the world. The birth rate is 2.7% and infant mortality rate is 21 per 1000 live births (for comparison 103 in DR Congo, 55 in India, 27 in Turkey, 23 in Brazil, 16 in Russia, 4 in Finland).
The majority of the population are young; 66% of the population are under the age of 30, and 8.6% of the population are over the age of 60. The island has 16,000 families, of which there are an average of 3,6 persons per household, lower than Cape Verde's level of 3,9 persons per household. 56% of the families live in houses, the other 30% live in poorly-built houses.
About only 11% of the families own automobiles, which is 7.4% of Cape Verde's level.
and services. Due to lack of rain, agriculture
is at a subsistence level. Fishing has some relevance, but conditions prevent it from being more important, not only for the catch — lobster
— but also for the associated industries: conserves, drying and salting of fish, and naval construction.
Porto Grande
is the main port of Cape Verde, through which passes much of the country's imports. It has a terminal of containers, silos, and refrigeration units that make handling load overflow possible. There is also a modern seawater desalination
plant, which provides water for public consumption and for naval shipyards.
In the industrial sector, the island presents an abundance of manpower, even though unskilled, resulting from the exodus of inhabitants of other islands to São Vicente. About 27% of the employed population is unskilled. Highly-qualified employees — company executives, public administrators, and managers and directors — make up less than 2% of employees. It is distinguished, however, by a bigger participation of women in decision-making positions than the national average.
According to the 2010 census, the island of São Vicente has the largest unemployment rate of the country — 14,8% — while the national average is 11%. Unemployment affects women more than men. The industrial park of the island — the Industrial Zone of the Lazareto — concentrates diverse types of manufacturing, essentially due to foreign investment, in the activities of footwear, confections, and fish processing.
In recent years, the National Center of Workmanship of Mindelo supports local craftsmen in the production and commercialization of ceramic parts, articles made of coconut
rinds, and necklaces of shells and rocks.
São Vicente has a great tradition in sports; from here many sports have spread to the remaining islands. Windsurfing
, for example, relies on the excellent conditions here. The beach of São Pedro is considered one of the best for windsurfing, as shown by the many world-class champions of the sport. Cycling
, walking trails and horseback riding are good ways to explore the island. The English influence on the island is still recognizable today in the golf
: São Vicente has an excellent 18-hole golf course. For these reasons, tourism
has excellent growth potential on São Vicente and in the rest of the Cape Verde archipelago. Travel between the diverse localities of the island is provided by a system of public transportation operated by five private companies: Transcor.SA, Morabeza Transport, Transport Joy, Friendship, Sotral and Automindelo. However, especially for places farthest from the city of the Mindelo, namely Baía das Gatas, Calhau, and São Pedro, van and bus leasing are the usual forms of transportation.
São Vicente has churches, a post office, a few banks, shops (not as many as Praia), a hospital named Baptista de Sousa and squares (praças)
Public: Liceu Ludjero Lima
Escola Industrial E Comercial Do Mindelo
Escola Secundária Jorge Barbosa
Escola Secundária José Augusto Pinto
Escola Salesiana
Private: Académica Do Mindelo
Wille
Centro Técnico Do Mindelo
Cooperativa Ensino Técnico Do Mindelo
Cruzeiro
Instituto Superior e Engenharia e Ciências
Universidade do Mindelo
Instituto Superior de Ciências Económicas Empresariais
Instituto Superior de Educação (pólo)
Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde (polo)
Mindelo Escolas Internacional de Artes
Universidade Lusófona
which is the primary language, Cape Verdean Creole is mainly spoken by the majority of the population. The São Vicente variant is known as Crioulo de São Vicente (in Portuguese) or Kriol d Sonsent (in Creole).
Literature
The secondary routes include:
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s of Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
. It is located between the islands of Santo Antão and Santa Luzia
Santa Luzia, Cape Verde
Santa Luzia is an island of the Barlavento archipelago in Cape Verde located between São Nicolau and São Vicente. The area is 35 km² . The highest point is Monte Grande elevating 395 m...
, with the Canal de São Vicente
Canal de São Vicente
The Canal de São Vicente is a channel separating the islands of Santo Antão and São Vicente. Its length is around 10 to 20 km and the width is approximately 15 km. The second closest distance with another island, the first being with Santa Luzia...
separating it from Santo Antão.
Geography
The island is roughly rectangularRectangle
In Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is any quadrilateral with four right angles. The term "oblong" is occasionally used to refer to a non-square rectangle...
in shape with a surface area of ca. 227 km² (87.6 sq mi). From east to west it measures 24 km (14.9 mi) and from north to south no more than 16 km (9.9 mi). The terrain includes mountains in the west, the southwest, the south, the east-central and the north. The area is flat in the north-central, the central part, the eastern part south of Calhau and the northern part in the Baía das Gatas area. The urban area of Mindelo is in the northern part. Much of the island is deforested.
Although volcanic
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
in origin, the island is quite flat. Its highest point is Monte Verde (Portuguese for green
Green
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
) located in the northeast-central part with an altitude of 725 metres (2,378.6 ft). Although a great amount of erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
has taken place, some craters still remain — in particular near the bay of Mindelo
Mindelo
For the parish in Portugal, see Mindelo, PortugalMindelo , is a port city in the northern part of the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde. Mindelo is also the seat of the parish of Nossa Senhora da Luz, and this island's municipality...
. Other mountaintops include Monte Cara
Monte Cara
Monte Cara is a small mountain in the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde west of Mindelo as well as Porto Grande, the town of Lazareto lies in the eastern part. The mountain colors are dark brown to hazelnut. The mountain is rocky and deforested, filled with jagged cliffs and mountaintops with...
and Topona.
Climate
The climate is mainly tropical and dry with the temperature around 24 °C (75 °F) all year round. The ocean water temperature every year is between 22 °C (72 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F). There are two seasons: November through July are mainly dry and windy, while August through October is the "rainy season".Geographical features
In clockwise order:- Ponta de Doca, in the northern part of the island
- Ponta Marigou, north, the northernmost point on the island
- Ponta da Fregata, in the northeastern part of the island
- Praia GrandePraia Grande, Cape VerdePraia Grande is a large beach spanning approximately 2 km with sandy beaches that extends up to 150 to 200 m from the shore and is a crescent-shape going from northwest to southeast.-Geography:The area around the beach are made up of grasslands and rocks...
(meaning large beach), northeast - Ponta do Calhau, located in the east
- Ponta da Vianna, located in the east
- Ponta de SaragaçaSaragaçaSaragaça is a small island, located near São Vicente in Cape Verde. The seahorse lives in abundance in the warm waters off the coast of Saragaça and are kept as pets by the indigenous people. Saragaça is also a point located in the southeast of the island and is surrounded by rocky devegetated...
, located in the east southeast - Ponta da VárzeaVárzea-Portugal:* Várzea , a civil parish in the municipality of Amarante* Várzea , a civil parish in the municipality of Barcelos* Várzea , a civil parish in the municipality of Santarém-Other:...
, located in the southeast - Ponta do Matadouro, located in the south southeast
- Ponta da Calheta Grande, located in the east southeast
- Ponta do Sul, located in the south
- Ponta Araújo, in the south-southwestern part of the island
- Ponta da Ribeira da Caixa, in the southwestern part of the island
- Ribeira Julião tributaryTributaryA tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
History
São Vicente was discovered on Saint VincentVincent of Saragossa
Saint Vincent of Saragossa, also known as Vincent Martyr, Vincent of Huesca or Vincent the Deacon, is the patron saint of Lisbon. His feast day is 22 January in the Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Communion and 11 November in the Eastern Orthodox Churches...
's Day (January 22) in 1462. Due to its lack of water, the island was initially used only as a cattle pasture by some proprietors of the neighboring island of Santo Antão. The island remained practically uninhabited until the middle of the 19th century. It was only in 1838, when a coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
deposit was established in Porto Grande
Mindelo
For the parish in Portugal, see Mindelo, PortugalMindelo , is a port city in the northern part of the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde. Mindelo is also the seat of the parish of Nossa Senhora da Luz, and this island's municipality...
to supply ships on Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
routes, that the population started to grow rapidly. Due to the lack of rain and consequent lack of natural resources, the economy of São Vicente is based mainly on commerce and services.
Settlements
- Baia das GatasBaía das GatasBaía das Gatas is the name of a natural bay in the northeast of São Vicente Island in Cape Verde. It is located 10 km east of the city of Mindelo, the island's capital. Baía das Gatas is linked with a road that passes through the mountains with Mindelo to the west. There is yet no road to Calhau...
, E - Calhau, E
- Lazareto, W
- Madeiral, S
- Mato Inglês, E cen.
- MindeloMindeloFor the parish in Portugal, see Mindelo, PortugalMindelo , is a port city in the northern part of the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde. Mindelo is also the seat of the parish of Nossa Senhora da Luz, and this island's municipality...
, N - Salamansa, N
- Seixal, ESE
- São PedroSão Pedro, Cape VerdeSão Pedro is the small fishing town situated in the southwest of the island municipality of São Vicente, Cape Verde. The island's airport is just slightly to the northeast. It is located 7 km southwest of Mindelo, the island capital and is the soouthwesternmost point of the road...
, SW - Topim, ESE
Population
The population of São Vicente in the 2010 census was 76,107 of which 5,639 are rural. It is the second most populous island of Cape Verde. The annual population growthPopulation growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....
is around 1.3% (higher than the state (national) level of 1.2%). 92.6% of the population live in urban areas, higher than the Cape Verde's level of 61.8% and is the highest in all of Cape Verde. Life expectancy is 70,4 for males and 78 for females, higher than some other parts of the world. The birth rate is 2.7% and infant mortality rate is 21 per 1000 live births (for comparison 103 in DR Congo, 55 in India, 27 in Turkey, 23 in Brazil, 16 in Russia, 4 in Finland).
The majority of the population are young; 66% of the population are under the age of 30, and 8.6% of the population are over the age of 60. The island has 16,000 families, of which there are an average of 3,6 persons per household, lower than Cape Verde's level of 3,9 persons per household. 56% of the families live in houses, the other 30% live in poorly-built houses.
About only 11% of the families own automobiles, which is 7.4% of Cape Verde's level.
| Population of São Vicente, Cape Verde (1940—2010) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 |
| 15848 | 19576 | 20705 | 31578 | 41594 | 51277 | 67163 | 76107 |
Economy
The economy of the island was always based almost exclusively on commerceCommerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
and services. Due to lack of rain, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
is at a subsistence level. Fishing has some relevance, but conditions prevent it from being more important, not only for the catch — lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
— but also for the associated industries: conserves, drying and salting of fish, and naval construction.
Porto Grande
Porto Grande, Cape Verde
Porto Grande is Mindelo's and São Vicente's main port located in the west of the city and northwest of the island overlooking the Mindelo Bay. The port is authorized by ENACOR and is located about 1 km from the city centre...
is the main port of Cape Verde, through which passes much of the country's imports. It has a terminal of containers, silos, and refrigeration units that make handling load overflow possible. There is also a modern seawater desalination
Desalination
Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water...
plant, which provides water for public consumption and for naval shipyards.
In the industrial sector, the island presents an abundance of manpower, even though unskilled, resulting from the exodus of inhabitants of other islands to São Vicente. About 27% of the employed population is unskilled. Highly-qualified employees — company executives, public administrators, and managers and directors — make up less than 2% of employees. It is distinguished, however, by a bigger participation of women in decision-making positions than the national average.
According to the 2010 census, the island of São Vicente has the largest unemployment rate of the country — 14,8% — while the national average is 11%. Unemployment affects women more than men. The industrial park of the island — the Industrial Zone of the Lazareto — concentrates diverse types of manufacturing, essentially due to foreign investment, in the activities of footwear, confections, and fish processing.
In recent years, the National Center of Workmanship of Mindelo supports local craftsmen in the production and commercialization of ceramic parts, articles made of coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
rinds, and necklaces of shells and rocks.
São Vicente has a great tradition in sports; from here many sports have spread to the remaining islands. Windsurfing
Windsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
, for example, relies on the excellent conditions here. The beach of São Pedro is considered one of the best for windsurfing, as shown by the many world-class champions of the sport. Cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, walking trails and horseback riding are good ways to explore the island. The English influence on the island is still recognizable today in the golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
: São Vicente has an excellent 18-hole golf course. For these reasons, tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
has excellent growth potential on São Vicente and in the rest of the Cape Verde archipelago. Travel between the diverse localities of the island is provided by a system of public transportation operated by five private companies: Transcor.SA, Morabeza Transport, Transport Joy, Friendship, Sotral and Automindelo. However, especially for places farthest from the city of the Mindelo, namely Baía das Gatas, Calhau, and São Pedro, van and bus leasing are the usual forms of transportation.
São Vicente has churches, a post office, a few banks, shops (not as many as Praia), a hospital named Baptista de Sousa and squares (praças)
Education
The literacy rate is 85%, and 98.9% among Cape Verdean youth. 54% of the island's population (those aged between 1 and 12 year old) receive education. Here are the schools and classrooms in São Vicente:- Preschool - 25 daycares, the majority with a particular character, about 2,600 attendees between the ages of 1 and 6
- Primary Schools (1st year to 6th year) - 11,000 students in 225 classrooms with 379 teachers.
- Secondary Education (7th year to 12th year) - 8,000 students in 146 classrooms with 384 professors
Public: Liceu Ludjero Lima
Escola Industrial E Comercial Do Mindelo
Escola Secundária Jorge Barbosa
Escola Secundária José Augusto Pinto
Escola Salesiana
Private: Académica Do Mindelo
Wille
Centro Técnico Do Mindelo
Cooperativa Ensino Técnico Do Mindelo
Cruzeiro
- Post-Secondary Education -
Instituto Superior e Engenharia e Ciências
Universidade do Mindelo
Instituto Superior de Ciências Económicas Empresariais
Instituto Superior de Educação (pólo)
Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde (polo)
Mindelo Escolas Internacional de Artes
Universidade Lusófona
Language
Other than PortuguesePortuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
which is the primary language, Cape Verdean Creole is mainly spoken by the majority of the population. The São Vicente variant is known as Crioulo de São Vicente (in Portuguese) or Kriol d Sonsent (in Creole).
Literature
- A Poética de Sérgio Frusoni - Uma Leitura Antropológica (Mesquitela Lima: Lisboa - 1992: Poeme im Kreol von São Vicente mit portugiesischer Übersetzung)
- Left-dislocation and topicalization in capeverdean creole. (Braga, Maria Luiza: Ph. D. Dissertation, University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
- 1982; Crioulo of São Vicente) - Textos Crioulos Cabo-Verdianos - Sergio Frusoni (In 'Miscelânea luso-africana' 1975, herausgegeben von Marius F. Valkhoff)
Persons
- BanaBana (singer)Bana is a balladeer from Cape Verde and an interpreter of the morna, the plaintive, melodic lament which is a staple musical style of the country....
- Bau
- Bela DuarteBela DuarteBela Duarte is an artist from Cape Verde, Born in the island of São Vicente and was studied decorative arts in Lisbon, Portugal. During the Portuguese Carnation Revolution in 1974, she returned to Cape Verde in Mindelo, together with Manuel Figueira and Luísa Queirós,she made the Cooperativa da...
, a Capeverdean artist - Carlos VeigaCarlos VeigaCarlos Alberto Wahnon de Carvalho Veiga is a Cape Verdean politician. He was Prime Minister of Cape Verde from April 4, 1991 to July 29, 2000, and he unsuccessfully ran for President as the candidate of the Movement for Democracy in 2001 and 2006....
(b. October 21, 1949), a former Prime Minister of Cape Verde - Cesária ÉvoraCesária ÉvoraCesária Évora is a Cape Verdean popular singer. Nicknamed the "barefoot diva" for performing without shoes, Évora is perhaps the best internationally known practitioner of "morna."-Early life:...
, a Capeverdean artist - Corsino FortesCorsino FortesCorsino António Fortes is a Cape Verdean writer.He participated at the University of Lisbon in 1966.He became an ambassador in Lisbon.-Works:*Pão & Fonema *Árvore & Tombor *Pedras de Sol & Substância ...
(1933), a Capeverdean writer - Dudu Araujo,a Capeverdean Singer
- João Cleofas MartinsJoão Cleófas MartinsJoão Cleofas Martins was a Capeverdean photographer and author. His father came from the island of Brava and he lived most of his live in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente....
, a Capeverdean photographer and a humorist - Luís Ramos Morais, a Capeverdean artist
- Onésimo SilveiraOnésimo Silveira-Biography:As a young poet, Silveira was one of the most prominent critiques of the literary elite in Cape Verde. Silveira was associated with the views o f the Claridade group, and argued in favour of an African cultural identity of the islands....
, poet, diplomat and a political activist - Ovídio de Sousa Martins, a Capeverdean poet
- Sergio FrusoniSergio FrusoniSergio Frusoni was a poet and promoter of the Cape Verdean Creole language.-Biography:...
, A Capeverdean poet (http://www.unb.br/il/liv/public/frusoni.htm) - Tito ParisTito ParisTito Paris, is a singer and musician . He has a long career behind him and is among the most popular musicians from Cape Verde successfully blending the sound of Cape Verdean traditional mornas, coladeiras and funanas with the moderns sounds of Portugal and the rest of the world...
(b. 1968) - Vasco MartinsVasco MartinsVasco Martins is a Cape Verdean musician and composer. Born in Queluz, Portugal, in 1956, he lives now in Calhau, Cape Verde.In the Cape Verdean musical panorama, Vasco Martins may be considered unique...
, a Capeverdean composer http://www.vasco-martins.com - Yolanda MorazzoYolanda MorazzoYolanda Morazzo is a writer of poetry and short fiction in the Portuguese language. Although she lived for many years in Portugal, she is associated with the Claridade movement of Cape Verdean writers...
(b. 1926), a Capeverdean poetess and a fictionalist
Transportation
The island is connected with three major roads:- Mindelo - São Pedro
- Mindelo - Calhau
- Mindelo - Baia das Gatas
The secondary routes include:
- From Mindelo - Calhau
- road to Madeira
- From Mindelo - Baia das Gatas
- road to Monde Verde
- road to Salamansa
External links
- A walk in Mindelo with Jørgen Carling
- S. Vicente, Quel País - a description of São Vicente culture