My first postcard from Cape Verde

The Cape Verde Islands

6 May 2015 | From Lucia of Cape Verde

POSTCROSSING SWAP

Cape Verde or Cabo Verde is an island country spanning an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the central Atlantic Ocean. The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized the islands, establishing the first European settlement in the tropics. Ideally located for the Atlantic slave trade, the islands grew prosperous throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, attracting merchants, privateers, and pirates.

The Cape Verde islands consist of two small (volcanic in origin) archipelagos, about 400 miles off the western coast of Africa. The islands gained their independence on July 5, 1975, and politically has remained a stable democracy; however, as of 2007 Cape Verde is considered as a developing nation. Most of the indigenous people are descendants of African slaves, and some still speak Crioulo, a Creole dialect. The local economy depends on agriculture and limited tourism.