Cabo Verde is an island country made up of ten volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean, roughly 500 kilometers off the coast of West Africa. The islands are relatively small and have a generally dry climate, with landscapes ranging from rugged mountains and volcanic peaks to sandy beaches and barren plains. Their location, however, has made them far more significant than their size might suggest. After Portuguese sailors reached the previously uninhabited islands in the 15th century, Cabo Verde became an important stopping point between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, helping make the archipelago one of the earliest centers of European activity in the tropical Atlantic.

Cabo Verde’s strategic location also made it deeply connected to the transatlantic slave trade. Santiago was the first island to be settled, and its settlement of Ribeira Grande, now known as Cidade Velha, became an important center for Portuguese colonial administration and a major port in the trade of enslaved Africans. Europeans and Africans living on the islands gradually developed a mixed society and culture that became distinctly Cape Verdean, including Cape Verdean Creole languages and musical traditions. After the slave trade declined and recurring droughts caused severe economic hardship, Cabo Verde remained a poor and isolated Portuguese colony for much of its history. The independence movement was led in part by Amílcar Cabral, who founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde in 1956. Cabo Verde became independent from Portugal on July 5, 1975, and established a multiparty democracy in 1991.

Today, Cabo Verde is known for its distinctive blend of African, Portuguese, and Atlantic influences, expressed through its music, language, food, and traditions. Morna, a musical style associated with themes such as love, separation, longing, and the sea, was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019. The country’s islands also have remarkably different characters: Sal is known for its beaches, tourism, and dry landscapes, while Santiago contains the capital Praia and some of the country’s most important historical sites, including Cidade Velha. From colonial forts and colorful towns to volcanic mountains, barren landscapes, and beaches surrounded by the Atlantic, Cabo Verde offers a distinctive combination of history, culture, and island life.