Celtnet Cape Verde Recipes and Cookery, Home Page

Cape Verde, officially: República de Cabo Verde; Republic of Cape Verde is an archipelago republic in the Macaronesia ecoregion of the North Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast of Africa. The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. The country is named after Cap Vert (meaning Green Cape) in Senegal, the westernmost point of continental Africa. The capital and largest city is Praia and Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal on July 5^th 1975. Cape Verde was uninhabited when the Portuguese arrived in 1460 and made the islands part of the Portuguese empire. Due to its location off the coast of Africa, Cape Verde became an important watering station, then sugar cane plantation site, and later a major hub of the trans-atlantic slave trade, that would later form the contemporary African Diaspora.

Cape Verde is formed from the islands: Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista, Maio Santiago (on which the capital is sited), Fogo and Bravia. Most inhabitants of Cape Verde are a genetic blend of Sub-Saharian Africans and Europeans, the Africans having been slaves and hailing mostly from Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. Cape Verdeans' European ancestors include Portuguese settlers and exiles, Portuguese Jews who were victims of the Inquisition, and Spanish and Italian seamen who were granted land by the Portuguese Empire. Many foreigners from other parts of the world settled Cape Verde as their permanent country. Most of them were Dutch, French, British, Arabs and Jews (from Lebanon and Morocco), Chinese (especially from Macau), Americans, and Brazilians (including people of Portuguese and African descent) settlers. All of these have been absorbed into the general Cape Verdean population. Cape Verde's official language is Portuguese. It is the language of instruction and official acts. However, the Cape Verdean Creole is used colloquially and is the mother tongue of virtually all Cape Verdeans. Cape Verdean Creole or Kriolu is a dialect continuum of a Portuguese-based creole, which varies from island to island. The majority of the population adheres to Christianity, mostly Catholicism which constitutes some 90% of the population (in many areas Catholicism and the indigenous religion are syncretised). The remaining includes a sizeable Protestant community as well as a small number of Bahai and Buddhist and even smaller Muslim groups.

The basis of Cape Verdian cuisine is Portugese though the island was used as a testing ground to grow foods from the New World such as chillies, corn, pumpkins and cassava as well as Asian foods such as ananas, Sugar, mangos, and papayas.The cuisine therefor reflect the use of these foodstuffs. Semolina bread is a staple and West African-based stews are also common.