Boa Vista (Portuguese for "good view"), sometimes spelled Boavista, is a desert-like island that belongs to the Cape Verde Islands. At , it is the third largest island of the Cape Verde archipelago.

The island of Boa Vista is closer to the African continent than all the other islands in Cape Verde, being the easternmost island of all. The distance between Boa Vista and Senegal is only 450 km. The capital of Boa Vista, Sal Rei, is located in the north-western part of the island. Boa Vista is mainly known for its beaches, turtles and traditional music.

Geography

thumb|right|[[Hamada landscape in the centre of Boa Vista]]

Boa Vista is the third largest island after Santo Antão and Santiago, with an area of 631.1 square kilometres. Monte Santo António, Rocha Estância, Morro de Areia, Morro Negro, Monte Caçador, Pico Forcado and Monte Vigia.

Boa Vista is famous for its large beaches like Atalanta, Cabral, Chaves, Ervatão, Gatas, Santa Mónica and Varandinha. Its northernmost point is Ponta do Sol; its westernmost point Ponta Varandinha. Its main river is the Ribeira do Rabil, which has the largest basin area of all Cape Verde at . Boa Vista is also notable for its desert Deserto de Viana and its dune fields. Boa Vista is surrounded by a number of uninhabited islets, the largest of which is Ilhéu de Sal Rei.

History

The uninhabited island Boa Vista was discovered by António de Noli and Diogo Gomes in 1460. Until the end of the 16th century the only human activity on the island was breeding wild cattle. In 1820, after many pirate attacks, the population moved to Porto Inglês, later renamed Sal Rei, which had been founded at the end of the 18th century. As did much of the Cape Verdean economy, the exploitation of salt on Boa Vista also relied largely on slavery. A Portuguese-British commission to end slavery was established in Boa Vista in 1842, but slavery was not completely abolished until 1876. Until 1935 the municipality of Boa Vista also covered the island of Sal. In 1975, Cape Verde declared its independence.

thumb|Karamboa Hotel in the west of Rabil

Municipality

Administratively, the island of Boa Vista is covered by one municipality, Concelho da Boa Vista. This municipality consists of two freguesias (civil parishes): Santa Isabel and São João Baptista. The municipal seat is the city Sal Rei. The island's two parishes are subdivided into 9 population zones for statistical purposes:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! style="text-align:right;" | Municipality

| colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | Concelho da Boa Vista

|-

! style="text-align:right;" | Freguesias

| colspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | Santa Isabel || style="text-align:center;" | São João Baptista

|-

! style="text-align:right;" | Zones

|

  • Bofarreira
  • Estância de Baixo
  • Lacacão

|

  • Povoação Velha
  • Rabil (town)
  • Sal Rei (city)

{| class="wikitable sortable" style=text-align:right

!rowspan=2|Party

!colspan=2|Municipal Council

!colspan=2|Municipal Assembly

|-

!Votes%

!Seats

!Votes%

!Seats

|-

|align=left|BASTA||57.56||5||53.08||7

|-

|align=left|MpD||30.60||0||30.23||4

|-

|align=left|PAICV||10.32||0||14.96||2

|}

Population

In the 1830s, the population of Boa Vista was estimated at 4,000. In 2015 Boa Vista's population was 14,451.

| data1 = 2,779

| label2 = 1950 the single first class national road connects Sal Rei and Rabil.

Nature

Boa Vista is not as abundant in flora and fauna as the other larger or more humid islands such as Santiago and Santo Antão; only 3% of its area is forested.

  • Aristides Pereira, Cape Verde's first president

References

  • Tourist site, Boavista official
  • Câmara Municipal da Boa Vista