Brava (Portuguese for 'wild') is an island in Cape Verde, and is part of the Sotavento group, in the central Atlantic Ocean. At , it is the smallest inhabited island of the Cape Verde archipelago, but at the same time the greenest. First settled in the early 16th century, its population grew after Mount Fogo on neighbouring Fogo erupted in 1680. For more than a century, its main industry was whaling, but the island economy is now primarily agricultural.

History

Brava was discovered in 1462 by the Portuguese explorer Diogo Afonso. There is no evidence of human presence on the Cape Verde islands before the arrival of the Portuguese. Around 1620 the population of Brava started with the arrival of settlers from Madeira and the Azores. Settlement of Brava took a rise in 1680 when it received many refugees from the nearby larger island of Fogo after its volcano erupted and covered the island with ash. Its area is . Brava has no documented historical eruptions, but its youthful volcanic morphology and the fact that earthquake swarms still occur indicate the potential for future eruptions; its last eruption was during the Holocene era. 13% of the island area is forested.

Climate

Being highly mountainous this island has a quite diverse climate. Brava island has moderate arid climate (BWh according to Köppen–Geiger climate classification system) along the coast and semi-arid mild tropical climate BSh with very balanced temperatures year round in the interior. The average annual temperature on the coast is about , decreasing to some in the mountains. There can be remarkably cool weather with warmer wet season starting in June and ending in November with colder dry season starting in December and ending in May.

Municipality

Administratively, the island of Brava is covered by one municipality, Concelho da Brava. This municipality consists of two freguesias (civil parishes): São João Baptista and Nossa Senhora do Monte. The municipal seat is the city Nova Sintra.

Politics

Since 2012, the Movement for Democracy (MpD) is the ruling party of the municipality, and its president is Orlando da Luz Vieira Balla. The results of the latest elections, in 2016:

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

!rowspan=2|Party

!colspan=2|Municipal Council

!colspan=2|Municipal Assembly

|-

!Votes%

!Seats

!Votes%

!Seats

|-

|align=left|MpD||58.99||5||57.55||8

|-

|align=left|PAICV||39.17||0||40.48||5

|}

Population

thumb|right|Nova Sintra

The island's main town is Nova Sintra. The island's two parishes São João Baptista and Nossa Senhora do Monte are subdivided into 16 population zones for statistical purposes:

São João Baptista

  • Cachaço
  • Cova Rodela
  • Furna
  • João da Noly
  • Lem
  • Mato Grande
  • Nova Sintra (city)