São Vicente (Portuguese for "Saint Vincent"; ) is one of the Barlavento Islands, the northern group within the Cape Verde archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, off the West African coast. It is located between the islands of Santo Antão and Santa Luzia, with the Canal de São Vicente separating it from Santo Antão.

Geography

The island is roughly rectangular in shape with an area of . From east to west it measures and from north to south . The island, of volcanic origin, is fairly flat. The last volcanic activity is considered to have taken place in the Pleistocene. Although very eroded, some craters still remain, for instance Viana. Its highest point is Monte Verde, located in the eastern part with an altitude of . Other mountains include Madeiral (680 m), Caixa (535 m) and Monte Cara (490 m).

92.6% of the island population lives in the urban area of Mindelo,

|source 2 = Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes, precipitation days, and sun)

History

thumb|right|Mindelo in the early 20th century

São Vicente was discovered by the Portuguese explorer Diogo Afonso on 22 January 1462 (Saint Vincent's Day). At that time, it did not have permanent inhabitants. In 1793 the area of Porto Grande Bay was settled. It was only in 1838, when a coal depot was established at Porto Grande Bay to supply ships on Atlantic routes, that the population started to grow rapidly. From the beginning of the 20th century the port of Mindelo lost its importance for transatlantic navigation. Causes for this were the shift from coal to oil as fuel for ships, the rise of competing ports like Dakar and the Canary Islands and the lack of investment in port infrastructure.

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!colspan=2|Municipal Council

!colspan=2|Municipal Assembly

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!Seats

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!Seats

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|align=left|MpD||48.97||9||46.75||11

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|align=left|UCID||28.28||0||29.72||6

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|align=left|PAICV||20.07||0||20.75||4

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Presidents

  • Henrique Teixeira de Sousa, in the 1960s
  • Onésimo Silveira, in the late-1990s and the early 2000s
  • Isaura Gomes 2004–2005 and 2008–2011
  • Augusto Neves (since 2011)

Population

thumb|right|View of Downtown Mindelo, Baía do Porto Grande and Monte Cara

In the 1830s, São Vicente had an estimated population of 356. The population of São Vicente in the 2010 census was 76,140, making it the second most populous island of Cape Verde after Santiago. (for comparison 103 in DR Congo, 55 in India, 27 in Turkey, 23 in Brazil, 16 in Russia, 4 in Finland).

The majority of the population is young; 49% of the population is under the age of 25, and 7.4% of the population is over the age of 65.

| data1 = 15848

| label2 = 1950 São Nicolau, Santiago and Sal. There is one first class national road on the island: from the airport to Mindelo. Furthermore, there are two second class and five third class national roads.

Mindelo has a network of buses that connects the majority of the suburbs with the city center. Most of the lines are operated by Transcor SV SA.

Culture

When the port was thriving in the late 19th century, in the early 20th century, it was the mainstream of culture in Cape Verde alongside Santiago. Several works, books and poems in the mid 20th century were related to the rise of nationalism and the independence struggle for the country, notably the review Claridade. It is the birthplace of coladeira music. Also a variant of morna is popular.

Sports

The island has its own football league named the São Vicente Island League. There are also competitions for basketball, volleyball, futsal and athletics. There is a golf course about south of Mindelo.

Twin towns and sister cities

The municipality of São Vicente is twinned with the following municipalities in Portugal:

  • Angra do Heroísmo
  • Coimbra
  • Felgueiras
  • Mafra
  • Oeiras
  • Portalegre
  • Portimão
  • Porto
  • Santa Cruz
  • Vila Nova de Famalicão

References

  • S. Vicente, Quel País at multiculturas.com
  • 150 old vintage pictures