World Country Guide

History and Government

History
The Portuguese discovered the islands in the 15th century; they were uninhabited and there was no evidence of previous settlement. By the late 15th century, settlement began on So Tiago, which later became used as a supply point for slaves traded to Brazil and the West Indies. The inhospitable landscape and climate made development of the islands difficult, while the attentions of rival colonial powers also made life difficult for the Portuguese colonial administrators. Although sugar plantations, worked by slaves brought over from Africa, and, subsequently, cotton cloth weaving were successfully established, life on the islands was one of extreme poverty.

In 1951, Cape Verde was redefined as an overseas province, from its previous status as a colony. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the islands were used as a garrison by the Portuguese army, while many members of the growing independence movement fled to Guinea-Bissau, another Portuguese colony on the mainland, to form the Partido Africano da Independncia do Guin e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) under the famous revolutionary leader Amilcar Cabral. Following the revolution in Portugal in 1974, Cape Verde achieved independence in 1975, shortly after the granting of independence to Guinea-Bissau, with whom Cape Verde had close political associations.

The PAIGC took control of the political activities of both countries and full unification was discussed. This proposal was shelved after the 1980 coup in Guinea-Bissau, after which the Cape Verdean branch of PAIGC was renamed the Partido Africano da Independncia de Cabo Verde (PAICV) and the two countries pursued their own separate paths of development. At the turn of the 1990s, the Government followed the continental trend and held elections in February 1991. The PAICV faced the challenge of the Movimento para Democracia (MPD) which duly won both the legislature and the race for the Presidency in which their candidate, ex-supreme court judge Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, defeated the incumbent Aristides Pereira.

The MPD held onto both presidency and national assembly in 1995 but lost both to the PAICV at the most recent elections in early 2001. The extremely close presidential race was won by the PAICV’s Pedro Rodrigues Pires with a margin of just 17 votes over the MPD’s Carlos de Carvalho. Cape Verde has pursued a determinedly non-aligned foreign policy, reflected in its being chosen as mediator in the settlement of a variety of international disputes, including Angola. More recently, in 1998, it hosted talks to reach a settlement of the conflict in Guinea Bissau. Cape Verde maintains close relations with Portugal, Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking African countries in the PALOP group (Angola, Guinea-Bissau and So Tom).

Government
A new constitution introduced in 1992 allows for the election of an Assembleia Nacional (national assembly) with 79 deputies and a President who serves as Head of State, both elected by adult suffrage for 5-year terms.