The Portuguese discovered what is now Cape Verde in the 15th century. By the late 15th century, settlement began on São Tiago, which later became used as a supply point for slaves traded to Brazil and the West Indies.
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, to form the Partido Africano da Independência do Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) under revolutionary leader Amilcar Cabral.
Following Portugal’s 1974 revolution, 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 Independência de Cabo Verde (PAICV).
At the turn of the 1990s, the Government held elections in February 1991. The Movimento para Democracia (MPD) won both the legislature and the race for the Presidency. The MPD held onto both Presidency and national assembly in 1995, but lost both to the PAICV in 2001, when José Maria Pereira Neves was named prime minister. The PAICV also won the most recent parliamentary election in 2006.
92.8% of the population are Roman Catholic with a Protestant minority of 1%.
Social conventions:The usual European social courtesies should be observed.
The official language is Portuguese. Creole is spoken by most of the inhabitants. Some English, French, German and Spanish are widely spoken.
