Cape, West Africa.
It extends into the Atlantic Ocean off Western Sahara south of the Canary Islands . After 1434 the Portuguese began exploiting the region, particularly for slaves. Later the area was disputed by Spain and Portugal; Spain finally gained control in 1860 and annexed it in 1884. After Spain's withdrawal from Western Sahara in 1976, Morocco claimed the cape, garrisoned troops there, and made the area a province.