CAPE VERDE, FLAG OF

horizontally striped national flag with two wide, unequal stripes of blue framing narrower stripes of white-red-white; a ring of 10 yellow stars is set off-centre toward the hoist. The flag has a width-to-length ratio of 10 to 17. On July 5, 1975, the first national flag of Cape Verde was hoisted; it was confirmed by law on April 19, 1976. The basic design was derived from the flag of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), adopted in August 1961. Designed to represent both Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau after their liberation from Portuguese colonial rule, the flag incorporated the pan-African red-yellow-green and a black star to symbolize the African peoples and their hope for dignity, liberty, and peace. The vertical red stripe at the hoist represented the blood of national heroes and the revolutionary struggle for development. The yellow horizontal stripe was for national well-being and culture, and the green horizontal stripe was for hope and agriculture. (See also Guinea-Bissau, flag of.) When Cape Verde became independent, the black star was framed by ears of corn and a seashell. In free elections in 1991 the Movement for Democracy defeated the ruling party. To symbolize the break with the socialist and pan-Africanist policies, a new national flag was established. It had a blue field and stripes bearing a ring of 10 yellow stars to symbolize the 10 main islands of Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean. The horizontal stripes of white-red-white suggested peace and national resolve on the pathway to nation building. The colours red, white, and blue were a link to Portugal and the United States, countries with which Cape Verde has strong historical and ethnic ties. The new flag became official on September 25, 1992, reflecting the new future chosen by the country. Whitney Smith History There is no evidence of the islands having been inhabited prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, but it is thought that the Moors had visited Sal to collect salt supplies in previous centuries. In 1460 the Portuguese navigators Diogo Gomes and Antnio de Noli sighted Maio and So Tiago. In 1462 the first settlers from Portugal landed on So Tiago, subsequently founding there the oldest European city in the tropicsRibeira Grande (now Cidade Velha). Sugar was planted in an attempt to emulate the success of the earlier settlement of Madeira. Cape Verde's dry climate was less favourable, but, with the development of transatlantic slave trade, the importance and the wealth of the islands increased. In 1532 the first bishop was consecrated. The prosperity of Ribeira Grande, however, attracted pirates, who attacked the city in 1541. The English later attacked it twicein 1585 and 1592the first time under the command of Sir Francis Drake. After a French attack in 1712, the city was abandoned. Portugal attempted to administer its possessions and commerce on the African coast through the islands. Until the 19th century, trade was controlled through the crown-issued monopoly contracts. English, French, and Dutch activity in the area meant, however, that the crown was never really able to enforce its edicts. Smuggling was rife. From the 17th to the 19th century Cape Verde was famous for its woven cotton cloth (panos). Cotton grew easily, and indigo produced a rich blue dye. The skill of narrow-loom weaving had come with the slaves from the western African coast. The cloths were a valuable form of currency for the slave trade on the mainland. With the decline of the slave trade (which was finally abolished in 1876) and with increasing drought, the prosperity of the islands slowly vanished. In the early 1800s, they experienced recurrent drought and famine as well as government corruption and maladministration. Conditions improved toward the end of the 1800s, with the establishment at Mindelo of a coaling station and a submarine cable station. After World War I, prosperity again declined as fewer ships visited Mindelo. The colonial administration encouraged emigration to the cocoa plantations of So Tom and Princpe. The Portuguese administration of Cape Verde was unified under a governor in 1587. The status of the islands was changed in 1951 from that of a colony to an overseas province. In 1961 all of the citizens were given full Portuguese citizenship. During the war for independence from Portugal (196175) fought by its colonies in Africa, Cape Verde was used as a garrison by the Portuguese army. Some Cape Verdeans fled to Guinea-Bissau to join the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), under the leadership of Amlcar Cabral. On July 5, 1975, Cape Verde became an independent republic. The first president, Aristides Pereira, had been secretary general of the PAIGC since 1973. The island republic is a member of the Organization of African Unity and of the United Nations. Disapproval of the coup in Guinea-Bissau in 1980 prompted the dissolution of the Cape Verde branch of PAIGC and resulted in the formation in 1981 of the PAICV. President Pereira was reelected in February of the same year. In 1990 a multiparty system was established, and Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro of the Movement for Democracy (MPD) became president in 1991 elections. Cape Verde affirmed its nonaligned status and sought foreign aid to salvage its economy and to fund development. Cape Verde plays an active diplomatic role in its relationship with the other former Portuguese colonies in Africa. W. Mary Bannerman Caroline Sarah Shaw The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica