Cape Verdean Argentines are Argentine residents whose ancestry originated in Cape Verde. According to the 1980 census, there were about 8,000; but today's population was estimated by some sources to be around 2,000 in 2007. University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth. "1995 Cape Verdean Diaspora Population Estimates." Retrieved on October 18, 2007.
Other sources estimate that in 2006 there were 12,000-15,000 descendants of immigrants from Cape Verde living in Argentina, of whom about 300 are native to the African continent. Prior to independence in 1975, Cape Verdean immigrants were registered as Portuguese immigrants from the

overseas province Overseas province ( pt, província ultramarina) was a designation used by Portugal for its overseas possessions, located outside Europe. History In the early the 19th century, Portuguese overseas territories were referred to as "overseas domini ...

Portuguese Cape Verde Cape Verde was a colony of the Portuguese Empire from the initial settlement of the Cape Verde Islands in 1462 until the independence of Cape Verde in 1975. History 15th century The islands of Cape Verde was discovered in 1444 by Dom Prin ...

. The first Cape Verdeans immigrated to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in small numbers in the late 19th century. The numbers increased dramatically from the 1920s to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The busiest periods were between 1927 and 1933 and the third, after 1946. They were driven from Cape Verde by lack of jobs, resources, and opportunities. Most Cape Verdeans and their descendants are centered in Buenos Aires Province. They were expert sailors and fishermen; which is why most of them settled close to the shore or in ports, and obtained sea-related occupations. They settled in ports such as Rosario,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

San Nicolás de los Arroyos San Nicolás de los Arroyos (usually shortened to ''San Nicolás'') is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the western shore of the Paraná River, from Rosario. It has about 133,000 inhabitants (). It is the administrative seat ...

, Bahía Blanca, Ensenada and Dock Sud. 95% of them got jobs in the Argentine Navy's Sea Fleet, in the Merchant Navy, or in the Fluvial Fleet in YPF, dockyards or ELMA. Many used to face discrimination in the predominantly European-Argentine society. Two organizations for mutual support and cultural exchange have existed for over 60 years: the Sociedad de Socorros Mutuos "Unión Caboverdeana" de Dock Sud ( en, Dock Sud "Cape Verdean Union" Mutual Aid Society), founded in 1932, and the Club Caboverdeano de Ensenada, a founded around the same period but largely focused on cultural and sports activities.

Notable Cape Verdean-Argentines

* José Ramos Delgado, footballer * Diego Alonso Gómez, actor * María Fernanda Silva, diplomat * Cristian Tissone, footballer * Fernando Tissone, footballer

References

External links

University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth. "1995 Cape Verdean Diaspora Population Estimates." Retrieved on October 18, 2007.

Central Intelligence Agency. "Argentina." World Factbook. Retrieved on October 18, 2007.
{{#related:Cape Verdean Spanish Afro-Argentine Argentine Ethnic groups in Argentina