São Nicolau (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

for ''

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

'') is one of the Barlavento (Windward) islands of

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

. It is located between the islands of Santa Luzia and Sal. Its population is 12,424 (2015),Cabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015
Instituto Nacional de Estatística with an area of . The main towns are Ribeira Brava and

Tarrafal de São Nicolau Tarrafal may refer to several locations in Cape Verde: * Tarrafal, Cape Verde, a town on the island of Santiago * Tarrafal, Cape Verde (municipality), a municipality on the island of Santiago * Tarrafal de São Nicolau, Cape Verde, a town on the is ...

History

The island was discovered in 1461 or 1462 by Diogo Afonso, together with the islands of São Vicente and Santo Antão.Valor simbólico do centro histórico da Praia
Lourenço Conceição Gomes, Universidade Portucalense, 2008 It was first settled in the seventeenth century. The settlement ''Porto de Lapa'' was abandoned in 1653 due to pirate attacks, and the town Ribeira Brava was founded in the interior.Inventário dos recursos turísticos do município de Ribeira Brava de São Nicolau
Direcção Geral do Turismo It was the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde The Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Iacobi Capitis Viridis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Cape Verde. It covers the islands of Maio, Santiago, Fogo, and Brava (the Sota ...

between 1786 and 1943. The roadstead of

became an anchorage for

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

ships in the 19th century. It is now the largest settlement of the island.Inventário dos recursos turísticos do município do Tarrafal de São Nicolau
Direcção Geral do Turismo

Geography

The mountainous island is mostly

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

but is subject to droughts, especially in the lower lying areas. The highest point on the island is Monte Gordo (1,312 m), in the western half of the island. The eastern part is a chain of lower mountains, including Monte Bissau and Pico de Alberto.

Administrative divisions

The island is divided in two municipalities, which are subdivided into civil parishes: * Ribeira Brava ** Nossa Senhora da Lapa ** Nossa Senhora do Rosário *

** São Francisco de Assis Before 2005, the island was administrated as one municipality: São Nicolau.

Demography

In the 1830s, São Nicolau had an estimated population of 5,000.

Transportation

The island has a domestic airport, São Nicolau Airport, located between Ribeira Brava and Preguiça. There is a port at

, with ferry connections to the islands of São Vicente (Mindelo) and Santiago (Praia).Cabo Verde Fast Ferry's website
/ref>

Notable residents

* Teofilo Chantre (b. 1964), musician * Baltasar Lopes da Silva (1907 - 1989), writer * José Lopes da Silva (pseudonym: ''Gabrial Mariano'', (1928–2003), poet and essayist * Antónia Pusich, Portuguese poet, journalist, pianist and compositor of Croatian origin, daughter of the colonial governor António Pusich * António Maria de Bettencourt Rodrigues (1854-1933), doctor, diplomat and politician

References

External links

caboverde.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Nicolau, Cape Verde Islands of Cape Verde