Mindelo is a port cityCabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015
Instituto Nacional de Estatística, p. 32-33 in the northern part of the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde. Mindelo is also the seat of the parish of Nossa Senhora da Luz, and the municipality of São Vicente. The city is home to 93% of the entire island's population. Mindelo is known for its colourful and animated carnival celebrations, with roots in

Portuguese traditions 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 ...

later influenced by the Brazilian culture.

History

A settlement at Mindelo was founded in 1793 by the Portuguese.Génese e desenvolvimento da cidade do Mindelo: a preservação de uma identidade
Fred Yanick Fonseca Delgado, 2016 It was initially named ''Nossa Senhora da Luz'', renamed ''Leopoldina'' around 1820 after the Queen consort. In 1838 it was renamed ''Mindelo'' after the 1832 Landing at Mindelo, north of

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

. It became a coal deposit for ships of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

in 1838, followed by the

Royal Mail Steam Packet Company The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by a Scot, James MacQueen. The line's motto was ''Per Mare Ubique'' (everywhere by sea). After a troubled start, it became the largest shipping group ...

in 1850. The settlement became a town (''vila'') in 1858, and had 1,400 inhabitants then. It became a city (''cidade'') in 1879, and had 3,717 inhabitants then. In 1884 a submarine communications cable was laid between Europe, Africa, India and North America, making Mindelo an important communications centre for the British Empire. From the beginning of the 20th century the port of Mindelo lost its importance for transatlantic navigation. Causes for this were the shift from coal to oil as fuel for ships, the rise of competing ports like Dakar and the Canary Islands and the lack of investment in port infrastructure. Between 1910 and 1940 there were several strikes in Mindelo, and on 7 June 1934 there were riots in the streets of Mindelo, caused by unemployment and poverty. One man was killed; several were injured. Between 1940 and 1958 three prolonged periods of severe drought, combined with soil erosion and

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

, brought

famine in Cape Verde The archipelago of Cape Verde has been struck by a series of drought-related famines between the 1580s and the 1950s. During these periods of drought and famine, tens of thousands of inhabitants died from starvation and diseases. Background The C ...

. In the whole archipelago, about 45,000 people died and 20,000 people emigrated. Mindelo attracted immigrants, notably from nearby Santo Antão, and continued to grow. Mindelo was the cultural capital of the Portuguese-speaking world from November 2002 until November 2003. Mindelo is also considered the cultural capital of Cape Verde.

Geography

Mindelo is situated at the

Porto Grande Bay Porto Grande Bay ( pt, Baía do Porto Grande), also Mindelo Bay, is a bay on the north coast of the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. The main city of São Vicente, Mindelo, is situated at the bay. The Porto Grande Bay is a natural harbour. It ...

, a large natural harbour. The town is surrounded by low mountains: the

Monte Cara Monte Cara is a mountain in western part of the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. Its elevation is 490 m.Morro Branco headland to the west, and the

Monte Verde Monte Verde is an archaeological site in the Llanquihue Province in southern Chile, located near Puerto Montt, Southern Chile, which has been dated to as early as 18,500 cal BP (16,500 BC). Previously, the widely accepted date for early occu ...

to the east. The town is crossed by the river Ribeira de Julião. The Cesária Évora Airport lies southwest of Mindelo, near the village São Pedro. Ferries for Santo Antão leave from the port.

Subdivisions

The city is divided into the following localities for statistical reasons: * Alto Miramar *Alto Morabeza *Alto Santo António *Alto São Nicolau *Alto Solarine/Forca *Atrás do Cemitério/Sul do Cemitério *Bela Vista/Pedreira *Campinho * Chã de Alecrim *Chã de Cemitério *Chã de Marinha *Chã de Monte Sossego *Chê Guevarra * City center/Morada *Cruz João Evora *Dji d'Sal *Fernando Pó *

Fonte Cónego Fonte Cónego is a subdivision of the city of Mindelo in the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. Its population was 236 at the 2010 census. It is situated directly east of the city centre. Adjacent neighborhoods include Alto Miramar to the nort ...

*Fonte Filipe *Fonte Françês *Fonte Inês/Espia *Fonte Meio/Madeiralzinho * Fortinho/Escola Técnica *Horta Seca *Lazareto * Matiota *Monte/Craca *Monte Sossego *Pedra Rolada *

Ribeira Bote Ribeira Bote is a subdivision of the city of Mindelo Mindelo is a port city desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''BWh''). The average annual temperature is . It is very dry with only around annual precipitation.

Economy

Its economy consists mainly of business, fishing, shipping, boating and more commonly tourism which developed more recently. Mindelo has several hotels, restaurants and tourist agencies.

Cityscape

The main streets of Mindelo are Avenida Marginal along the waterfront, and the perpendicular

Rua Libertadores de África Rua Libertadores de África (Portuguese for "street of the Liberators of Africa") is one of the main streets in the city centre of Mindelo, Cape Verde It was formerly called Rua Lisboa ("Lisbon street").

Statues

*Statue of Diogo Afonso on Mindelo Beach - after the explorer of the island *Statue of Baltasar Lopes da Silva - after one of the most famous writers of Cape Verde

International relations

Mindelo has been twinned with the following cities:

Twin towns – sister cities

, Norte, Portugal * Coimbra, Centro, Portugal * Kronach, Bavaria, Germany * New Bedford, Massachusetts, New Bedford, United States * St Helena Bay, Western Cape, South Africa

Education

*University of Cape Verde, Faculty of Engineering and Maritime Sciences and School of Business and Governance *Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde - Mindelo campus *University of Mindelo - Cape Verde's third university *Escola Jorge Barbosa (''Liceu Velho'') - a campus of the University of Cape Verde *Liceu Ludgero Lima - A high school

Demography

At the 2010 census, Mindelo had 70,468 inhabitants. It is the second largest city in Cape Verde after Praia.

Sporting teams

Mindelo has several sports teams that includes the city, Académica, Corinthians and Derby are clubs that includes the entire island. *Académica do Mindelo – football, basketball, athletics *Batuque FC - football *GS Castilho – football, cricket *FC Derby – football *CS Mindelense – football, the oldest club in Cape Verde The main football stadium is Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena. Basketball, volleyball and futsal are played at Polivalente de Amarante in the southwest.

Notable people

*Bana (singer), Bana – singer *Bau (singer), Bau – guitar and cavaquinho player *Yorgan De Castro, Yorgan de Castro - mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC *Francisco Xavier da Cruz, B. Leza (1905-1958) – writer, composer and singer *Vozinha, Josimar Dias (born 1986) – footballer, also called Vozinha *Bela Duarte – artist *Cesária Évora (1941-2011) – folk singer *Fantcha – singer *Humberto Duarte Fonseca (1916-1983) – scientist *Corsino Fortes (1933-2015) – writer *Fredson Tavares, Fock – footballer *Sergio Frusoni (1901-1975) – poet *António Aurélio Gonçalves (1901-1984)– writer, critic, historian and professor *Leão Lopes – community developer, documentary-maker, politician *Manuel Lopes (1907–2005) – writer, one of the founders of ''Claridade'' *João Cleofas Martins (born 1901) - photographer and humorist *Ovídio Martins (born 1928) - poet *Vasco Martins – musician *Tito Paris (born 1968) – musician *Gualberto do Rosário (born 1950) – acting Prime Minister and later Prime Minister of Cape Verde *Onésimo Silveira (1935–2021) – poet, diplomat and a political activist *Jenifer Solidade (born 1984) - singer *Carlos Veiga (born 1949) – former Prime Minister of Cape Verde

References

{{Authority control Mindelo, Cities in Cape Verde