Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of

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

.Cape Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015
Instituto Nacional de Estatística Located on the southern coast of Santiago island, within the Sotavento Islands group, the city is the seat of the Praia Municipality. Praia is the economic, political, and cultural center of Cape Verde.

History

The island of Santiago was discovered by António da Noli in 1460.Valor simbólico do centro histórico da Praia
Lourenço Conceição Gomes, Universidade Portucalense, 2008 The first settlement on the island was Ribeira Grande (

Cidade Velha Cidade Velha (Portuguese for "old city", also: ''Santiago de Cabo Verde'') is a city harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

. The ports of Santiago were important ports of call for ships sailing between Portugal and the Portuguese colonies in Africa and South America. Between the end of the 16th century and the end of the 18th century, both Ribeira Grande and Praia suffered many pirate attacks, including those by Francis Drake ( 1585) and Jacques Cassard (

1712 In the Swedish calendar it began as a leap year starting on Monday and remained so until Thursday, February 29. By adding a second leap day (Friday, February 30) Sweden reverted to the Julian calendar and the rest of the year (from Saturda ...

). Due to its strategic position on a plateau it had better protection against pirate attacks, which gave it a large advantage over the older city of Ribeira Grande (

Cidade Velha Cidade Velha (Portuguese for "old city", also: ''Santiago de Cabo Verde'') is a cityCentre historique de Praia
UNESCO The naval battle of Porto Praya took place at Praia Harbour on 16 April 1781, as Portugal was neutral, it involved Great Britain and France and ended in a tactical draw and French strategic victory. Praia was the first stop of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

's voyage with in 1832. In the course of the 19th century, the ''

Plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

'' was completely redeveloped with streets according to a

grid plan In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogon ...

, lined with grand colonial buildings and mansions. Praia officially became a city (''cidade'') in 1858, which secured its status as the capital of Cape Verde, concentrating political, religious and economic roles. In the early 1920s, the population was around 21,000. As in other parts of the archipelago, resistance against Portuguese rule rose in the 1950s. There was no open independence war like in

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

; after the 1974

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

in Portugal and the resulting end of the

Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...

, Cape Verde declared independence in July 1975. After independence, Praia underwent a demographic boom, receiving migrating movements from all the islands. As a result, 56% of the entire population of Cape Verde resides in Santiago; and 29% in the Municipality of Praia alone. Its estimated population has reached 151,436 (2015). On 28 June 1985, Praia became member of UCCLA, the Union of Luso – Afro-Americo-Asiatic Capital Cities, an international organization.

Geography

Geographically, Praia may be described as a set of

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

s and their surrounding

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s. These plateaus generally have the name ''achada'' (Achada de Santo António, Achada de São Filipe, Achada Eugénio Lima, Achada Grande, Achadinha, etc. — ''achada'' being a Portuguese word to designate a volcanic plateau), but the central one is called

. The urban settlement is made mostly on top of these plateaus and along the valleys. The islet of Santa Maria is in front of the beach bearing the same name. For a long time, only the ''Plateau'' was considered to be the city, being the other neighbourhoods relegated to the condition of peripheral suburbs, in spite of always having a close relationship with the ''Plateau'' (people movements, goods and services exchanges, etc.). This is why only the ''Plateau'' previously had relatively well-developed urbanization with its own infra-structures. The remaining neighbourhoods developed in a more organic, chaotic way. Only after independence did the ''Plateau'' merge with the other neighbourhoods to constitute what is now considered the City of Praia. The whole city was, at the time, equipped with adequate infrastructure. Urbanization begun immediately after independence and sought to expand north.

Climate

Praia has a

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: BWh) with a short

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

and a lengthy, very pronounced

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

. In fact, outside of the months of August, September and October, little precipitation falls on Praia. The city on average sees about of rain per year. Since the coldest month is far above its temperature patterns resembles a tropical climate, but lacks enough precipitation to be classified as such. Despite the fact that it has an arid climate, Praia seldom gets very hot or very cold, due to its oceanside location on Santiago Island. Temperatures are warm and constant with an average high temperature of and an average low temperature of .

Demographics

According to the national statistics office, the city's population was estimated 159,050 as of July 2017. As of the mid-19th century, the population was estimated at 1,500 to 2,000. When Edmund Roberts visited in 1832, he noted a population of black people in Praia totaling about "nineteen twentieths" of the population.

Education

The city of Praia is home to the first primary school in the archipelago, originally known as the ''Escola Central'' (today known as the ''Escola Grande''). For much time it was the only primary school in Praia. At the beginning of the 1960s, other primary schools began to be built in neighbourhoods around the Plateau and in other localities on the island. Praia was also the first site in Cape Verde with a secondary education institution with the creation of the ''Liceu Nacional'' in 1861. However, the Portuguese authorities were not interested in implementing secondary education in Cape Verde and the school failed as a result; secondary education became, afterwards, the role of the ''Seminário de Ribeira Brava'' on the island of São Nicolau, and later of the lyceum in Mindelo. In 1960, Praia again had secondary education, first with a facility on 12 September Plaza and later in its own building. With the expansion of education in Cape Verde in the 1990s, buildings dedicated to education were constructed in Cape Verde, and Praia in 2016 had 12 secondary education schools. International schools: * École Internationale Les Alizés (French school) * Colégio Internacional – Cabo Verde (Portuguese school) For higher education, there are the Universidade de Santiago, ''Instituto Superior de Ciencias Juridícas e Sociais'', ''Instituto Superior de Ciencias Económicas e Empresariais'', Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde, and University of Cape Verde. Praia is also home to the National Library and the National Archives Building or the ANCV.

Economy

The principal economic activities of Praia belong to the tertiary sector. Beyond activities related to administration and governance (local and national), there are extensive commerce, services (health care, education, tourism, restaurants and hotels, public functions, etc.), and other activities of a liberal character. Being the nation's capital as well as the economic hub, Praia is one of the most economically viable cities in the Cape Verde archipelago. About one third (1/3) of the city's population lives below the poverty line today (2014). The gross metropolitan product for the city is about 39% of the country's GDP, translating into US$4764 income per capita.

Transport

The city is served by Nelson Mandela International Airport and Cabo Verde Airlines, both having headquarters in Praia. It has the nation's second most used port, Praia Harbor, with a ferry terminal linking to other islands, direct ferry routes are Maio, Fogo and São Vicente. The port is managed by the national port authority ENAPOR. The port was reconstructed and expanded in 2014. Praia has a dual carriageway ring road, the ''Circular da Praia'' (EN1-ST06), which is connected with the main national roads to the north ( EN1-ST01) and the west ( EN1-ST05) of the island. The main roads inside the city are ''Avenida Grão Ducado de Luxemburgo'' (from the centre to the west), Avenida Amílcar Cabral (in ''Plateau'') and Avenida Cidade de Lisboa.

Public transport

Public transport within the city of Praia is provided by the company SolAtlântico. There are 12 city bus lines. Intercity share taxis for other cities on the island of Santiago depart from the Sucupira terminal in the city centre, which was opened in May 2018. In 2015 a project called EcobusCV started running a fleet of dual fuel waste vegetable oil / diesel minibuses between Praia and Assomada. However, services were suspended in November 2016.

Culture

Praia-Palácio Presidencial (1) (cropped)

There is the ''Museu Etnográfico'' (Ethnographic Museum), which was founded in 1997. Some of the oldest buildings in Praia are Jaime Mota Barracks ( Quartel Jaime Mota) dating from 1826. Since 2016, the historic centre of Praia is on the tentative list of

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

s. Landmarks in the colonial city center include Albuquerque Square (named after the colonial governor of the mid 19th century,

Caetano Alexandre de Almeida e Albuquerque Caetano Alexandre de Almeida e Albuquerque (15 April 1824 – 8 September 1916) was a Portuguese colonial administrator and a military officer. He was List of colonial governors of Cape Verde, governor general of Cape Verde from 29 March 1869 unt ...

), the old city hall built in the 1920s, the Presidential Palace, which was constructed in the end of the 19th century to house the Portuguese governor and the '' Monumento de Diogo Gomes'', named after the Portuguese

navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prima ...

who discovered the island of Santiago in 1460.

Places of worship

Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Christian churches and temples: Roman Catholic Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde (

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa within Johnson County, Kansas. With its members ...

, Universal Church of the Kingdom of God,

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

Sports

Praia is home to several sports teams. The most popular football (soccer) clubs include Sporting, Boavista, Travadores, Académica, Vitória and Desportivo; others include ADESBA, based in Craveiro Lopes;

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

, based in Achadinha de Baixo; Tchadense, based out of Achada Santo Antônio; Delta, and Eugênio Lima, based in that neighbourhood. Basketball clubs include ABC Praia, Bairro and Travadores. Volleyball clubs include Desportivo da Praia. All are part of the Santiago League South Zone. Many clubs play at Estádio da Várzea.

Notable people

* Caló, footballer * Arménio Vieira, writer * Dário Furtado, footballer * Gardénia Benrós, singer *

Gelson Fernandes Gelson da Conceição Tavares Fernandes (born 2 September 1986) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Club career FC Sion Fernandes started his football career at FC Sion when he first joined the club ...

, footballer * Ivan Almeida, basketball player * Mito Elias, artist * Nando Maria Neves, footballer * Ronny Souto, footballer *

Vadú Vadú, nickname of Osvaldo Furtado, (January 31, 1977 – January 12, 2010) was a Cape Verdean singer and musician. He defined himself as a real "Badiu" or ironically as a "civilized Black". He was a nephew of the brothers of Zezé and Zeca ...

, singer * Yara dos Santos, writer

International relations

Praia is twinned with: *

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, United States * Faro, Portugal *

Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), also known as Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic coast, it is located at the mouth of the Mondego River, we ...

, Portugal *

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its hig ...

, Portugal * Gondomar, Portugal *

Jinan Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...

, China *

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, Portugal *

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, China * Ponta Delgada, Portugal *

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, United States

References

External links

* {{Authority control Capitals in Africa Cities in Cape Verde Municipal seats in Cape Verde Populated coastal places in Cape Verde Populated places established in the 16th century