Manuel António Martins (1772 in Braga-1845) was a Portuguese businessman and colonial governor of
Cape Verde
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
and
Portuguese Guinea from 1834 to 1835.
Martins was said to be the richest man in the country and nicknamed the Napoleon of the Cape Verde Islands.
He arrived in Cape Verde in 1792. He started the exploitation of the salt ponds of
Pedra de Lume on the island of
Sal in 1796.
[Salines de Pedra de Lume]
UNESCO World Heritage tentative list
In May 1819, Martins co-established a fishing company with the Governor of Cape Verde,
António Pusich. Martins's partnership with Pusich soured after Pusich accused Martin of trying to sell
São Vicente and
Sal to the British.
After the accusation, Martins instigated a riot in
Praia in May 1821 that led to the overthrow of Pusich.
In 1819, Martins was appointed by
Samuel Hodges, Jr. as an honorary vice-consul for the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
on the island of
Boa Vista.
He founded the town of
Santa Maria on Sal in 1830.
In December 1833, Martins was appointed
colonial governor of Cape Verde and Guinea,
assuming office on 14 February 1834.
[ His tenure lasted until March 1835.][ In 1834 he established the municipality of Santa Catarina with its seat in Picos, replacing the old municipality of ]Ribeira Grande Ribeira Grande may refer to the following places:
Cape Verde
* Ribeira Grande (stream), a stream on the island of Santo Antão
* Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde, a town on the island of Santo Antão
* Ribeira Grande, Cape Verde (municipality), a municip ...
.[Evolução histórica do Concelho de Santa Catarina (1834 – 1912)]
Ana Zenaida Gomes, 2005, p. 16
See also
* List of colonial governors of Cape Verde
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martins Manuel Antonio
1772 births
1845 deaths
Portuguese diplomats
Colonial heads of Cape Verde
Portuguese people of Italian descent