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 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. 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 and the 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 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 da Craquinha *Ribeira de Julião *Ribeira de Passarão *Ribeirinha *Tchetchênia *Vila Nova/Lombo Tanque *Zona Industrial Sul *Zona Militar

Climate

Mindelo city 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 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").Paços do Concelho, built 1860–1873, the city hall of the municipality of São Vicente * Palácio do Povo (People's Palace), the former ''Palácio do Governo'' (Government Palace), built in 1874, expanded in 1928-34 * Our Lady of the Light Cathedral, Catholic church built in 1862, seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Mindelo The Diocese of Mindelo ( la, Dioecesis Mindelensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Cabo Verde. Its cathedral is Catedral Nossa Senhora da Luz in the episcopal see of Mindelo. The diocese is immedi ...

* Centro Nacional de Artesanato e Design, built as the house of Senator Vera Cruz at the end of the 19th century, now houses exhibitions from Cape Verdean craftsmen * Fortim d'El Rei, a former fortress built in 1852 *Torre de Belém, on the waterfront, a 1918-1937 replica of the

Belém Tower Belém Tower ( pt, Torre de Belém, links=no, ), officially the Tower of Saint Vincent ( pt, Torre de São Vicente, links=no) is a 16th-century fortification located in Lisbon that served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portu ...

in Lisbon * Farol do Ilhéu dos Pássaros, lighthouse on Ilhéu dos Pássaros *Municipal market, built in 1878 *the former Customs House, now the Cultural Centre of Mindelo, built 1858-1860 *Former British Consulate, built in the 1870s Fortim (S Vicente, Cabo Verde)

Statues

*Statue of Diogo Afonso on Mindelo Beach - after the explorer of the island *Statue of

Baltasar Lopes da Silva Baltasar Lopes da Silva ( Caleijão, São Nicolau, 23 April 1907 - Lisbon, Portugal, 28 May 1989) was a writer, poet and linguist from Cape Verde, who wrote in both Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole. With Manuel Lopes and Jorge Barbosa, he w ...

- 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 Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

, Centro, Portugal *

Kronach Kronach ( East Franconian: ''Gronich'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the district Kronach. Kronach is the birthplace of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well ...

, Bavaria, Germany * New Bedford, United States *

St Helena Bay Saint Helena Bay ( af, St. Helenabaai) is a settlement in West Coast District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Nicknamed by locals as ''Agterbaai'',''St Helena Bay.'' CapeWestCoast.org. http://www.capewestcoast.org/reg ...

, Western Cape, South Africa

Education

University of Cape Verde The University of Cape Verde ( pt, Universidade de Cabo Verde, abbreviated "Uni-CVV") is the only public university of Cape Verde. The main campus is in Palmarejo, Praia, but there are also institutes in Mindelo, Assomada and São Jorge dos Ór ...

, Faculty of Engineering and Maritime Sciences and School of Business and Governance *

Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde The Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde ( pt, Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde) is a private university in Cape Verde. The university is named after the famous Swiss child psychologist and philosopher Jean Piaget. The university was establi ...

- Mindelo campus *

University of Mindelo University of Mindelo ( pt, Universidade do Mindelo) is an institute of higher education in the city of Mindelo, island of São Vicente, Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_langua ...

- 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 Associação Académica do Mindelo ( Capeverdean Crioulo, ALUPEC or ALUPEK: ''Akadémika'', São Vicente Crioulo: ''Académica'' or ''Akadémika'') is a football club that had played in the Premier division and the São Vicente Island League in ...

– 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 * Bau – guitar and cavaquinho player * Yorgan de Castro -

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the Heavyweight division of the UFC * B. Leza (1905-1958) – writer, composer and singer * Josimar Dias (born 1986) – footballer, also called Vozinha * Bela Duarte – artist *

Cesária Évora Cesária Évora GCIH (; 27 August 194117 December 2011), more commonly known as Cize, was a Cape Verdean singer-songwriter. She received a Grammy Award in 2004 for her album ''Voz d'Amor''. Nicknamed the "Barefoot Diva" for performing without ...

(1941-2011) – folk singer * Fantcha – singer * Humberto Duarte Fonseca (1916-1983) – scientist *

Corsino Fortes Corsino António Fortes (14 February 1933 – 24 July 2015) was a Cape Verdean writer, poet and diplomat. He served as the first Ambassador of Cape Verde to Portugal from 1975 until 1981 following his country's independence. Biography Forte ...

(1933-2015) – writer * 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 António Gualberto do Rosário () (born October 12, 1950) was Prime Minister of Cape Verde from 29 July 2000 to 1 February 2001. He was also the acting Prime Minister from July to October 2000 and Leader of the Movement for Democracy. Political ...

(born 1950) – acting Prime Minister and later Prime Minister of Cape Verde * Onésimo Silveira (1935–2021) – poet, diplomat and a political activist *

Jenifer Solidade Jenifer Solidade Almeida (born 13 June 1984) is a singer from Cape Verde. Jenifer Solidade Almeida was born on 13 June 1984, in the town of Mindelo on the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. Solidade started her career as a backing singer for oth ...

(born 1984) - singer * Carlos Veiga (born 1949) – former

Prime Minister of Cape Verde This article lists the prime ministers of Cape Verde, an island country in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa, since the establishment of the office of prime minister in 1975. Pedro Pires was the first person to hold the office, ta ...

References

{{Authority control Cities in Cape Verde