3111) Cape Verde (or the Republic of Cabo Verde), i) About Cape Verde: ii) ii) Historical Evolution of Cape Verde Currency: iii) Evolution of Cape Verde Coinage: iv) Banknotes of Cape Verde:
i) About the Cape Verde Archipelago:
Cape Verde is an archipelago and island country of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about 4,033 square kilometres (1,557 sq mi).
These islands lie between 600 and 850 kilometres (320 and 460 nautical miles) west of Cap-Vert, the westernmost point of continental Africa.
The Cape Verde islands form part of the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Savage Isles.
The archipelago of modern-day Cape Verde was formed approximately 40–50 million years ago during the Eocene era.
The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers discovered and colonised the islands, thus establishing the first European settlement in the tropics.
Before the arrival of Europeans, the Cape Verde Islands were uninhabited.
They were discovered by Genoese and Portuguese navigators around 1456.
According to Portuguese official records, the first discoveries were made by Genoa-born António de Noli, who was afterwards appointed governor of Cape Verde by the Portuguese king Afonso V.
Other navigators mentioned as contributing to discoveries on the Cape Verde archipelago are Diogo Dias, Diogo Afonso, Venetian Alvise Cadamosto, and Diogo Gomes (who had accompanied António de Noli on his voyage of discovery, and who claimed to have been the first to land on the Cape Verdean Island of Santiago, and the first to name that island).
In 1462, Portuguese settlers arrived at Santiago and founded a settlement they called "Ribeira Grande". Presently it is called "Cidade Velha" ("Old City"), to distinguish it from a town of the same name on a different Cape Verdean Island (Ribeira Grande on the island of Santo Antão).
The original Ribeira Grande was the first permanent European settlement in the tropics.
The country is named after the Cap-Vert peninsula, on the Senegalese coast. The name Cap-Vert, in turn, comes from the Portuguese language "Cabo Verde" ('green cape'), the name that Portuguese explorers gave the cape in 1444, a few years before they came across the islands.
Because the Cape Verde islands were conveniently located to play a role in the Atlantic slave trade, Cape Verde became economically prosperous during the 16th and 17th centuries, attracting merchants, privateers, and pirates.
In the 16th century, the archipelago prospered from the Atlantic slave trade. Pirates occasionally attacked the Portuguese settlements. Francis Drake, an English privateer, twice sacked the (then) capital Ribeira Grande in 1585 when it was a part of the Iberian Union.
After a French attack in 1712, the town declined in importance relative to nearby Praia, which became the capital in 1770.
It declined economically in the 19th century after the suppression of the Atlantic slave trade, and many of its inhabitants emigrated during that period.
The decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis.
Cape Verde's early prosperity slowly vanished. However, the islands' position astride mid-Atlantic shipping lanes made Cape Verde an ideal location for re-supplying ships. Because of its excellent harbour, the city of Mindelo, located on the island of São Vicente, became an important commercial centre during the 19th century.
Edmund Roberts visited Cape Verde in 1832.
Cape Verde was also the first stop of Charles Darwin's voyage with HMS Beagle in 1832.
With few natural resources and inadequate sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew increasingly discontented with the colonial masters, who refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy.
However, Cape Verde gradually recovered economically by becoming an important commercial centre and useful stopover point along major shipping routes.
Cape Verde became independent in 1975.
Since the early 1990s, Cape Verde has been a stable representative democracy and has remained one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa. Lacking natural resources, its developing economy is mostly service-oriented, with a growing focus on tourism and foreign investment.
Its population of around 500,000 is of mostly African and a minor European heritage, and predominantly Roman Catholic, reflecting the legacy of Portuguese rule.
A sizeable Cape Verdean diaspora community exists across the world, especially in the United States and Portugal, considerably outnumbering the inhabitants on the islands. Cape Verde is a member state of the African Union.
Cape Verde's official language is Portuguese. The recognised national language is Cape Verdean Creole, which is spoken by the vast majority of the population.
The most populated islands are Santiago, where the capital Praia is located (269,370), São Vicente (74,016), Santo Antão (36,632), Fogo (33,519) and Sal (33,347). The largest cities are Praia (137,868), Mindelo (69,013), Espargos (24,500) and Assomada (21,297).
In 1951, Portugal changed Cape Verde's status from a colony to an overseas province in an attempt to blunt growing nationalism.
In 1956, Amílcar Cabral and a group of fellow Cape Verdeans and Guineans organised (in Portuguese Guinea) the clandestine African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC).
By 1972, the PAIGC controlled much of Portuguese Guinea despite the presence of the Portuguese troops, but the organisation did not attempt to disrupt Portuguese control in Cape Verde.
Portuguese Guinea declared independence in 1973 and was granted de jure independence in 1974.
A budding independence movement – originally led by Amílcar Cabral, assassinated in 1973 – passed on to his half-brother Luís Cabral and culminated in independence for the archipelago in 1975.
Following the April 1974 uprising in Portugal, the PAIGC became an active political movement in Cape Verde.
In December 1974, the PAIGC and Portugal signed an agreement providing for a transitional government composed of Portuguese and Cape Verdeans.
On 30.06.1975, Cape Verdeans elected a National Assembly which received the instruments of independence from Portugal on 05.07.1975.
ii) Historical Evolution of Cape Verde Currency:
The Escudo is the currency of the Republic of Cabo Verde. One Escudo is subdivided into one hundred centavos.
The escudo became the currency of Cape Verde in 1914.
It replaced the Cape Verdean Real at an exchange rate of 1000 Réis = 1 Escudo.
Until 1930, Cape Verde used Portuguese coins, although banknotes were issued by the Banco Nacional Ultramarino specifically for Cape Verde beginning in 1865.
Until independence in 1975, the Cape Verde Escudo was equal to the Portuguese Escudo.
Subsequently, it depreciated, declining by about 30 per cent in 1977–78 and by a further 40 per cent in 1982–84. Thereafter, it remained fairly stable against the Portuguese Escudo.
iii) Evolution of Cape Verde Coinage:
In 1930, under Portuguese rule, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos and 1 escudo.
The 5, 10 and 20 centavos were struck in Bronze whilst the 50 centavos and 1 Escudo were minted in Nickel-bronze.
In 1953, Bronze 1 Escudo, nickel-bronze 2+1⁄2 Escudos and Silver 10 Escudos were introduced, followed by Bronze 50 Centavos and Nickel-bronze 5 escudos in 1968.
After independence, coins were issued in 1977 in denominations of 20 and 50 centavos, 1, 2+1⁄2, 10, 20 and 50 Escudos.
The Centavo coins were Aluminium, the 1 and 2+1⁄2 escudos were Nickel-bronze and the higher denominations were Cupro-nickel.
As inflation persisted the centavo coins progressively disappeared from circulation and by the time the coinage was revamped the 1 escudo coin was the smallest in circulation.
In 1994, the present coinage was introduced.
The smallest was a brass-plated-steel 1 Escudo, though the 1 Escudo does not circulate well and vendors tend to round to the nearest five in practice.
This coin comes in only one style, featuring a sea turtle, while the other denominations came with three topical styles.
These are the Copper-plated-steel 5 Escudos, Nickel-plated-steel 10, 20 and 50 Escudos, and bimetallic, decagonal 100 escudos.
The three congruent design series had one featuring native animals (Birds and reptiles), the second was of historical ships with their names included, and the last was of native plants and ferns.
In 1995, Heptagonal 200 Escudo coins were issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of FAO and 20 years of independence.
In 2005, another 200 Escudo coin, was issued to commemorate the 30th anniversary of independence.
Banknote of Cape Verde:
In 1914, the Banco Nacional Ultramarino introduced Banknotes in denominations of 4, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos.
In 1921, Banknotes for 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Escudos were issued.
The next series of notes, introduced in 1945, omitted all denominations below 5 escudos (which had been replaced by coins) and included 500 escudo notes.
In 1953, 10 escudo Banknotes were replaced by coins, with the 5 Escudo note also withdrawn.
After independence on 05.07.1975, Banknotes were issued for 100, 500, and 1000 Escudos on 01.07.1977.
In 1989, the next series of Banknotes was introduced and consisted of 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 2500 Escudos.
The third series was introduced in 1992 in denominations of 200, 500, 1000, with the addition in 1999 of 2000 and 5000 Escudo notes.
In 2005, the 200-escudo note was redesigned, followed by the 500 and 1000 in 2007.
On 22.12.2014, the Banco de Cabo Verde introduced a new series of banknotes that honor Cape Verdean figures in the fields of literature, music, and politics.
It consists of denominations of 200, 1,000 and 2,000 escudos issued in 2014, with the former now printed on polymer, and Banknotes of 500 and 5,000 escudos issued in 2015.
Banknotes 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 2500, 5000 escudos are mostly circulated.
In 2014 new 1000 CVE bank note with Codé di Dona (front).
About Codé di Dona, nickname of Gregório Vaz, (1940-2010):
He was a Cape Verdean musician and composer.
He was born in Chaminé near São Domingos and lived in the locality of São Francisco, in the same municipality he was born has another Cape Verdean music expert Ano Novo. He is considered one of the chief figures of funaná, a music genre once known only in his native island of Santiago and achieved universal renaissance today.
He was professionally dependent on agriculture as a farmer, he was also a flower keeper. Codé di Dona composed classic songs at the Cape Verdean National Repertory including "Febri Funaná", "Fomi 47" (Portuguese: Fome de '47, English: '47 Famine), "Praia Maria", "Yota Barela", "Rufon Baré", "Pomba" and others.
Codé di Dona felt Cape Verdeans with the singularity of its songs and poets of his letters.
His composition "Fomi 47", for example, was about one of the most historic problems that struck Cape Verde, the 1947 drought, the famine and emigration to São Tomé e Príncipe.
Image of a part of the ship "Ana Mafalda" was part of an imaginary collection of Cape Verdeans, it was sung as a hymn by other singers.
Since 2014, he is featured on the $1000 Cape Verdean escudo banknote. It displays the coast of where he once lived.
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In 2014, new 2000 CVE banknote with Cesária Évora (back) were issued.
Cesária Évora GCIH (1941-2011) was a Cape Verdean singer known for singing morna, a genre of music from Cape Verde, in her native Cape Verdean Creole.
Her songs were often devoted to themes of love, homesickness, nostalgia, and the history of the Cape Verdean people.
She was known for performing barefoot and for her habit of smoking and drinking on stage during intermissions.
Évora's music has received many accolades, including a Grammy Award in 2004, and it has influenced many Cape Verde diaspora musicians as well as American pop singer Madonna. Évora is also known as Cizé, the Barefoot Diva, and the Queen of Morna.
Évora's image has been featured on Cape Verdean postage stamps and on 2000 Escudos banknotes.
Cesária Évora Airport in Mindelo was named after her in 2012, and the airport's entrance features a 3-metre (9.8 ft) tall statue of her by Domingos Luisa.
Growing up in poverty, Évora began her singing career in local bars at age sixteen. She saw relative popularity within Cape Verde over the following years, but she retired from singing when it did not provide her with enough money to care for her children.
Évora returned to music in 1985, when she contributed to a women's music anthology album in Portugal. Here, she met music producer José "Djô" da Silva, who signed Évora to his record label, Lusafrica.
She released her debut album, "La Diva Aux Pieds Nus", in 1988. Évora saw worldwide success after releasing her fourth and fifth albums: "Miss Perfumado" (1992) and "Cesária" (1995).
She developed health problems in the late 2000s and passed away from respiratory failure and hypertension in 2011.
Cape Verde (or Republic of Cabo Verde)
Eswatini (Swaziland):
Links to Posts on Turks and Caicos Islands:
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
For some other interesting posts on Currencies of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, please visit the following links:
18) Sea Motifs, Bahamas: Gold Bullion Coins in the denominations of 100 Dollars (depicting a Blue Marlin) and 250 Dollars (depicting a Conch Shell): Coins issue date: 03.12.2019
19) A new Generation $100 Polymer Banknote, Trinidad and Tobago with enhanced security features to "raise the bar" for counterfeiters & unscrupulous elements: Banknote circulation date: 09.12.2019:
20) Festival di Tumba (Carnival of Curacao), Curacao: "50th Edition of the Curacao Carnival/Festival" held from 27-31.01.2020: A set of six Commemorative Postage Stamps brought out by Cpost (Curacao Post) on 20.02.2020
21) New Polymer Banknotes, Trinidad and Tobago: The entire series will consist of $100, $50, $20, $10, $5 and $1 denominations: $100 has already been issued on 09.12.2019
23) "Caribbean Sea-Horse", Barbados: $10 (Ten Dollars) 1.0 Oz. Gold Bullion Coins & $1 (One Dollar) 1.0 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins minted by the Scottsdale Mint; Year of issue: 2020
24) Cayman Islands, A British Overseas Territory (BOT): A set of identically numbered Banknotes of the presently circulating Banknotes from the "D" Series of Banknotes
Links to some other interesting posts from South American countries & Mexico:
26) A new 100 Boliviano Banknote from Bolivia: issued by the "Banco Centrale de Bolivia" (Central Bank of Bolivia) on 15.01.2019 under its new 2018 Banknote Series
27) Central Bank of Uruguay ("Banco Centrale del Uruguay"): 50th Anniversary (Golden Jubilee) - 1967-2017 - celebrated with the issue of a 50 Peso Commemorative Banknote on 14.09.2018
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
Interesting Posts from Algeria:
Interesting posts from Sierra Leone:
Links to posts on Zaire/Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):
2) Currency & Coinage of Ghana: Cedis & Pesewas
6) Two new Cedi Banknotes of GH200 & GH100 and a GH2 Cedi Coin introduced in 11/2019
Links to other interesting posts on our Ghana visit in 2013:
1) Lake Bosumchwe or Bosumchwi, Ghana
2) El Mina Castle/Fort, Cape Coast, Ghana
3) History of Coinage and Banknotes of Ghana
6) Larabanga mosque and the Mystic Stone
7) Food, Culture and Music of Ghana
9) Oware: The Ancient National Board Game of Ghana
Interesting posts from Sierra Leone:
Links to posts on Zaire/Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):
Rajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very detailed and informative post."
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DeleteRaj Kumar Srivastava has commented:
ReplyDelete"Informative."
Thank you so much, Raj.
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