A pleasantly tropical destination, the Cape Verde islands benefit from average annual temperatures of between 24°C and 30°C.

Holidays in Cape Verde offer long, uninterrupted hours of sunshine and low humidity, which means that many people return several times. And with stronger winds between November and March, bigger waves can be found on some of the islands, which proves particularly popular with water sports enthusiasts.

The uninhabited island of Santiago, founded in 1462, was colonised by the Portuguese, the first permanent settlement in the tropics. Slaves were brought from West Africa and in the 16th century, Santiago was highly successful as the transatlantic slave trade flourished.

In 1675, the decline of the Cape Verde Islands became apparent when the Portuguese Crown agreed to monopoly rights whereby slaves could be boughtdirectly from the coast of New Guinea, bypassing Cape Verde altogether. In addition, Cape Verde became increasingly  vulnerable to attacks from rival countries as well as pirates. An attack in 1712 by the French led to the sacking of Santiago and robbed Ribeira Grande of its riches. The city declined in importance and in 1770 Praia became the capital.

Cape Verde suffered the first of many droughts in 1742. Despite their pleas, Portugal refused to invest money in the islands with nothing in return. With goats grazing excessively on the already limited vegetation and a severe lack of funds, it was inevitable that famine would strike. As a result, thousands of people died when droughts and famine struck. It is believed that 44 per cent of the population at that time died. The once lush islands were now dry and barren. Many Cape Verdeans fled the islands and emigrated to America in the hope of a better life.

Cape Verde suffered a rapid economic decline when the slave trade was finally abolished in 1876. As the 19th century approached, changes began to take place, new steamships were born as a result of the industrial revolution and needed a place to stop and recharge coal on their long journeys. Due to the islands location, it was the ideal place for ships bound for America to stop here for repairs and ship supplies. The British soon set up coal stations here and Mindelo, their capital grew exceptionally quickly.

Until 1879, Cape Verde was part of Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau) and in 1951 the status of the islands changed from colony to overseas province. The affirmation of the Cape Verdean nation came on 5 July 1975 (National Independence Day), when the oldest party, PAICV*, won the country’s independence and ruled for many years.