City center of Mindelo

Mindelo City Center Morada Centro do Mindelo
Neighborhood
Nossa Senhora da Luz church and its small square.
Country	Cape Verde
Island	São Vicente Island
City	Mindelo
Postal code	2100
Website	www.cmsv.cv

The City center of Mindelo or Morada (Portuguese: Centro do Mindelo) is the historic center of the Mindelo in the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. It is the spot where the island's first settlement was founded in 1795.

Bordering neighborhoods includes the Port of Mindelo-Chã da Marinha (Porto Grande-Chã da Marinha) to the north, Alto Mira-mar (or as Alto Miramar) to the north and Monte Sossego to the south. Elevation ranges up to 7 meters in the southeast, 15 meters in the east, the highest point is in the north being 18 meters. Its length is about 600 meters from north to south and the width ranges from 170 meters in the north 200 meters in the south to 410 meters in the middle, before the tiny land extension, it was 320 meters.

After the pirate attacks that occurred in the east of Porto Grande Bay, a fort was to be built around the area. In 1795, Nossa Senhora da Luz was founded, its first settlers were 50 slaves from the island of Fogo, João Carlos da Fonseca Rosado, native of Tavira became a captain. A dozen barracks and cabins were built, located within Pracinha de Igreja. In 1819, the population was 120 and 56 families from the nearby island of Santo Antão arrived into the settlement. It reached 295 people in 1821 when a famine struck the island. In 1835, it reached about 340 inhabitants, an idea was made on moving the colonial capital from Praia to Mindelo under a ministerial decree of June 11, 1838. Many inhabitants want the capital to remain in Praia, Praia stayed as a colonial capital (now national) of Cape Verde. In 1838, the East India Company built the first coal deposit on the island, today it is mainly located in a nearby neighborhood and is a marina or a yacht in the same time, the Marquis of Sá da Bandeira ordered the settlement to be named Mindelo after an expeditionary battle made by Peter IV in Mindelo, Portugal. In 1845, construction of Our Lady of Light Cathedral begun, it was not completed until 1963. A customs house was once located near the intersection that now features a roundabout, built in 1861 by governor Januário Correia de Almeida. Coal production boosted the city's economy for the next half century until gasoline fuel replaced coal. Mindelo's Library (Biblioteca do Mindelo) was opened in 1880 and was Cape Verde's second library.