Santiago, Cape Verde
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Native name: Santiagu Nickname: Ilha-berço (cradle island) |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 15°04′N 23°38′W / 15.067°N 23.633°WCoordinates: 15°04′N 23°38′W / 15.067°N 23.633°W |
| Area | 991 km2 (383 sq mi) |
| Length | 75 km (46.6 mi) |
| Width | 35 km (21.7 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,394 m (4,573 ft) |
| Highest point | Pico da Antónia |
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Cape Verde
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| Concelhos (Municipalities) | Praia, Ribeira Grande de Santiago, Santa Catarina, Santa Cruz, São Domingos, São Lourenço dos Órgãos, São Miguel, São Salvador do Mundo, Tarrafal |
| Largest settlement | Praia (pop. 130,271) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 272,312 (2010) |
| Pop. density | 274.8 /km2 (711.7 /sq mi) |
Santiago (Portuguese for “Saint James”), or Santiagu in Cape Verdean Creole, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation’s population.
Santiago is located between the islands of Maio (40 kilometres (25 miles) west) and Fogo (50 kilometres (31 miles) east) and is one of the Sotavento. It was the first of the islands to be settled, the town of Cidade Velha being founded as Ribeira Grande in 1462. It is also home to the nation's capital city of Praia and to one of the islands’ four international airports, Praia International Airport, 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) from the capital (IATA airport code: RAI, Praia).
In the 19th century it was called St. Jago.
During the Prehistoric era, around 22 to 21 million years ago, the seamount was formed, 4 to 3 million years ago, the island with its crater now known as Pico da Antónia was formed, its length was about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles), about 2 to 3 million years ago, another island with its crater at present day Serra da Malagueta was formed, its seamount was formed around 20 to 19 million years ago, its length was about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), about 2 to 1 million years ago, the two islands merged into a larger island. In about 73,000 BC, the eastern portion of the island of Fogo collapsed into the ocean and brought a 170-metre-high (560 ft) megatsunami that flooded the western part of the island. During the Ice Age, the island was larger than 1,050 square kilometres (410 square miles) and approximately 80 kilometres (50 miles) wide.
The island was discovered by António da Noli in around 1460 who built a garrison in Cidade Velha which was then known as Ribeira Grande. Transcontinental slavery made Cidade Velha the second richest city in the Portuguese realm. Later, Portugal faced competition by the English, Dutch, French and Spanish who gradually took over the slave trade. The island was captured by Francis Drake, as a result, Fort Real de São Filipe, Cape Verde's first fortress was built and was finished in 1590. In 1712, the capital no longer served Cidade Velha which was attacked by French pirates led by Jacques Cassard as part of the Cassard expedition and was moved to the Praia plateau, Praia was not officially capital status until 1770. The island population were disadvantaged by the Portuguese colonial system and supported Amílcar Cabral and the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde and the independence of 1975. Santiago several times hosted conferences on Creole culture.
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Wikipedia