Nickname:Ilha-berço (cradle island) | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
  Santiago  Santiago | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 15°04′N23°38′W / 15.067°N 23.633°W /15.067; -23.633 |
| Area | 991 km2 (383 sq mi) |
| Length | 54.9 km (34.11 mi) |
| Width | 28.8 km (17.9 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,392 m (4567 ft) |
| Highest point | Pico de Antónia |
| Administration | |
| 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. 151,436) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 294,135[1]: 36 (2015) |
| Pop. density | 296.8/km2 (768.7/sq mi) |
Santiago (Portuguese for “Saint James”) is the largest island ofCape Verde, its most importantagricultural centre and home to half the nation's population. Part of theSotavento Islands, it lies between the islands ofMaio (26 km (16 mi) to the east) andFogo (55 kilometres (34 miles) to the west). It was the first of the islands to be settled: the town of Ribeira Grande (nowCidade Velha and aUNESCO World Heritage Site[2]) was founded in 1462. Santiago is home to the nation'scapital city ofPraia.
The eastern side of the nearby island ofFogo collapsed into the ocean 73,000 years ago, creating a tsunami 170 metres (558 ft) high which struck Santiago.[3]
In 1460,António de Noli became the first to visit the island. Da Noli settled atRibeira Grande (nowCidade Velha) with his family members and Portuguese from Algarve and Alentejo in 1462.[4]: 77 Transcontinental slavery made Cidade Velha the second richest city in the Portuguese realm.[2] The wealth of Ribeira Grande and conflicts between Portugal and rival colonial powers France and Britain attracted pirate attacks, including those byFrancis Drake (1585) andJacques Cassard (1712).[4]: 195 Ribeira Grande went into decline, and the capital was moved toPraia in 1770.[5]
Cessation in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis, and the growing port ofMindelo onSão Vicente replaced Praia as the most important port. With few natural resources and inadequate sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew increasingly discontented with the colonial masters, who nevertheless refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy. The island's native population was disadvantaged by the Portuguese colonial system and supportedAmílcar Cabral and theAfrican Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde and the independence of 1975.
Santiago is the largest island of Cape Verde, with an area of 991 square kilometres (383 square miles). It is 54.9 km long and 28.8 km wide.[1]: 25 The island is mountainous, although slightly flatter in the southeast. The interior and the east coast are seasonally, and somewhat sporadically, hot tropical in climate and forested, whereas the south and southwest occupy the central uplands' aridrain shadow.
The tallest summit isPico de Antónia, elevation 1,392 m (4,567 ft),[1]: 25 barely west ofPicos, in the centre of the island. The second isSerra Malagueta betweenAssomada andTarrafal in the north. Other mountain ranges include Órgãos in the municipality ofSão Lourenço dos Órgãos andMonte das Vacas near Praia.
Santiago's west coast is rugged, especially atBaía do Inferno, and less populated than the east and south coasts. The most important rivers areRibeira Seca,Ribeira Grande de Santiago,Ribeira Principal andRibeira da Trindade. The southernmost point isPonta Temerosa and the northernmost,Ponta Moreia.[1]: 26
The Cape Verde islands are very naturallydegraded. Due to their proximity to the Sahara, most are dry, but on those with high mountains and farther away from the continent, by orography (relief precipitation), the humidity is much higher, giving small upland rainforest habitats, but strongly affected by human presence. Northeastern slopes of high mountains receive heavy rain several times most years. Much of the altitude is sufficient for a mild climate and subject-to-seasonal-drought but typically moist soil. Some islands, as on Santiago, have vegetation-clad (cloud forests) where the densemoisture condenses and soaks the plants, and soil.
Since 2005, the island of Santiago is divided into ninemunicipalities:Praia,Ribeira Grande de Santiago,Santa Catarina,Santa Cruz,São Domingos,São Lourenço dos Órgãos,São Miguel,São Salvador do Mundo andTarrafal.[1]: 27 Before the creation of the municipality of Santa Catarina in 1834, the island was one municipality. Since then, seven more municipalities were created as shown below.[6][7][8][9][10]
| Parish | 1834 | 1872 | 1917 | 1971 | 1994 | 1997 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santo Amaro Abade | SC | SC | TA | TA | TA | TA | TA =Tarrafal |
| São Miguel Arcanjo | SC | SC | TA | TA | TA | SM | SM =São Miguel |
| Santa Catarina | SC | SC | SC | SC | SC | SC | SC =Santa Catarina |
| São Salvador do Mundo | SC | PR | PR | SC | SC | SC | SSM =São Salvador do Mundo |
| São João Baptista | SC | PR | PR | PR | PR | PR | RGST =Ribeira Grande de Santiago |
| Santíssimo Nome de Jesus | PR | PR | PR | PR | PR | PR | RGST = Ribeira Grande de Santiago |
| Santiago Maior | PR | PR | PR | SZ | SZ | SZ | SZ =Santa Cruz |
| São Lourenço dos Órgãos | PR | PR | PR | SZ | SZ | SZ | SLO =São Lourenço dos Órgãos |
| Nossa Senhora da Graça | PR | PR | PR | PR | PR | PR | PR =Praia |
| Nossa Senhora da Luz | PR | PR | PR | PR | SD | SD | SD =São Domingos |
| São Nicolau Tolentino | PR | PR | PR | PR | SD | SD | SD = São Domingos |
Praia, located in the southeast coast, is the largest city on the island, and also the largest city and capital of the country. Other towns on the island include Cidade Velha, west of Praia, Cape Verde's first capital;Assomada, in the centre of the island;Tarrafal in the north;Pedra Badejo andCalheta de São Miguel along the east coast.
In the 1830s, Santiago's population was estimated at 30,000.[11] Santiago has always been the most populous island in Cape Verde. The island population has doubled since the independence of Cape Verde in 1975.[12] The population of the island was 294,135 in 2015; the population density was 297/km2.[1]: 31, 36
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1940[12] | 77,382 |
| 1950[12] | 59,397 |
| 1960[12] | 88,587 |
| 1970[12] | 128,782 |
| 1980[12] | 145,957 |
| 1990[12] | 175,691 |
| 2000[12] | 236,352 |
| 2010[13] | 273,919 |
| 2015[1]: 36 | 294,135 |
Santiago is served by theNelson Mandela International Airport, near Praia. It is the second busiest airport in Cape Verde, afterAmílcar Cabral International Airport on Sal, with 662,356 passengers in 2017.[14]
The main port of Santiago isPraia Harbor, in Praia. It is the second busiest port in Cape Verde, afterPorto Grande Bay on São Vicente, with 817,845 metric tonnes of cargo and 85,518 passengers handled in 2017.[15] There are ferry connections from Praia Harbor to the islands ofBrava,Fogo,São Nicolau,São Vicente,Maio,Boa Vista andSal.[16] There are several small fishing ports along the coast, includingTarrafal, Cidade Velha,Pedra Badejo andCalheta de São Miguel.
Santiago has 417 km (259 mi) ofnational roads, of which 167 km (104 mi) first class roads.[17] In addition, there are several municipal[18] and local roads. The first class national roads are:
| Number[19][20] | Route |
|---|---|
| EN1-ST01 | NorthPraia -São Domingos -João Teves -Assomada -Tarrafal |
| EN1-ST02 | Ribeirão Chiqueiro -Pedra Badejo -Calheta de São Miguel -Achada Monte - Tarrafal (Variante Tarrafal) |
| EN1-ST03 | João Teves -Achada Fazenda |
| EN1-ST04 | Boa Entrada - Calheta de São Miguel |
| EN1-ST05 | West Praia -São Martinho Grande -Cidade Velha |
| EN1-ST06 | West Praia - North Praia -Praia Airport -Praia Harbor (Circular da Praia) |
Public transport within the city of Praia is provided by the city buses of the company SolAtlântico. Intercity public transport is provided byshare taxis and minibuses. In 2015 a project called EcobusCV started running a fleet of dual fuel waste vegetable oil / diesel minibuses between Praia and Assomada. However, services were suspended in November 2016.[21]
The main industries are agriculture, tourism, fishing and others, alongside some manufacturing. Main agricultural products arecorn,sugarcane,banana,coffee andmangoes. potatoes[citation needed]
Several institutes of higher education are active on Santiago:University of Cape Verde (Praia, Assomada and São Jorge),Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde (Praia),Universidade de Santiago (Assomada, Praia and Tarrafal), Instituto Superior de Ciências Económicas e Empresariais (Praia), Instituto Superior de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais (Praia) and Universidade Lusofona de Cabo Verde (Praia).[22] TheLiceu Domingos Ramos is a public secondary school in Praia. TheNational Library of Cape Verde is also located in Praia.
Santiago has the most diverse flora and fauna of all Cape Verde: it has 1,915 identified land species, of which 289 areendemic.[23] It is also the most forested island of Cape Verde: 38% of its area is forest.[23] The only protected areas of the island are the Natural Parks ofSerra do Pico de Antónia andSerra Malagueta,[24] covering 3.68% of the island.[23]
Endangered endemic species of flora and fauna on Santiago include the plantsCampanula bravensis,Campylanthus glaber,Conyza feae,Conyza pannosa,Diplotaxis varia,Echium hypertropicum,Limonium lobinii,Micromeria forbesii,Sonchus daltonii andUmbilicus schmidtii, and the animalsChioninia vaillantii andTarentola rudis.[25]
Several sports are practised on Santiago, including football (soccer), basketball, volleyball, track and field, futsal and athletics. There are two football associations on the island:Santiago North andSantiago South, each with its own competitions. Santiago possesses the most major sports complexes in the country, they includeEstádio da Várzea in Praia,Cumbém in Assomada,Mangue in Tarrafal, one in Pedra Badejo and Estádio da Calheta in Calheta de São Miguel.
Media related toSantiago (Cape Verde) at Wikimedia Commons
| Island groups |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Islands | ||
| Islets | ||
The island ofSantiago | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mountains | | |
| Streams | ||
| Points and promontories | ||
| Other geographic features | ||
| Transportation | ||
| Other topics | ||
