Publication Date
2009
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São Nicolau was probably discovered on 6 December 1561. During the first 35 years of its history it was ruled by the House of Viseu/Beja, which became its donatory by royal concession. When Dom Manuel acceded to the throne, the island became once again one of the Crown's possessions, but, in 1498, it was granted to the House of the Counts of Portalegre, latter Marquis of Gouveia, which ruled it until 1696. During this time São Nicolau was more or less abandoned to its fate - no structures of power were created and the only authority living on the island was a factor. Like all other islands of Cape Verde, to the exception of Santiago and Fogo, São Nicolau had an absent donatory and was poorly developed either economically or in terms of its settlement, it's main economic activity being cattle raising. Cattle grew loose on the island and was slaughtered periodically by the local population; its lord, whose sole interest was to explore the island's natural riches, was not directly responsible for collecting the cattle and assigned that task to others. On the other hand, only by the end of that period of time was the island provided with the permanent assistance of a minister.
This situation remained unchanged when the island was under the administration of the Treasury Council, which was also not interested in directly running it. The Treasury Coucil therefore rented the island to private parties, which ran it like its former donatories had done. Only after the second decade of the eighteenth century did the Crown start to pay more attention to São Nicolau, naming a captain for it and creating the municipality of Ribeira Brava. These measures were taken by the General-judge José da Costa Ribeiro, who also granted lands in sesmaria [a system by which the Crown granted the exploitation of uncultivated land to private parties], thus taking the first step towards its agricultural development. By then orchella weed was also rediscovered and exploited, becoming one of the most important sources of profit in São Nicolau.
This structure became more complex with the reformations made by the chief magistrate Custódio Correia de Matos, mainly through the promulgation of a circumstantial Regulation for the island. It increased the number of the officials of the Royal Treasury, it clearly defined their functions and it was very thorough in determining the rights due to the Crown. This document makes it clear that agriculture was becoming more developed than cattle raising. The cultivation of cotton, in particular, expanded and cotton became an important export product. It was also from this moment on that the bishop of Cape Verde, Friar Pedro Jacinto Valente started to live in the Barlavento [windward] islands, setting an example for his successors, namely Friar Cristóvão de São Boaventura, who lived in São Nicolau while he was in power. This was beneficial not only in terms of religious assistance, but also in the civil society. During the second half of the eighteenth century, the archipelago was under the administration of the Companhia Geral de Grão-Pará e Maranhão which was responsible for an increase in its revenue, mainly by selling orchella weed. But this company was also criticised and accused of only carrying about the island's profits, disregarding its needs. By the end of this period, the bad crops and the spreading of several diseases called for a major rescue feeding operation from the kingdom and led to the greatest mortality crisis of the island up to then.
The history of São Nicolau has thus always taken place in great isolation, mostly during these first centuries. The island belonged to a group of overseas territories the Crown was more eager to possess than to directly exploit, handing that task to civilians. Living outside the scope of the authorities of the archipelago and its main events, São Nicolau gradually acquired special features. It created a different kind of society, based on Creole traits, thus engendering its own cultural identity.
Bibliography: GUERRA, Luiz de Bivar, "A sindicância do desembargador Custódio Correia de Matos às Ilhas de Cabo Verde em 1753 e o regimento que deixou na ilha de São Nicolau", in Studia, nº2, Lisboa, Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos, Julho 1958, pp. 165-293. FILHO, João Lopes, Ilha de S. Nicolau. Cabo Verde. Formação da Sociedade e Mudança Cultural, s.l., Secretaria Geral do Ministério da Educação, 1996. TEIXEIRA, André, A Ilha de São Nicolau de Cabo Verde nos séculos XV a XVIII, Lisboa, Centro de História de Além-Mar da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2004.
Translated by: Dominique Faria
This situation remained unchanged when the island was under the administration of the Treasury Council, which was also not interested in directly running it. The Treasury Coucil therefore rented the island to private parties, which ran it like its former donatories had done. Only after the second decade of the eighteenth century did the Crown start to pay more attention to São Nicolau, naming a captain for it and creating the municipality of Ribeira Brava. These measures were taken by the General-judge José da Costa Ribeiro, who also granted lands in sesmaria [a system by which the Crown granted the exploitation of uncultivated land to private parties], thus taking the first step towards its agricultural development. By then orchella weed was also rediscovered and exploited, becoming one of the most important sources of profit in São Nicolau.
This structure became more complex with the reformations made by the chief magistrate Custódio Correia de Matos, mainly through the promulgation of a circumstantial Regulation for the island. It increased the number of the officials of the Royal Treasury, it clearly defined their functions and it was very thorough in determining the rights due to the Crown. This document makes it clear that agriculture was becoming more developed than cattle raising. The cultivation of cotton, in particular, expanded and cotton became an important export product. It was also from this moment on that the bishop of Cape Verde, Friar Pedro Jacinto Valente started to live in the Barlavento [windward] islands, setting an example for his successors, namely Friar Cristóvão de São Boaventura, who lived in São Nicolau while he was in power. This was beneficial not only in terms of religious assistance, but also in the civil society. During the second half of the eighteenth century, the archipelago was under the administration of the Companhia Geral de Grão-Pará e Maranhão which was responsible for an increase in its revenue, mainly by selling orchella weed. But this company was also criticised and accused of only carrying about the island's profits, disregarding its needs. By the end of this period, the bad crops and the spreading of several diseases called for a major rescue feeding operation from the kingdom and led to the greatest mortality crisis of the island up to then.
The history of São Nicolau has thus always taken place in great isolation, mostly during these first centuries. The island belonged to a group of overseas territories the Crown was more eager to possess than to directly exploit, handing that task to civilians. Living outside the scope of the authorities of the archipelago and its main events, São Nicolau gradually acquired special features. It created a different kind of society, based on Creole traits, thus engendering its own cultural identity.
Bibliography: GUERRA, Luiz de Bivar, "A sindicância do desembargador Custódio Correia de Matos às Ilhas de Cabo Verde em 1753 e o regimento que deixou na ilha de São Nicolau", in Studia, nº2, Lisboa, Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos, Julho 1958, pp. 165-293. FILHO, João Lopes, Ilha de S. Nicolau. Cabo Verde. Formação da Sociedade e Mudança Cultural, s.l., Secretaria Geral do Ministério da Educação, 1996. TEIXEIRA, André, A Ilha de São Nicolau de Cabo Verde nos séculos XV a XVIII, Lisboa, Centro de História de Além-Mar da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2004.
Translated by: Dominique Faria