FLAG OF CAPE VERDE: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The flag of Cape Verde is the national symbol of that African archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. It is composed of a dark blue cloth with two small white stripes and one red, on which a circle of ten yellow stars is imposed.

This national symbol is the most important in Cape Verde. The country became independent from Portugal in 1975 as a socialist state. Starting in 1992, multi-partyism was established, and with it, the flag with communist symbols was discarded. Since then, the current flag came into force.

Flag of Cape Verde. (By Drawn by User: SKopp, from Wikimedia Commons).

The marine essence of the archipelago is very important in the representation of the Cape Verdean flag. The blue color is the one that represents the sea and sky that covers the islands. White corresponds to peace, while red refers to effort and struggle.

Explanations about the meaning of the stars are also common. Although they are very similar to those of the European flag, in this case they represent the ten islands that make up the Cape Verde archipelago.

History of the flag

Since 1462 Cape Verde was a Portuguese colony. The islands, which were uninhabited, were discovered by different Portuguese sailors and in January 1462 they founded the first city: Ribeira Grande.

The colonization by the European country lasted 513 years, from the moment of the foundation of Ribeira Grande until the emancipation of the country, on July 5, 1975. Since then, he began his independent life, first with a communist system, and then with multipartism.

Symbols of Cape Verde in colonial times

Portugal had different political symbols in its history that waved in the Cape Verdean air. The country's own flags were always used in the colony, even after the country ceased to be a monarchy.

It was only until the 19th century that it was suggested that Cape Verde, like many other Portuguese colonies, had its own symbols. On May 8, 1835, the first coat of arms of the colony was established.

This coat of arms shared two of its barracks with the rest of the colonies, while the third distinguished Cape Verde with a sailing ship.

Coat of arms of the Portuguese Colony of Cape Verde. (1935-1941). (By Thommy, via Wikimedia Commons) However, the colony continued to use the same flag as Portugal. In 1941 the coat of arms was changed, only the expression colony, which was replaced by provín., acronym for province. This was due to the fact that the status of the Portuguese colonies changed to that of an overseas province.

Coat of Arms of the Portuguese Overseas Province of Cape Verde (1941-1975). (By Thommy, via Wikimedia Commons).

Flag proposal

In the 1960s, it was considered adding the coat of arms of each Portuguese colony to the flag of Portugal. In this way, the dependencies would have had their own flag, respecting the symbols of the colonizing power.

The proposed flag of Cape Verde consisted only of adding the coat of arms of the province in the lower part to the flag of Portugal. This project never materialized.

Proposed flag of the Overseas Provincial of Cape Verde. (By Thommy, via Wikimedia Commons).

Independent Cape Verde

The Cape Verdean independence process began to take shape from the end of the 20th century. However, it was only consolidated in the mid-20th century when a serious independence movement was created in the Portuguese colonies of West Africa.

In this way, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was formed. The flag of this party was red, yellow and green.

From then on, the independence of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde was set as a goal. The independentistas were able to achieve this after the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, which deposed the dictatorship and established democracy.

This led to the signing of the agreement between the PAIGC and the Portuguese government for the independence of Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau. The signature was on December 19, 1974.

First flag

Cape Verde declared its independence on July 5, 1975. The country's leader was Aristides Pereira, who was invested as president. The objective of the PAIGC was the unification of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. This was reflected in the symbols, as both countries adopted flags very similar to the PAIGC.

The flag of Cape Verde was made up of a vertical red stripe on the left side. Within this strip was the shield of the country. The rest of the flag was divided into two horizontal stripes, colored yellow and green.

Flag of Cape Verde (1975-1992). (By Editor at Large, Waldir (own work, based on a png image of the flag), via Wikimedia Commons). The integration project with Guinea-Bissau failed in 1980. This did not prevent the flag from being maintained, although relations with his neighbor were very tense. Over the years, contact was resumed, but the desire for reunification was discarded.

Multi-party system

The communist regime was wearing away with the passing of the years. The one-party system, embodied by the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), successor to the PAIGC, was no longer valid. For this reason, a political reform began.

Finally, in 1991, after 16 years of the personalist government of Aristides Pereira, the first democratic elections were held. In them, António Mascarenhas Monteiro was elected as president. That beginning of Cape Verde as a parliamentary democracy brought new national symbols.

The Movement for Democracy (MpD), winner of the elections, promoted the change of symbols. The reasons given were the relationship that the flag and shield had with the PAICV. The new flag came into effect on January 13, 1992.

Despite this, the change brought criticism. The new flag imposed new colors, traditionally foreign to African flags. In fact, the flag removed the pan-African colors that appeared in the previous one. In addition, the adaptation of citizens by the new symbols after 17 years of independence was complicated.

Meaning of the flag

The flag of Cape Verde stands out among its peers of African countries. The current design since 1992 rejects the pan-African colors (green, black and red). Also, opt for a color that is not very predominant in the African flags: blue.

In allusion to the sky and the sea, blue represents the entire Atlantic Ocean that bathes the Cape Verde archipelago. This is the predominant color in the pavilion, which is altered by stripes and stars.

The two white stripes located in the lower half of the flag represent the peace that Cape Verde aspires to have. According to other interpretations, it is the peace that was achieved after the establishment of the multiparty system. On the other hand, the red stripe is identified with struggle and effort.

On the left side, above the three stripes, there are ten yellow stars, which form a circle. Each of them represents one of the ten main islands of the Cape Verde archipelago.

This symbol shows particular similarity to the twelve yellow stars on the blue background of the flag of the European Union. For this reason, some critics place the flag as closer to Europe than to Africa.

References

1. Constituição da República de Cabo Verde. (1999). Artigo 8. Recovered from ucp.pt.
2. Entralgo, A. (1979). Africa: Society. Editorial of Social Sciences: La Habana, Cuba.
3. Governo of Cape Verde. (sf). Bandeira. Governo of Cape Verde. Recovered from governo.cv.
4. Madeira, JP (2016). Cape Verde: Dimensions in nation-building. Humania del Sur 11 (20). 93-105. Recovered from portaldoconhecimento.gov.cv.
5. Presidency of the Republic of Cape Verde. (sf). Sovereignty of the Republic, Integrity and National Unity. Recovered from presidencia.cv.
6. Smith, W. (2014). Flag of Cape Verde. Encyclopædia Britannica. Recovered from britannica.com.