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Cape Verdean Cities now and then - A Structural Analysis of Assomada, Island of Santiago

2009; Coimbra University Press; Volume: 10; Issue: 28 Linguagem: Inglês

2183-4016

Friedrich Barnikel, Mark Vetter,

Island Studies and Pacific Affairs

Santiago (or Sao Tiago) is the largest island among the archipelago of Cape Verde, a West African group of islands off the coast of Senegal (Figure 1). It has four important cities: Praia, the modern capital, Cidade Velha, the capital from early colonial times, Tarrafal, a seaside resort and site of a former concentration camp in the north, and Assomada, a city serving Santiago’s rural population in the centre of the island. The development of the country from a colony to an independent country struggling with the needs of a modern post-bloc society of the 21st century can be illustrated by the development of the city of Assomada. Three different stages of development are clearly visible in the current outline of the city centre: the colonial core, the late colonial spreading of the centre and the post-colonial development within this newly formed centre. Key-words: Structural analysis. Cape Verde. Urban development. Cadernos de Geografia 174 Cape Verde – A Short Introduction The West African archipelago of Cape Verde is a group of 10 islands (nine of which are inhabited) and some small islands, all of volcanic origin. While the easterly part, notably the islands of Sal, Boavista and Maio, have been flattened by erosion, the western islands of Santiago (or Sao Tiago), Sao Vicente, Sao Nicolau and Santo Antao are younger and therefore in parts very hilly and prone to fluvial erosion during the short spells of rain. The southwestern islands of Fogo and Brava still experience recent volcanic activity, most notably during the 1995 eruption of the Pico do Fogo (fonseCa et al., 2003). The islands of Cape Verde belong, together with the Azores, the Canary Islands and Madeira, to Macaronesia, a group of islands which came into existence due to submarine eruptions along mid-oceanic faultlines during the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous with Maio, Boavista and Sal most probably being the oldest Cape Verdean islands. Subsidence then followed the cooling of the oceanic crust. Volcanic activity was beginning to shape the islands in the late Cretaceous but strongest during the Tertiary. In the Oligocene to lower Miocene followed deformation and erosion of the surfaces (cf. MitChell-thoMe, 1976 and PatRiat e labails, 2006; see also sCheideGGeR, 2002 and duPRat et al., 2007, for further information). The islands belong to the semiarid climatic zone of the Sahel. The differentiation between the northern Barlavento-islands (“islands above the wind”) and the southern Sotavento-islands (“islands below the wind”) refers to the north-easterly trade winds of the region. The average amount of precipitation on Santiago is around 450mm with a high variability (see MitChellthoMe, 1976 or lanGwoRthy e finan, 1997). Santiago is the second coolest of the nine major islands of Cape Verde with an annual temperature average of 21.6°C (MitChell-thoMe, 1976). The combination of little rainfall in a short period of time and rather dry soils leads to a very limited natural vegetation on the islands (baRbosa, 1968, lesouRd, 1995). The islands were explored around 1450 by Portuguese seafarers and thus remained a Portuguese colony until 1975 (cf. silVa andRade, 1996). The import of animals to support an ever growing number of inhabitants added to the degradation of large parts of the islands, which triggered erosion and led to a decrease in agriculturally used areas. As Bigman notes (1993), the relation of slavery and sharecropping plus the cultivation of inappropriate crops for the benefit of the few landowners only hindered Cape Verde’s ability to feed its people (cf. Meintel, 1983). As a result, droughts killed a large percentage of the population between 1773 and 1959 and led to high emigration rates. Today, an estimated 430.000 people live on the islands, two fifths of which live on the island of Santiago. Most Cape Verdeans are of Creole origin, a very small minority is European or Asian (albuqueRque e MadeiRa santos, 2001; baRbe, 2003; CaRReiRa, 1983; lesouRd, 2006). Since gaining independence from Portugal, Cape Verde has reforested almost 80,000 hectares and built 3,000km of walls to protect slopes from erosion. The country thus tries to return to a more efficient and sustainable land use. But even though 70% of the population live in rural areas the contribution of the primary sector to the country’s income is only 12%. lanGwoRthy e finan (1997) state that, from the perspective of a local rural household, mere survival is the central issue which drives a short-run decisionmaking. They also point out that yields on the island of Santiago may vary from 80 percent below average in years with a poor harvest to 30 percent above average in good years, with the production dropping to zero in very bad years, as is characteristic for the meteorological conditions in this type of climate (lanGwoRthy e finan, 1997). That underlines the dependency of Cape Verde on food imports from other countries. One solution for roughly a quarter of the agriculturally used land on Santiago is irrigation from mostly natural springs or simple wells. The secondary sector, slightly more than 20% of the GDP, mostly produces textiles, shoes and canned tuna. Goods produced for the domestic market include flour, bread, beer, lemonade, cigarettes, tobacco, tarnish and soaps (albuqueRque e MadeiRa santos, 2001, lesouRd, 1995, lesouRd, 2006). Therefore, it is not surprising that tourism has become the largest sector on the islands (cf. RoCha bRito, 2010). The infrastructure, especially the road network, is still rudimentary, with a total of only 1,400km, 400km of which are dirt roads. The most visited island is Sal, it also features the most advanced touristic infrastructure of all islands. In 2004 Sal had almost 700,000 overnight stays. Second was the island of Santiago with 80,000 overnight stays. On Santiago, the capital Praia draws most visitors from abroad (Instituto Nacional de Estatistica Cabo Verde 2009). Cidade Velha, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the major tourist attraction, followed by the town of Tarrafal (Figure 2). Assomada, the old capital of the province of Santiago, is the most important city in the centre of the island. With approximately 14.000 inhabitants it is the second largest settlement of the island (Praia, the capFriedrich Barnikel e Mark Vetter