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Mindelo, capital of São Vicente, sprawls down to the Atlantic Ocean.
Photograph by JP De Manne/Getty Images
The Portuguese were the first to colonize this uninhabited necklace of islands in the North Atlantic west of Senegal. • It would later become a trading center for African slaves bound for North America. • Having achieved independence more than three decades ago, Cape Verde now boasts one of Africaís most stable governments. • Its rugged, volcanic terrain is home to a number of rare endemic species, such as the Cape Verde warbler. • The islands are also the spawning grounds of many of the fall hurricanes that cross the Atlantic and slam into coastal communities from Florida to Mexico.
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