The Cape Verdean diaspora

Cape Verdean migration is longstanding and structural. Drought, famine, maritime employment and family networks led generations of Cape Verdeans to settle in Portugal, the United States, France, the Netherlands and several African countries.

These communities maintain family, economic, political and cultural ties with the islands. Movement, return and intergenerational transmission make the diaspora a component of the nation rather than a space outside it.

Academic studies therefore describe Cabo Verde as a transnational archipelago whose history and social life unfold both on the islands and among communities dispersed across the world.