Who Are the Cabo Verde People? Demographics, Diaspora Bonds, and Social Shifts Explained
By Elena Rostova
Drought has stalked the archipelago for five centuries. Between the mid-18th and mid-20th centuries, catastrophic famines struck the islands repeatedly, killing an estimated 200,000 residents while colonial authorities offered negligible relief. Emigration was not a choice; it was survival.
In the 19th century, American whaling vessels out of New Bedford and Nantucket routinely stopped in Cabo Verde, specifically Brava and Fogo, to recruit skilled harpooners and deckhands. These sailors earned American wages and established the earliest routes for outward migration. Families followed, laying roots across southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
No community illustrates this bond better than **Brockton, Massachusetts**, an industrial city that Cape Verdeans worldwide refer to as the archipelago's unofficial "11th island." By 2026, Brockton counts tens of thousands of Cape Verdean-American residents within its borders. City signs appear in English and Kriolu, local bodegas stock imported grogue (sugarcane rum), and neighborhood panaderias churn out warm loaves of *pão de terra*. Massachusetts is home to over **100,000 people of Cape Verdean descent**, creating an overseas political and economic voting bloc that domestic politicians court during national elections.
Elena Rostova holds a Master's degree in Public Health Journalism. She covers groundbreaking medical research, holistic wellness trends, mental health awareness, and nutritional science.
