History of Cape Verdean immigration in the United States
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Cape Verdean immigration to the United States began in the early 1800s. The first Cape Verdean immigrants arrived aboard New England whaling ships, which would often pick up crewmen off the coast of Cape Verde. Yankees captains valued Cape Verdeans as crews, because they “worked hard to save what they could while on board vessel they could be hired for much less money than American seamen. Furthermore, they made a disciplined crew.”[1] This Cape Verdean immigration “trickle” grew to a “flood” in the 1900s as Cape Verde suffered drought, starvation, and economic decline.[2] Once on whaling ships and in America, Cape Verdean men were able to send money and news of other family and friends already in “the land of opportunity.” They also sent bidons (gasoline barrels) full of food, clothes, and other items to New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island. The latter are the oldest and largest Cape Verdean communities in the United States. These communities and new Cape Verdean communities are marked by close kinship ties and interdependence among families, a traditional Cape Verdean practice that has been passed down through the generations. Cape Verdean immigration continues to this day, and “today, Dorchester, Massachusetts, Brockton, Massachusetts and Pawtucket, Rhode Island are the fastest growing new immigrant communities in the United States.”[2]
[edit] References
- Tchuba, the American Committee for Cape Verde, 1978. Cape Verdeans in America: Our Story. Schooner Ernestina, Official Vessel of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved May 5, 2005
- SPIA Media Productions, Inc. Cape Verde History and Culture. Retrieved May 5, 2005
- National Park Service. African American Sailors in the Union Navy from Cape Verde. Retrieved December 4, 2005.
