Africa-Press – Cape verde. Mindelo City Day, celebrated on April 14th, was established as a municipal holiday in São Vicente, after the proposal was unanimously approved by the municipal elected representatives in the 7th ordinary session of the Municipal Assembly.
To Inforpress, the president of the Municipal Assembly of São Vicente, Dora Pires, explained that the approval of this proposal by all parties was due to the consensus reached previously at the conference of representatives.
“The citizens had been asking for this holiday for a long time and we, thinking that this demand was fair, took this proposal to deliberation, but before that we had already reached unanimity at the conference of representatives, and it was approved by everyone”, rejoiced Dora Pires .
Mindelo will celebrate 145 years since its creation on April 14th.
It was elevated to the category of city in 1879, at a time when it had 3,300 inhabitants, 27 streets, a square, five squares, 11 lanes, an alley and two courtyards, almost all paved, tree-lined and lit by a total of 120 oil lamps, according to data at the time.
Mindelo received its name from Queen D. Maria II, of Portugal, in honor of the landing of D. Pedro IV’s expeditionary army on the beaches of Mindelo, in 1835, near Viana do Castelo, in Portugal.
Thanks to its geographical location, and due to the important role of Porto Grande São Vicente, it became a city in Mindelo, a focal point in the connections between Europe and America, allowing it to develop a socioeconomic structure, with new habits and tastes, brought by the strong English presence on the island.
Official data from the History of Cape Verde indicate that in the place where Pracinha da Igreja is located today, they formed the then Village of Nossa Senhora da Luz.
Later, in 1819, the village was renamed Leopoldina, in honor of Empress Maria Leopoldina, of Austria.
In 1859 Mindelo was elevated to the category of town, as it already had “four streets, four lanes, two squares and 170 houses” for the use of around 1,400 inhabitants, who would prosper with the installation of several English coal companies, being considered in 1875 the largest coal port in the mid-Atlantic.
Four years later, in 1879, Mindelo would be elevated to the category of city, with its 3,300 inhabitants able to enjoy 27 streets, a square – the well-known D. Luís – five squares, 11 lanes, an alley and two courtyards , almost all paved, tree-lined and lit by a total of 120 oil lamps, according to data from the time.
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