Brava
Situated to the west of
the lower half of the Archipelago, Brava is only 20km from Fogo and is
geologically speaking part of Fogo. Brava’s cliff’s extend 4km below sea
level and surround much of the coastline. It is the smallest island in
the archipelago.
COMMENT ON BRAVA:
Although there haven’t been recent eruptions, there are a number of earthquakes, but most go un-noticed.
The island was discovered in 1462. The people are descendants of
settlers from Madeira and the Azores, many of whom are fair skinned. In
the 1680’s many people escaping the earthquake on Fogo decided to
settle on Brava and not return to their homes. Towards the end of the
18th century, many Cape Verdeans emigrated to the U.S.A. By the 1850’s
the community had grown to warrant a secondary school being built on the
island, it attracted students from other islands and Guinea Bissau.
The Whaling ships of the 18th century that stopped at Brava
replenished supplies and took on eager young locals who wanted to pursue
another life.Some of those who joined the crew continued with Whaling,
whilst many others sought different employment and remained in the
U.S.A.
Many Cape Verdeans returned home from the U.S.A. following the
years of depression. Those that returned to Brava then suffered from the
after effects of the Second World War which reduced foreign support to
the islands. The drought that then followed caused many people to die
from famine.
In 1943, wishing to escape the famine on Brava, a number of
American emigrants returning to the U.S.A. and natives of Brava
purchased an old whaling vessel named the Mathilde. The Mathilde had
some repairs carried out before leaving Brava for New England. It is
understood that that the Mathilde sank near Bermuda, leaving no
survivors.
In 1982 a hurricane destroyed much of the infrastructure on Brava.
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