Cape Verde islands, dispersed over the Atlantic ocean, were mentioned as early as by Pliny the Elder.
Though they had then the name Gorgades, because Pliny supposed that it was the place where Gorgons monsters lived.
It is almost always windy here.
Winds carry fine dust with them.
The flora is scant, the fauna is poor, so it is not the best place to live.
However except mythic Gorgons no one had lived there until the middle of 15th century, when Europeans rediscovered these islands.
During the next century the Portuguese made Cape Verde the slave trade center.
By the 18th century colonizers completely destroyed almost all the forests for the sake of fuel and established pastures there.
It provoked several serious droughts and soil erosion.
In 19th century when the slavery was abolished Cape Verde became the water terminal, where passing-by vessels could top up with water, coal and provisions
.
Nothing considerable happened until the middle of the 20th century, except the drying up of rivers.
In 1950ths native people started to think about becoming independent from their mother country, what happened in 1975.
But stamp collectors were the only ones who were interested in Cape Verde republic until last but one decade of the previous century.
Some citizens serviced either transit vessels that sailed in or not numerous tourists they had then.
Others grew up coffee or were busy with production of seafood, which was the base of the export.
All the others were looking for the happiness in foreign countries since long ago.
As a rule, emigration is a male business: Cape Verdean women prefer staying in native land and raising children after saying goodbye to their man.
It often happens once and for all.
Maybe it was constant sending-off and waiting that became a source of songs.
These songs are destined to once become a sort of one more export commodity.
Their name is "the morna".
April 2015
Қазір дауыс бер! 