science

Cidade Velha

Cidade Velha is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Cidade Velha rather than just read about it. In short: Cidade Velha ([siˈdadɨ ˈvɛʎɐ], Portuguese for "old city", also: Santiago de Cabo Verde) is a city in the southern part of the island of Santiago, Cape Verde. Founded in 1462 by Portuguese traders, it is the oldest settlement in Cape Verde and its former capital.

Key takeaways

Cidade Velha belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Cidade Velha to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Cidade Velha from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Cidade Velha ([siˈdadɨ ˈvɛʎɐ], Portuguese for "old city", also: Santiago de Cabo Verde) is a city in the southern part of the island of Santiago, Cape Verde. Founded in 1462 by Portuguese traders, it is the oldest settlement in Cape Verde and its former capital. Once called Ribeira Grande by the Portuguese colonists, they changed its name to Cidade Velha in the late 18th century after relocating the capital to Praia. It is the seat of the Ribeira Grande de Santiago municipality. Located on an island off Africa's northwest coast, this town was the first European colonial settlement in the tropics. Some of the meticulously planned original design of the site is still intact, including a royal fortress, two churches and a 16th-century town square. Today, Cidade Velha is an Atlantic shipping stop and centre for Creole culture. The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is designated in 2009 as one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World.

Geography Cidade Velha is situated on the south coast of Santiago, at the mouth of the river Ribeira Grande de Santiago. It is 10 kilometres (6 miles) west of the capital Praia. City subdivisions include Largo Pelourinho, São Sebastião, Santo António, and São Pedro.

History

The island of Santiago was discovered in 1460 by António da Noli, a Genoese in Portuguese service. Da Noli settled in 1462 at Ribeira Grande with his family members and Portuguese colonists from Algarve and Alentejo. The site had good conditions, as there was abundant water from Ribeira Grande. This gave it an advantage over the other settlement on Santiago, Alcatrazes. The settlement became a key port of call for Portuguese colonisation in both Africa and South America. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was a centre of maritime trade between Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, Brazil, and the Caribbean. Due to its proximity to the African coast, it was an essential platform for the trade in enslaved Africans. Cidade Velha's port was a stopping place for two great navigators: Vasco da Gama, in 1497, on his way to India, and Christopher Columbus, in 1498, while on his third voyage to the Americas. In 1522, it was the stopping place for the expedition of explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing for Spain and on the final leg of the survivors' circumnavigation of the world. Cidade Velha has the oldest colonial church in the world: Nossa Senhora do Rosário church, which was constructed in 1495. In 1533, Cidade Velha became the seat of the new Roman Catholic Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde, created by papal bull of Pope Clement VII. Today the seat is in Praia, in keeping with its status as capital. The prosperity of Ribeira Grande and conflicts between Portugal and other European colonial powers led to attacks on Cape Verde by privateers, including Sir Francis Drake in 1585 and Jacques Cassard in 1712. Despite the construction of Forte Real de São Filipe in 1587–93, Ribeira Grande remained vulnerable and went into decline. The capital was moved to Praia in 1770. Ribeira Grande (now Cidade Velha) was reduced to the rank of a village and its civil, religious and military buildings began to decay after so many institutions left. Since the 1960s, restoration works have begun. In 2009, this was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Demography

Sites of interest Pelourinho (Pillory), erected in 1512 or 1520. At this marble pillar rebellious slaves were punished publicly. It was restored in the 1960s. It stands at the main square of the city. Forte Real de São Filipe, constructed in 1587–93. This fort was built as defence from attacks by hostile privateers. The elevation is 120 m above sea level. Nossa Senhora do Rosário church, the oldest colonial church in the world, built in 1495. It has a side chapel in Manueline Gothic style. Ruins of Sé Cathedral. Its construction started in 1556 and was completed in 1705; the church was pillaged in 1712. Its impressive ruins (the church was 60 m long) have been conserved in 2004. Ruins of the convent of São Francisco, built in 1657 on a slope outside the city centre. The convent church was restored in 2002. Many traditional houses can be found along the streets rua Banana and rua Carreira.

Climate Cidade Velha has a hot arid climate (Köppen BWh). Its average annual rainfall is 201 millimetres or 7.91 inches, and its average temperature is 25.2 °C or 77.4 °F. The coolest month is January (average 23.0 °C or 73.4 °F) and the hottest is October (average 28.0 °C or 82.4 °F).

Gallery

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Cidade Velha

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Cidade Velha claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Cidade Velha before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Cidade Velha ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Cidade Velha

In research: Cidade Velha appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Cidade Velha in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Cidade Velha is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1462 establishments, 15th-century establishments in Cape Verde, Cities in Cape Verde, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Cidade Velha outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Cidade Velha in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Cidade Velha means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Cidade Velha out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cidade Velha in simple terms?

Why does Cidade Velha matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Cidade Velha?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Cidade Velha.