“In poverty we will always stay”: history of famine and contemporary politics of social in-distinction in Cape Verde

ABSTRACT

Geographically part of West Africa, Cape Verde is a Creole and diasporic nation. This article begins by characterizing contemporary Cape Verde and the connections to the past, integrating history, memory and cultural manifestations. It then probes how Cape Verde developed politically and socioeconomically, paying special attention to urban-rural links and island city dynamics. It studies the situation of Cape Verde as a whole and of people individually to understand Cape Verdeans’ relationship with food and with rurality, along what lines people unite or divide, and to what extent food is susceptible to political opportunism. To answer these related questions, the present article juxtaposes three strands of explanations: the historical and the political; the popular and the nostalgic; and the cultural and the literary. It suggests that Cape Verde is a politically oriented culture that has managed not only to consolidate a common discourse of solidarity, unity, equality and democracy despite material differences but also to reinvent a negative natural heritage for stronger national identity and social relations.

KEYWORDS:

• Cape Verde
• Creole
• famine
• Lusophone
• Sahel

Acknowledgments

1. This article was revised during a Post-Doctoral Fellow visit at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Macau, supported by the Macau SAR Higher Education Fund (May – July 2021).

2. The author is grateful for the comments received at three international conferences over her presentations of this paper: “Insularities and Enclaves in Colonial and Post-Colonial Circumstances: Crossings, Conflicts and Identity Constructions (15th – 21st Centuries)” International Congress, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, December 6–7, 2018; Conference of the African Studies Association of UK, University of Birmingham, September 11–13, 2018; and Conference of the African Studies Association in Germany, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, June 27–30, 2018.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Cachupa is currently the “national dish” of Cape Verde. Later in the discussion, we will understand that a humble stew climbed the socioeconomic ladder, from the bottom to the very top, and eventually came to signify Cape Verdean national unity.

2. Here is a translation of his Creole comments at a musical presentation of a photographic exhibition at the Centro Juvenil Katchás, Santiago Island, on January 23, 2019: “I applaud the works of Santa Cruz (restorative works of an old church), these will elevate the history, memory and self-esteem of Santa Cruz, Santiago … there is nothing more intelligent than continuing to study our history. It is our tradition, for others to know. It is important to know where we come from, we really need to.” He further emphasized the importance of both tangible and intangible heritage for current Cape Verdean politics and policies.

3. “In Cape Verde, despite the aridity of the soil and an unfavorable climate for the practice of agriculture, and despite having a sea rich in fish, agriculture constitutes an essential basis for the economic life of its population. Because of the strength of tradition, Cape Verdeans continue to be persistently attached to cultivating the soil even though this is a sector which is increasingly unproductive due to the lack of rainfall on the archipelago. It can be concluded therefore that agriculture in our country is, in effect, more a ‘cultural’ act than a rational one.” Permanent display labeled “Rural Life – Agriculture and Cattle Rearing”. In exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum of Praia, Santiago. Seen July 26, 2018.

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Notes on contributors

Kaian Lam

Kaian Lam, Ph.D. and Master in African Studies, double undergraduate degrees in Public Administration and Foreign Languages. Research Fellow at CEI-Iscte. Research Associate at IO-ISCSP-ULisboa and CAPP-ISCSP-ULisboa.