North American Whale Museum, decorated by the President of Cape Verde

Cape Verdean President José María Neves will decorate the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, United States of America (USA), considered the world’s oldest, for its association with the “first Africans who volunteered” for the country. .

“In recognition of all the work done by the New Bedford Whaling Museum for its work to encourage, rigor and reject historical scientific knowledge, its popularization and wide dissemination,” reads the presidential decree awarding the museum with an award. first class of the Order of the Dragon Tree published today.

The text of the presidential decree, which Lusa read, recalls that in Cape Verde, an archipelago located in the middle of the Atlantic and having a “natural position between sea routes”, in combination with “the characteristics and potential for exploiting the wealth of its sea, everything came together”, so that from 1680 “it was a stopover and supply point for ships destined for whaling”.

“Their presence was regular and numerous. Even before the beginning of the 20th century, this economic activity was carried out almost exclusively by English and American whalers, and even the French. Whaling had no response. Or appeared very late, ”recalls the document.

The President of Cape Verde is holding his first “diaspora presidency” in the US from March 31 to April 5, including a meeting with members of the Cape Verdean community in the country at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford. .

A statement by the President of the Republic of Cape Verde previously explained that “the selection of the oldest and most numerous Cape Verdean community abroad” for the first initiative of its kind under the mandate of José María Neves, which began in November 2021, represents “simply a tribute » all emigration.

The population of Cape Verde is about 500 thousand inhabitants, but recently the government estimated that more than one and a half million inhabitants of Cape Verde live in Europe and the United States, and the financial system of the archipelago depends on the remittances of these emigrants.

The reward decree adds that the recruitment of Cape Verdeans for whaling since the 18th century “brought the first migratory flows to New England and led to the exodus of large numbers of Cape Verdeans, as it opened up the possibility of survival for a population heavily affected by the hardships of nature, namely from drought and drought, as well as from the neglect of the colonial power that was in force at that time.

The document states that “these Cape Verdeans have settled in various cities in North America, especially in New Bedford and other coastal cities”, “always striving to create better living conditions and, as a result, social uplift for themselves and their families” .

“Working conditions, both at sea and on land, were tense, but despite the industriousness of these Cape Verdeans, they pursued a wide variety of professions, always striving to provide their children with educational opportunities that they did not have, always remembering about family. members are left behind,” it says.

“The first Africans to go to the United States voluntarily, as documented emigrants, that is, without the shackles of slavery, these Cape Verdeans were heroic and staunch champions of a migration process that, with all the underlying social and cultural dynamics, was vital to creating what the global nation of Cape Verde is today,” he adds.

After the “crisis of whaling around 1924”, Cape Verdeans “became diverted to other areas and activities, some of which were even connected to the sea, thus continuing to reside in towns such as New Bedford”.

Established in 1903, the New Bedford Whaling Museum “is the largest in the world in its particular field, and carries on the pioneering, intense, and dedicated work of recording, interpreting, and disseminating the role that whaling has played in the progress of mankind and, in particular, of American society.” and the economy.”

“An important part of these records and the work of highlighting history is also related to the contribution of the people of Cape Verde to this process. the movement of population from our islands to America made possible this unique relationship between a power and a small archipelago, ”justifies the head of Cape Verde.