Ilha da Brava

Brava was discovered after Santiago, Fogo, Maio, and Boa Vista at the end of 1461, during the exploratory expedition led by António da Noli and Diogo Gomes.

It was only in 1462 that the first settlers landed there, and the first slaves arrived on June 24, St. John's Day, the name with which the island was initially baptized. The crops required a great deal of work to drain all the mountain slopes, and within half a century, the cultivation of dates, coffee, corn, sugar, and coconuts had developed.

In 1680, one of the violent eruptions of Fogo caused a mass flight of settlers who found refuge in Brava. The island then began to experience a progressive North American influence, despite being one of the youngest islands, developing a sort of cosmopolitanism that makes it unique. Here, in fact, American products can easily be found, unlike in other places. Almost everyone speaks English, and emigrants returning for holidays or permanently have influenced the lifestyle and dress of Brava's inhabitants.

In the 18th century, North American whalers began to frequent Brava's waters and stopped there to replenish their water supplies. The younger ones embarked, eager to leave behind a life of hardship. Many of them settled in the United States without returning, contributing, year after year, through emigration and descent, to making the Cape Verdean community in Boston larger than the population of the archipelago itself. Most emigrants come from Brava, which is also famous as a land of excellent sailors.

Brava was the birthplace of Eugénio Tavares in 1867, who spread the morna beyond the borders of his homeland.