About Mindelo

There was a coal station in Mindelo during the times of steam navigation by the British. Mindelo is a cosmopolitan city. The Randall coal company was established at the shipping routes of Europe, South Africa, India, Australia and Africa and South America. In the beginning of 1875, the firm named Cory Brothers plummeted coal prices which increased the number of ships to 669 per year in 1879. When more ports were built in Dakar, Senegal and in the Canary Islands, the number of ships declined but increased to serve about 2,000 ships per year in the 20th century. In 1952, the coal camps were eliminated as boats switched to diesel. In 1885, Mindelo was the switching station for the first Trans-Atlantic telegraph cable. In 1912, Mindelo became an important cable station in the world. Mindelo became the cultural capital of the Portuguese-speaking country/state along with the Lusophone capital in 2003. Mindelo is also considered as the cultural capital of Cape Verde.