Cape Verde when Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized the islands, establishing the first European settlement in the tropics. Ideally located for the Atlantic slave trade, the islands grew prosperous throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, attracting merchants, privateers, and pirates. The end of slavery in the 19th century led to economic decline and emigration. Cape Verde gradually recovered as an important commercial center and stopover for shipping routes. Incorporated as an overseas department of Portugal in 1951, the islands continued to campaign for independence, which was peacefully achieved in 1975. Since the early 1990s, Cape Verde has been a stable representative democracy,
Administrative divisions of Cape Verde the President of the Câmara Municipal. Where a municipality consists of several "freguesias" (civil parishes), a "Delegação Municipal" (municipal delegation) is established in the parishes that do not contain the municipal seat. The islands are traditionally divided in two geographic regions (with no administrative meaning): Island group: The uninhabited island of Santa Luzia and all uninhabited islets, including Raso and Branco, are not part of any municipality, but are in the public domain of the state of Cape Verde. Administrative divisions of Cape Verde The territory of Cape Verde is divided into 22 concelhos (municipalities), and subdivided into 32 freguesias