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,
Angola–Cape Verde relations sent FARP soldiers to Angola where they served as the personal bodyguards of Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos. Angola–Cape Verde relations Angola–Cape Verde relations refers to the historical and current bilateral relationship between the Republic of Angola and the Republic of Cape Verde. Relations are based on their shared experiences as Portuguese colonies, both before, after and during the struggle for independence. Domingos Pereira Magalhães is the ambassador of Cape Verde to Angola. Cape Verde signed a friendship accord with Angola in December 1975, shortly after Angola gained its independence. Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau served as stop-over points for