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,
Literature of Cape Verde published in 1893. The first two libraries in the archipeolago first opened in the late 19th century during the colonial era, they were the "National Library and Museum" ("Biblioteca e Museu Nacional") in Praia and the "Mindelo Municipal Library" ("Biblioteca municipal do Mindelo") first opened in 1880. The rise of literature coincided with the rise of nationalism and independence in Cape Verde. Literature flourished in the 20th century. "Diário" was published in 1929 by Portuguese António Pedro, it would plant the seeds for the creation of Claridade along with the Portuguese magazine "Presença" which was also read in Cape Verde