Pico do Fogo again erupted in 1769. This was the last time it erupted from the top; further eruptions occurred in 1785 and 1799. Another famine started in 1774 in which 20,000 people starved, as Brava and Fogo were affected. Fogo's population dropped from 5,700 to 4,200 in around 1777. The first wave of emigration began from the islands of Brava and Fogo as American whaling ships visited these islands and took some residents for better life in the United States. In 1770, Praia became the colonial capital, and so remained up to Cape Verdean independence.