The islands of Cape Verde were officially "discovered" in 1460 by the Italian navigator António da Noli and the Portuguese Diogo Gomes. Boa Vista, Sal, Santiago, Fogo and Maio were the first islands to be discovered. Subsequently, the islands of Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Santa Luzia and Brava were discovered between 1461 and 1462.

There are indications that there was a passage of Phoenicians, Moors and Africans, until the arrival of the Portuguese, but the islands were colonized by Portuguese and slaves from the west coast of Africa.

Becoming a center of trade in firearms, rum, textiles and other products, in exchange for slaves, gold and ivory, it made the archipelago a field of disputes between other European countries and with frequent attacks by pirates/privateers. The most successful attack was led by the French privateer Jacques Cassard who conquered, looted and burned the city of Ribeira Grande, today Cidade Velha, in 1712. This motivated the search for a new capital, a safer place. The official passage of the capital of the island of Santiago, from Ribeira Grande to Praia de Santa Maria, took place in 1770. It was not until 1858 that the city of Praia became the capital of Cape Verde.

In 1742, the first drought occurred in Cape Verde, causing the death of thousands of people (about half of the population), forcing many Cape Verdeans to flee to America in the hope of a better life and thus giving rise to the phenomenon of migration in Cape Verde.