| Boa Vista Republic | |
|---|---|
| Island of Boa Vista | |
| Constituent Republic of Vekllei | |
 |
|
| Part of the Verde Commonwealth | |
| Accession | 1945, as part of the British Atlantic Territories |
| Area | 631.1 km² |
| Capital | Sal Rei |
| Languages | English, Verde Creole, Portuguese |
| Population | 38,311 |
The Boa Vista Republic is a constituent republic of Vekllei in the eastern Barlavento islands of the Cabo Verde archipelago, the third-largest and easternmost of the group. It is flat, extremely dry, and largely given over to sand; sweeping dunes, pale beaches and scrubland that stretch to the sea on all sides. The name means “good view,” which is true if you find the desert beautiful.
The island’s most commercially significant residents are not human. Loggerhead sea turtles arrive annually on Boa Vista’s beaches to nest, in numbers that represent one of the largest loggerhead populations in the Atlantic. The beaches of the south and east coast are under protection during nesting season and patrolled by the Ministry of Landscape.
Boa Vista was historically a salt island. The extensive salt pans in the southeast were worked through the colonial period and continued to produce commercially significant quantities through much of the 20th Century. The salt industry has diminished substantially but not disappeared; smaller-scale production continues and the Carlyle Salt maintains a salt reserve there. Most of the republic’s current economic activity is fishing, with boats going out from Sal Rei daily, and small-scale agriculture in the island’s few green valleys where groundwater is accessible.
The population has grown modestly under federalisation but Boa Vista remains among the more sparsely inhabited Barlavento islands. The capital, Sal Rei, is a small city with a port, a heliport and the standard civic infrastructure brought by the federalisation programme. The Novo Rei housing project has extended the old colonial centre northward. The island is visited by Vekllei people seeking its beaches and quiet, arriving mostly by flying boat from Viana or Sal.
Climate
Hot, dry and very windy year-round. The Harmattan wind from the Sahara brings dust in winter. Almost no rainfall, with a brief wet season from August to October.
Public Holidays
- New Year’s Day 1 Jan
- Heroes Day 20 Jan
- Republic Day 5 Mar
- Good Friday
- Commonwealth Day 1 May
- Assumption Day 15 Aug
- All Saints Day 1 Nov
- Christmas Day 25 Dec
- Electronic Components
- Fish
- Fruit
- Glass
- Grain
- Molasses
- Palm Oil
- Paper
- Petroleum
- Salt
- Sugar
- Timber
- Vegetables
- Water
- Curral Velho Turtle Beach: Primary loggerhead sea turtle nesting beach, protected by the Ministry of Landscape during breeding season.
- Santa Monica Beach: Ten-kilometre stretch of pale sand on the island’s west coast, among the longest beaches in the Verde archipelago.
- Viana Desert: Extensive interior dune system with sand formations up to thirty metres high.
- Sal Rei Old Town: Small colonial quarter centred on the old harbour, with characteristic pastel-painted houses and the historic fort.
- Sal Rei Central Railway Regional rail service serving the sandy island of Boa Vista.