2019-09-10 Tue

Cape Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country spanning an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the central Atlantic Ocean. It forms part of the Macaronesia ecoregion, along with the Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Savage Isles. In ancient times these islands were referred to as "the Islands of the Blessed" or the "Fortunate Isles".

The islands were uninhabited till the 15th century CE, 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.

Since the early 1990s, Cape Verde has been a stable representative democracy and remains one of the most developed and democratic countries in Africa. Lacking natural resources, its developing economy is mostly service-oriented, with a growing focus on tourism and foreign investment. The escudo is the currency of the Republic of Cape Verde.

Until 1930, Cape Verde used Portuguese coins, although banknotes were issued by the Banco Nacional Ultramarino specifically for Cape Verde beginning in 1865. In 1914, notes in denominations of 4, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos were introduced.

Today we are looking at a 500 Escudos banknote issued in 1989. The obverse depicts Corn stalk in extreme left top corner with the portrait of Amilcar Lopes Cabral in center right. The reverse features Ships in the syncrolift shipyard of Mendillo on Sao Vicente island in front of Santo Antao Island and a lighthouse on Djeu - Ilheu dos Passaros in the bay of Porto; with a Giant shrimp beaneath; a corn stalk to extreme right top corner. This blue note has the portrait of Amilcar Cabral as its watermark.

Image Courtesy: PicClick