How Cape Verde Got Its Name

Portuguese explorers (Diogo Gomes, Antonio de Noli) reached the uninhabited islands in 1460. They named the archipelago "Cabo Verde" (Green Cape) after the Cape Verde peninsula on the Senegalese mainland—the westernmost point of Africa—which was green with vegetation compared to the arid Sahara.

The islands themselves were volcanic and relatively dry; the name reflected the mainland landmark, not the islands' ecology. The Portuguese settled Santiago (1462), establishing the first European tropical colony.