IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1396 
Recognizing a half century of the independence of the Republic of Cabo 
Verde and celebrating the contributions of Cabo Verdean-Americans to 
democracy in Cabo Verde and the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2024 
Mr. JEFFRIES (for himself, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. 
PRESSLEY, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. AMO, 
Ms. JACOBS, Mr. MAGAZINER, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, and Mr. KEATING) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing a half century of the independence of the Repub-
lic of Cabo Verde and celebrating the contributions of 
Cabo Verdean-Americans to democracy in Cabo Verde 
and the United States. 
Whereas the Portuguese arrived in Cabo Verde in 1456 and 
settled in Cidade Velha on the Island of Santiago in 
1462, and Cabo Verde became an epicenter of the early 
transatlantic slave trade; 
Whereas Kriolu Kabuverdianu, the maternal language of 
Cabo Verde, a mix of Portuguese and various African 
languages, became the world’s first European and Afri-
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•HRES 1396 IH 
can creole language and is the oldest living and widely 
spoken creole language; 
Whereas British influence significantly shaped the archipel-
ago’s economic development and cultural landscape, par-
ticularly through the establishment of trade routes and 
maritime commerce facilitated by British traders and 
merchants; 
Whereas the spirit of Cabo Verdeans’ resistance to the colo-
nial rule of Portugal was embodied by the Badiu commu-
nity and culture on the Island of Santiago, which was 
made up of escaped formerly enslaved Africans who lived 
removed from the Portuguese colonial administration; 
Whereas the United States and the archipelago of Cabo 
Verde share strong historical links dating to the whaling 
trade in the 18th century; 
Whereas the emigration of Cabo Verdeans to the United 
States began in the 18th century and continues today, 
with a significant number of communities concentrated in 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New 
York; 
Whereas, in 1818, the first consulate of the United States in 
sub-Saharan Africa opened in what is now the Republic 
of Cabo Verde; 
Whereas, in the 19th century, the archipelago of Cabo Verde 
was the base of the Africa Squadron of the United States 
Navy, which worked to suppress the transatlantic slave 
trade across West Africa to the Americas and beyond; 
Whereas the archipelago of Cabo Verde has long been a ref-
uge for communities seeking a better life, as exemplified 
by the migration to the Cabo Verde islands of Sephardic 
Jewish refugees during and after the Inquisition and Mo-
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•HRES 1396 IH 
roccan and Gibraltarian immigration during the 19th 
century, an integral part of Cabo Verde’s national herit-
age; 
Whereas the State Ship of the Commonwealth of Massachu-
setts, 
the 
schooner 
Ernestina-Morrissey, 
originally 
launched in 1894 as the Effie M. Morrissey, was the last 
sailing vessel to bring immigrants to the United States 
from the archipelago of Cabo Verde and was designated 
as a National Historic Landmark by the Department of 
the Interior in 1990; 
Whereas, between 1800 and 1921, more than 70 percent of 
all Cabo Verdean–immigrants to the United States ar-
rived via the Port of New Bedford, Massachusetts; 
Whereas the labor of Cabo Verdeans became integral to the 
commercial cultivation of cranberries in the United 
States in the 19th century, as the whaling industry de-
clined, and remains so today; 
Whereas, with the decline of the whaling industry, Cabo 
Verdean-American mariners developed a strong packet 
trade between the archipelago of Cabo Verde and New 
England, bringing goods and thousands of immigrants 
with them; 
Whereas, on January 20, 1973, Amilcar Cabral, the founder 
and leader of the African Party for the Independence of 
Guinea and Cabo Verde, was assassinated; 
Whereas, on July 5, 1975, the archipelago of Cabo Verde 
gained independence from Portugal and was officially rec-
ognized by the United States; 
Whereas, on July 19, 1975, the United States established 
diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cabo Verde; 
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•HRES 1396 IH 
Whereas the first multiparty elections were held in 1991, 
ending the previous one-party rule in the Republic of 
Cabo Verde since independence; 
Whereas Kriolu Kabuverdianu can still be heard today in var-
ious towns and cities across New England and New York; 
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde has several sister city 
and town relationships with counterparts in the United 
States, such as pairings of Praia with Boston, Massachu-
setts, and with Providence, Rhode Island, Mosteiros with 
Brockton, Massachusetts, and Mindelo with New Bed-
ford, Massachusetts; 
Whereas Cabo Verdean–Americans continue to contribute to 
the social fabric of the United States, particularly in New 
England, and are active in politics, entertainment, sports, 
academia, and others; 
Whereas many Cabo Verdean–Americans were involved in the 
civil rights movement in the United States and in Cabo 
Verde’s struggle for independence during the 20th cen-
tury; 
Whereas more than 150 Peace Corps volunteers served in the 
Republic of Cabo Verde from 1988 to 2013, and, in 
2019, the Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde for-
mally invited the Peace Corps to return; 
Whereas Jose´ Maria Pereira Neves, the former Prime Min-
ister and current President of the Republic of Cabo 
Verde, met with United States President Barack Obama 
at the White House in 2013 to discuss and strengthen 
bilateral relations, emphasizing mutual interests in eco-
nomic development, democracy, and regional security; 
Whereas the Pedro Pires Institute for Cape Verdean Studies 
at Bridgewater State University, in Bridgewater, Massa-
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