Cape Verdean Independence Day Celebration

In honor of Cape Verdean Independence Day, Mystic Seaport Museum is presenting special programming and a pop-up exhibit, Cape Verdeans in Norwich, by the St. Anthony Chapel Foundation on July 3. Learn about Cape Verdean contributions to American whaling, and in the afternoon hear from Candida Rose about the impact of Cape Verdean women in the music scene. Cabo Verde is an archipelago and island country in the central Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast of the African continent, near Senegal.

Cape Verdeans in Norwich
Benet Deck, Thompson Exhibition Building
Exhibit on view 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

From the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries, immigrants from the islands of Cape Verde, the former Portuguese colony located off the coast of Senegal, formed a small but vital community in Norwich, Connecticut. While the Cape Verdean presence there is an integral part of the city’s ethnic heritage, the history of this local population has been little documented prior to this study, jointly sponsored by Norwich’s St. Anthony Chapel Foundation and the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office with funding from the Community Investment Act. As a major facet of this effort, an oral history project was undertaken with some forty individuals—ranging in age from about forty-five to ninety-five years old—with close ties to the local Cape Verdean community. Come check out this in-depth historic compilation which includes GIS maps, newspaper articles, photos of Norwich Cape Verdean Veterans, and more.

Candida Rose: Kriolas di Muzika: Not Just for Men Anymore
Meeting House
1:30 p.m.
Included with general admission (free to Members)

Enjoy a presentation by second-generation, American-born Cabo Verdiana Candida Rose. She started singing Cape Verdean songs at the age of six and spent most of her childhood and teen years immersed in Cape Verdean/American culture. From Morna to CaboZouk and Doo-Wop to Hip Hop, Cape Verdean women have left their mark on music around the world. This presentation examines the many contributions of Cape Verdean descendent women, especially in the United States, to the Cape Verdean and American music scenes in order to shed well-deserved light on some of their too little recognized accomplishments.

Registration is recommended for this program as space is limited. Please click this link to register.

Last Captain of the Morgan
Charles W. Morgan, docked on Chubb’s Wharf
2:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.
Included with general admission (free to Members)

Join us as we explore the life of Captain John Theophilo Gonsalves, the last captain of the Charles W. Morgan. Captain Gonsalves was born in 1858 on the island of Brava in Cape Verde After working his way up from the rank of cabin boy on the whaling bark Roman, Gonsalves became a whaling ship master, eventually commanding the Morgan on the vessel's last ever whaling voyage in 1920–1921.

In 2008, Gonsalves was inducted into the Cape Verdean Heritage Hall of Fame at the Cape Verdean Museum in East Providence, Rhode Island. Gonsalves is remembered as one of the most successful whaling captains of color, with 189 whales taken and processed in his career, amounting to a value of $4,374,779. His grandson, Dan Rodrigues, is a member of the Descendants of Whaling Masters Association in New Bedford, Massachusetts.