- The Cape Verde Islands are a group of ten volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa.
- They lie 350 miles (570 km) off the most westerly point of Africa, Cap Vert. Pliny the Elder described the exploration of the Cape Verde Islands in his ‘Natural History’ (79 CE).
Canary Current
- The Canary Current is the part of the Atlantic Gyre which flows south along the African Coast through the Canary Islands and Cape Verde Islands. It is a surface current driven by the wind, used by the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians to explore West Africa.
- It then turns west after the Cape Verde Islands and becomes the North Equatorial Current, a westward wind driven current, flowing towards the Caribbean.
Cap Vert
- Cap Vert, or the Cape Verde Peninsula, is located in Senegal, and is the most westerly point of the continent of Africa.
- The Cape Verde Islands are located 354 miles (570km) west of Cap Vert and are named after the peninsular.
Macaronesia
- Macaronesia is a group of four archipelagos located in the Atlantic Ocean near to the coasts of Europe and Africa.
Juba II’s Expedition
- Pliny the Elder quotes an account of Juba II, the King of Mauritania who sent an expedition to re-open the Murex factory at Port of Mogador.
- Mogador then became the base for expeditions in 50 BCE to the Canaries, Madeira and to the Cape Verde Islands.
The Gorgades
- Pliny the Elder also quoted the Greek Zenophon of Lampsacus, who wrote that the Gorgades (Cape Verde Islands) were two days sail from Hesperu Ceras, Cap-Vert, the most western point of Africa.
- Pliny the Elder also stated that the time taken to sail from the Gorgades (Cape Verde Islands) to the Hesperides (Ladies of the West) was 40 days.
- The Hesperides may have been further around the Cape of Africa, or across the Atlantic in the Caribbean or South America.
Augustus’ Planned Circumnavigation of Africa.
- In 1 BCE Augustus planned a circumnavigation of Africa from Egypt to Mogador. But it never took place.
Cape Verde Islands