{{Short description|Cape Verde island}} {{Infobox islands | name = Boa Vista | image_name = Bela-vista-net-Boa Vista-map.jpg | image_caption = | image_size = | map_image = Locator maps of Boa Vista, Cape Verde.png | native_name = | native_name_link = | nickname = ''Ilha das dunas'' (island of the dunes) | location = Atlantic Ocean | pushpin_map = Cape Verde#Africa | pushpin_label = | pushpin_label_position = top | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_relief = 1 | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|16|6|N|22|48|W|display=it}} | archipelago = Cape Verde | total_islands = | major_islands = | area_km2 = 631.1 | length_km = 30.8 | width_km = 28.9 | highest_mount = Monte Estância | elevation_m = 387 | country = {{CPV}} | country_admin_divisions_title = Municipality | country_admin_divisions = Boa Vista | country_admin_divisions_title_1 = | country_admin_divisions_1 = | country_admin_divisions_title_2 = | country_admin_divisions_2 = | country_largest_city = Sal Rei | country_largest_city_population = | population = 14,451 | population_as_of = 2015 | density_km2 = 22.9 | ethnic_groups = | website = {{url|http://www.municipiodaboavista.com/}} | additional_info = }}

'''Boa Vista''' (Portuguese for "good view"), sometimes spelled '''Boavista''', is a desert-like island that belongs to the Cape Verde Islands. At {{convert|631|km2|abbr=on}},<ref name=resumo>[http://ine.cv/censo_quadros/resumo-dos-indicadores-rgph-2010/ 2010 Census Summary]</ref> it is the third largest island of the Cape Verde archipelago.

The island of Boa Vista is closer to the African continent than all the other islands in Cape Verde, being the easternmost island of all. The distance between Boa Vista and Senegal is only 450&nbsp;km. The capital of Boa Vista, Sal Rei, is located in the north-western part of the island. Boa Vista is mainly known for its beaches, turtles and traditional music.

==Geography== [[File:260 Boa Vista.jpg|thumb|right|Hamada landscape in the centre of Boa Vista]] Boa Vista is the third largest island after Santo Antão and Santiago, with an area of 631.1 square kilometres.<ref name=resumo/> It is situated south of Sal and north of Maio. The island is generally flat, but it has numerous hills like Monte Estância (the highest point of the island at 387 m),<ref name=munic>[http://www.municipiodaboavista.com/boavista-capoverde/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Espa%C3%A7os-protegidos-da-Boa-Vista.pdf Protected areas in the island of Boa Vista] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919215330/http://www.municipiodaboavista.com/boavista-capoverde/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Espa%C3%A7os-protegidos-da-Boa-Vista.pdf |date=2020-09-19 }} - Municipality of Boa Vista, March 2013 {{in lang|pt}}</ref> Monte Santo António, Rocha Estância, Morro de Areia, Morro Negro, Monte Caçador, Pico Forcado and Monte Vigia.

Boa Vista is famous for its large beaches like Atalanta, Cabral, Chaves, Ervatão, Gatas, Santa Mónica and Varandinha. Its northernmost point is Ponta do Sol; its westernmost point Ponta Varandinha. Its main river is the Ribeira do Rabil, which has the largest basin area of all Cape Verde at {{convert|199|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref name=ambiente>[http://ine.cv/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/estatisticas-do-ambiente-2016.pdf Estatísticas do Ambiente - 2016], Instituto Nacional de Estatística</ref>{{rp|22}} Boa Vista is also notable for its desert Deserto de Viana and its dune fields. Boa Vista is surrounded by a number of uninhabited islets, the largest of which is Ilhéu de Sal Rei.

== History == The uninhabited island Boa Vista was discovered by António de Noli and Diogo Gomes in 1460.<ref name=gomes>[http://hdl.handle.net/11328/594 Valor simbólico do centro histórico da Praia], Lourenço Conceição Gomes, Universidade Portucalense, 2008, p. 97</ref>{{rp|72–73}} Until the end of the 16th century the only human activity on the island was breeding wild cattle.<ref name=gomes/>{{rp|83}} The island's first settlement, now known as Povoação Velha, was established in 1620 for its salt deposits, which were mainly exploited by the English.<ref>[http://www.municipiodaboavista.com/municipio/boa-vista/ Boa Vista], Municipality of Boa Vista</ref> In 1820, after many pirate attacks, the population moved to Porto Inglês, later renamed Sal Rei, which had been founded at the end of the 18th century.<ref>[http://www.hpip.org/def/en/Contents/Navigation/GeographicToponymicNavigation/Place?a=218 Sal-Rei (Porto Inglês)], Heritage of Portuguese Influence</ref> As did much of the Cape Verdean economy, the exploitation of salt on Boa Vista also relied largely on slavery. A Portuguese-British commission to end slavery was established in Boa Vista in 1842, but slavery was not completely abolished until 1876.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://vc.bridgew.edu/jcvs/vol2/iss1/7/|journal=Journal of Cape Verdean Studies|title=Ending Slavery in Cabo Verde: Between Manumission and Emancipation, 1856-1876|author=Lumumba H. Shabaka|volume=2|year=2015|issue=1|pages=109–132}}</ref> Until 1935 the municipality of Boa Vista also covered the island of Sal.<ref>[https://portondinosilhas.gov.cv/images/igrp-portal/img/documentos/25D5473815744F31E053E700040ABE32.pdf Direito da Terra, Compêndio de Legislação], p. 272</ref> In 1975, Cape Verde declared its independence. thumb|Karamboa Hotel in the west of Rabil

==Municipality==

Administratively, the island of Boa Vista is covered by one municipality, ''Concelho da Boa Vista''. This municipality consists of two ''freguesias'' (civil parishes): Santa Isabel and São João Baptista. The municipal seat is the city Sal Rei. The island's two parishes are subdivided into 9 population zones for statistical purposes:<ref name=census10>{{cite web|url=http://ine.cv/censo_quadros/boa-vista-2/|title=2010 Census results Boa Vista|work=Instituto Nacional de Estatística Cabo Verde|date=24 November 2016|language=Portuguese}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! style="text-align:right;" | Municipality | colspan=3 style="text-align:center;" | Concelho da Boa Vista |- ! style="text-align:right;" | Freguesias | colspan=2 style="text-align:center;" | Santa Isabel || style="text-align:center;" | São João Baptista |- ! style="text-align:right;" | Zones | *Bofarreira *Estância de Baixo *Lacacão | *Povoação Velha *Rabil (town)<ref name=yearbook>[http://ine.cv/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/statistical-yearbook-cv-2015_en.pdf Cabo Verde, Statistical Yearbook 2015], Instituto Nacional de Estatística</ref>{{rp|33}} *Sal Rei (city)<ref name=yearbook/>{{rp|32}} | *Cabeça dos Tarrafes *Fundo das Figueiras *João Galego |}

===Politics===

Since 2016, the local party BASTA is the ruling party of the municipality. The results of the latest elections, in 2016:<ref name=dgape>[http://www.dgape.cv/images/bo_23-09-2016_53.pdf Official results local elections 2016] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819102707/http://www.dgape.cv/images/bo_23-09-2016_53.pdf |date=2019-08-19 }}, ''Boletim Oficial I Série, Número 53'', 23 September 2016</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style=text-align:right !rowspan=2|Party !colspan=2|Municipal Council !colspan=2|Municipal Assembly |- !Votes% !Seats !Votes% !Seats |- |align=left|BASTA||57.56||5||53.08||7 |- |align=left|MpD||30.60||0||30.23||4 |- |align=left|PAICV||10.32||0||14.96||2 |}

== Population == In the 1830s, the population of Boa Vista was estimated at 4,000.<ref name=Roberts>{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=Edmund|title=Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat|year=1837|publisher=Harper & Brothers|location=New York|page=14|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7317/view/1/17/}}</ref> In 2015 Boa Vista's population was 14,451.<ref name=yearbook/>{{rp|36}} Most of the population live in Sal Rei, but there are also several smaller settlements with 10 to 100 people. With 23.3 inhabitants per km<sup>2</sup>, it is the least-dense populated island in the archipelago.<ref name=yearbook/>{{rp|31}}

The population of Boa Vista consist of a mixture of different nationalities. The Creoles, of mixed mainland African and European descent are the biggest group of inhabitants, with no less than 70%, as a lot of Portuguese entered into a relation with the slaves of the African continent, during the colonization of Portugal, and settled in Boa Vista afterwards.

{{Bar chart | title = Population of Boa Vista (1940—2015) | label_type = Year | data_type = Population | bar_width = 35 | width_units = em | data_max = 15000 | label1 = 1940<ref name="Stat">Source: [http://www.statoids.com/ucv.html Statoids]</ref> | data1 = 2,779 | label2 = 1950<ref name="Stat"/> | data2 = 2,985 | label3 = 1960<ref name="Stat"/> | data3 = 3,263 | label4 = 1970<ref name="Stat"/> | data4 = 3,569 | label5 = 1980<ref name="Stat"/> | data5 = 3,372 | label6 = 1990<ref name="Stat"/> | data6 = 3,452 | label7 = 2000<ref name="Stat"/> | data7 = 4,193 | label8 = 2010<ref name=resumo/> | data8 = 8,554 | label9 = 2015<ref name=yearbook/>{{rp|36}} | data9 = 14,451 }}

== Economy == Previously, the inhabitants of Boa Vista survived off salt collection and date farming. Now they still earn money from date farming, but also from tourism. A lot of people work in the tourism sector, as taxi drivers, employees in the various hotel chains or souvenir salesmen in Sal Rei. The income from tourism has risen rapidly since the international airport opened in 2007. There are several hotels and beach resorts on the island.

== Transport ==

The airport of Boa Vista is Aristides Pereira International Airport, about 5&nbsp;km southeast of Sal Rei. There are ferry services from the port of Sal Rei.

The island has 64&nbsp;km of national roads,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ie.cv/images/Estradas_nacionais/Estado_das_Estradas_Nacionais_IE_2017.pdf |title=Instituto de Estradas de Cabo Verde, State of the National Roads in Cape Verde, 2017 |access-date=2017-12-07 |archive-date=2017-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207140321/https://www.ie.cv/images/Estradas_nacionais/Estado_das_Estradas_Nacionais_IE_2017.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> the single first class national road connects Sal Rei and Rabil.<ref name=class>[http://www.ie.cv/images/Documentos/classificao-estradas-Nacionais.pdf Classification of National Roads] (Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista), Instituto de Estradas {{in lang|pt}}</ref>

==Nature== Boa Vista is not as abundant in flora and fauna as the other larger or more humid islands such as Santiago and Santo Antão; only 3% of its area is forested.<ref name=ambiente/>{{rp|25}} However, 37% of its area is a protected area, which is the highest proportion of all inhabited Cape Verde islands.<ref name=ambiente/>{{rp|24}} There are 14 protected areas on Boa Vista, including beaches that are important nesting areas for loggerhead sea turtles and birds.<ref name=munic/> There are several endemic species, such as Boa Vista wall gecko (''Tarentola boavistensis''), ''Conus boavistensis'', ''Conus salreiensis'', and ''Plesiocystiscus bubistae''.

==Gallery== <gallery> File:bubista.jpg|Boa Vista landscape File:Praia de Cabral.JPG|Praia de Cabral, Boa Vista, Cape Verde File:Cape_verde_boa_vista_sal_rei_2048x1536px.jpg|The capital, Sal Rei File:Curral Velho, Cape Verde.jpg|Ruins of the abandoned village Curral Velho File:Sal Rei Beach.jpg|Sal Rei beach </gallery>

==Sports== There are several football clubs on Boa Vista, organised in the Boa Vista Regional Football Association.

==Notable residents== *Germano Almeida, writer<ref>[http://educom.sce.fct.unl.pt/proj/casa-comum/2/biblioteca/autor.php?id=94 Educom.sce.fct.unl.pt] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040703164856/http://educom.sce.fct.unl.pt/proj/casa-comum/2/biblioteca/autor.php?id=94 |date=July 3, 2004 }}</ref> *Aristides Pereira, Cape Verde's first president

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.boavistaofficial.com/ Tourist site, Boavista official] * [http://www.municipiodaboavista.cv/ Câmara Municipal da Boa Vista]

{{Commons category|Boa Vista (Cape Verde)}}

{{Islands of Cape Verde}} {{Boa Vista, Cape Verde}} {{Municipalities of Cape Verde}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Boa Vista, Cape Verde Category:Municipalities of Cape Verde Category:Islands of Cape Verde