Paul, Cape Verde

Paul is a municipality in Cape Verde, a beautiful group of islands off the west coast of Africa. It is found in the northeastern part of the island called Santo Antão. Even though it covers only about 7% of the island’s land, it is home to 16% of the people who live there. According to a count in 2010, around 6,997 people called Paul their home.

The main town in Paul is called Pombas. Like other places in Cape Verde, Paul has its own special character and history. It is one of the many municipalities that make up this lovely island nation, each with its own unique story.

The municipality and parish

The municipality of Paul consists of one civil parish called Santo António das Pombas. This parish is divided into several smaller settlements. In the year 2010, the populations of these settlements were:

• Cabo da Ribeira (912 people)
• Campo de Cão (787 people)
• Eito (979 people)
• Figueiral (591 people)
• Janela (1,658 people)
• Pico da Cruz (138 people)
• Pombas (1,295 people, a city)
• Ribeira das Pombas (411 people)
• Ribeirãozinho (27 people)
• Santa Isabel (186 people)

Demography

Paul is a municipality in Cape Verde, located on the northeastern part of the island of Santo Antão. It covers about 7% of the island's area and is home to around 16% of its people. The main town in Paul is called Pombas.

Geography

The municipality of Paul has a rugged landscape with many mountain valleys formed by rivers like Ribeira do Paul, Ribeira das Pombas, Ribeira de Gil, Ribeira da Janela, Ribeira do Penedo, and Ribeira da Aguada. The southwesternmost point of Paul is Cova Caldera, and its highest point is Pico da Cruz, which stands at 1585 meters above sea level. Part of the Cova-Paul-Ribeira da Torre Natural Park is located within Paul. National roads EN1-SA02 and EN1-SA03 connect the town of Pombas to Ribeira Grande and Porto Novo.

History

In 1867, the area now known as Paul and another nearby place were split into their own groups. These groups were joined together again in 1895, but then separated once more in 1917. In 1962, Paul got its current size when a new nearby group was formed.

Notable people

Paul, Cape Verde has been home to some interesting people. One is Antoninho Travadinha, known simply as Travadinha, who taught himself to become a musician. Another is Josefina Chantre, who worked hard to help end Portuguese rule and support the independence of both Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.

Politics

Since 2012, the Movement for Democracy has been the ruling party of the municipality. The latest election results were in 2016.

Sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Cape Verde

Paul has five sister municipalities, all of them are in Portugal: Almodôvar, Benavente, Gavião, Odivelas and Sernancelhe.