the first europeans to arrive in cape verde were the portugueses diogo gomes and antonio da noli in 1460. the islands were uninhabited, and the first settlement was founded in 1462 on the island of santiago (the main island) which was divided into two “capitanias”, alcatrazes and ribeira grande. the first one failed and the main activity in ribeira grande was the exploitation of cotton farms. ribeira grande served also as a slave trade post and as post of slave christianization before they were sent to the new world.