Manuel António Martins

Manuel António Martins
Colonial governor of Cape Verde
In office
14 February 1834 – 1835
Preceded byD. José Coutinho de Lencastre
Succeeded byJoaquim Pereira Marinho
Personal details
Born1772
Died1845
Santa Maria, Portuguese Cape Verde
NationalityPortuguese

Manuel António Martins (1772 in Braga-1845) was a Portuguese businessman and colonial governor of Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea from 1834 to 1835.[1] Martins was said to be the richest man in the country and nicknamed the Napoleon of the Cape Verde Islands.[2] He arrived in Cape Verde in 1792. He started the exploitation of the salt ponds of Pedra de Lume on the island of Sal in 1796.[3]

In May 1819, Martins co-established a fishing company with the Governor of Cape Verde, António Pusich. Martins's partnership with Pusich soured after Pusich accused Martin of trying to sell São Vicente and Sal to the British.[2] After the accusation, Martins instigated a riot in Praia in May 1821 that led to the overthrow of Pusich.[2] In 1819, Martins was appointed by Samuel Hodges, Jr. as an honorary vice-consul for the United States on the island of Boa Vista.[4] He founded the town of Santa Maria on Sal in 1830.[5]

In December 1833, Martins was appointed colonial governor of Cape Verde and Guinea,[2] assuming office on 14 February 1834.[6] His tenure lasted until March 1835.[1] In 1834 he established the municipality of Santa Catarina with its seat in Picos, replacing the old municipality of Ribeira Grande.[6]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Cape Verde". worldstatesmen.org.
  2. ^ a b c d Brooks, George E. (10 December 2010). Western Africa and Cabo Verde, 1790s-1830s: symbiosis of slave and legitimate trades. pp. 99–120. ISBN 9781452088709. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  3. ^ Salines de Pedra de Lume, UNESCO World Heritage tentative list (in French)
  4. ^ Brooks, G.E. (2008). "Samuel Hodges, Jr., and the Symbiosis of Slave and "Legitimate" Trades, 1810s-1820s". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 41 (1): 101–116. JSTOR 40282458.
  5. ^ Ray Almeida. "A History of Ilha do Sal". Archived from the original on 6 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b Evolução histórica do Concelho de Santa Catarina (1834 – 1912), Ana Zenaida Gomes, 2005, p. 16
Preceded by Colonial Governor of Cape Verde
1834-35 		Succeeded by