The Câmaras
- Political organization
In 1555 the Corregedor, Rodrigues Cardoso, arrived in Ribeira Grande. The king had told him about the wave of corruption that was hitting Cape Verde (powerful men were making use of contacts, even in Lisbon, to buy the protection of almocharifes (store administrators), scribes, feitores (trading authority superintendents) and procuradores (representatives)), so he approached the “sons of the soil” (“pretos forros” (freed slaves) and “homens baços” (dark-skinned men) - who were carpenters, bakers, tailors, caulkers, seamen…) bringing representatives of these groups into the Câmara (chamber), which defended the rights of the less privileged classes, much to the annoyance of the officers of the Câmara, noblemen, knights and nobles of the local regiment.
This episode, which is the first reported in the long process towards democracy in Cape Verde, illustrates how the Câmaras(chambers) played a relevant role in forming a new and original society in the early days of political organisation in Cape Verde and through the centuries, despite occasional turmoil. Even at this stage it was influenced by a culture with the three principal pillars of the Creole language, humanist Christian doctrine and multi-racialism, in an interactive process, which shows that these pillars call for a structure that represents everyone. This structure - the “Câmara” - responded to this public desire, and restored a feeling for the rights of the least privileged classes. The Câmara was made up of two juízes ordinários (ordinary judges), vereadores (councilors), procurador (representative), tesoureiro (treasurer) and escrivão (scribe), who already had complex powers in the juridical arena, at sea and on land, and in the regulation of economic life. They were supported by a range of specialised public functionaries, from almotacés (clerks of the market) to alacaides (bailiffs), meirinhos (undersheriffs) and quadrilheiros (ward officers). They levied multas (fines) and fintas (excises), as well as various taxas (fees), on mechanics, journeymen, sailors, soldiers, allowing them to carry out improvements to the municipality, transport and external services, such as physicians, surgeons or pharmacists.
In the 17th Century there were claims from the Chambers of Cape Verde to royal power, when they generally complained about the authorities that were felt locally to be oppressive, often just charging taxes and restricting freedom to trade with foreign ships, without attending to the interests and needs of the population they represented.
As in all areas of life in Cape Verde, the 18th and 19th Centuries were a time of grave crisis, although the institution of the Câmaras lived on until the time of independence in 1975 with sufficient vigour to spread across the country, and divide up into 22 Câmaras - dynamic and representative of the population of the Island.
In 1555 the Corregedor, Rodrigues Cardoso, arrived in Ribeira Grande. The king had told him about the wave of corruption that was hitting Cape Verde (powerful men were making use of contacts, even in Lisbon, to buy the protection of almocharifes (store administrators), scribes, feitores (trading authority superintendents) and procuradores (representatives)), so he approached the “sons of the soil” (“pretos forros” (freed slaves) and “homens baços” (dark-skinned men) - who were carpenters, bakers, tailors, caulkers, seamen…) bringing representatives of these groups into the Câmara (chamber), which defended the rights of the less privileged classes, much to the annoyance of the officers of the Câmara, noblemen, knights and nobles of the local regiment.
This episode, which is the first reported in the long process towards democracy in Cape Verde, illustrates how the Câmaras(chambers) played a relevant role in forming a new and original society in the early days of political organisation in Cape Verde and through the centuries, despite occasional turmoil. Even at this stage it was influenced by a culture with the three principal pillars of the Creole language, humanist Christian doctrine and multi-racialism, in an interactive process, which shows that these pillars call for a structure that represents everyone. This structure - the “Câmara” - responded to this public desire, and restored a feeling for the rights of the least privileged classes. The Câmara was made up of two juízes ordinários (ordinary judges), vereadores (councilors), procurador (representative), tesoureiro (treasurer) and escrivão (scribe), who already had complex powers in the juridical arena, at sea and on land, and in the regulation of economic life. They were supported by a range of specialised public functionaries, from almotacés (clerks of the market) to alacaides (bailiffs), meirinhos (undersheriffs) and quadrilheiros (ward officers). They levied multas (fines) and fintas (excises), as well as various taxas (fees), on mechanics, journeymen, sailors, soldiers, allowing them to carry out improvements to the municipality, transport and external services, such as physicians, surgeons or pharmacists.
In the 17th Century there were claims from the Chambers of Cape Verde to royal power, when they generally complained about the authorities that were felt locally to be oppressive, often just charging taxes and restricting freedom to trade with foreign ships, without attending to the interests and needs of the population they represented.
As in all areas of life in Cape Verde, the 18th and 19th Centuries were a time of grave crisis, although the institution of the Câmaras lived on until the time of independence in 1975 with sufficient vigour to spread across the country, and divide up into 22 Câmaras - dynamic and representative of the population of the Island.
