São Nicolao

São Nicolau is a mountainous island in the northern group of Cape Verde, between Santa Luzia and Sal. Diogo Afonso reached it in 1461 or 1462, but settlement began in the seventeenth century. Pirate attacks led the inhabitants to abandon the coastal settlement of Porto de Lapa in 1653 and establish Ribeira Brava inland. In 1786 the latter became the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde, bringing an important ecclesiastical office to the island.