The islands of Cape Verde were uninhabited when discovered and claimed by Portugal in 1456. A Portuguese colony was established in 1462. The islands were united as a single crown colony in 1587. In 1951, the islands became an overseas province of Portugal. Autonomy was granted in 1974 and independence was granted on 5 July 1975.
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
(later northern Santiago)
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 January 1462 to 1473 | Diogo Afonso, Captain | ||
| 1473 to 1505 | Rodrigo Afonso, Captain |
(southern Santiago)
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 September 1462 to 1496 | Antonio de Noli, Captain | ||
| 8 April 1497 to ???? | Branca de Aguiar, Captain | ♀ | |
| 1508 to 15?? | Sebastião Álvares de Landim, Captain | ||
| 1515 to 151? | Fernão Mendes, Captain | ||
| 1517 to 15?? | João Alemão, Captain | ||
| 16 August 1536 to 15?? | João Correia de Souza, Captain | ||
| 1544 to 15?? | António Correia de Souza, Captain | ||
| 1555 (or ?1559) to 15?? | Manuel de Andrade, Captain | ||
| 22 December 1562 to ???? | Constantino de Bragança, Captain |
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 October 1497 to 3 January 1505 | Rodrigo Afonso, Captain | ||
| 3 January 1505 to 15?? | Pêro Correia, Captain | ||
| 15?? to 1542 | António Correia, Captain | ||
| 1542 to 15?? | Maria Correia, Captain | ♀ |
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1484 to ???? | João de Santarém, Captain | ||
| 1504 to 150? | Afonso Ribeiro, Captain | ||
| 1508 to 15?? | Rodrigi Varela, Captain |
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1526 to 1527 | André Rodrigues dos Mosquitos, Captain | ||
| 1527 to 15?? | Gomes Balieiro, Captain | ||
| 21 January 1570 to ???? | Manuel Correia, Captain |
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1528 to 1529 | João de Meneses Vasconcellos, conde de Penela, Captain | ||
| 20 April 1528 to 15?? | Afonso de Meneses, conde de Penela, Captain |
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 October 1542 to 15?? | Luís Pereira, Captain | ||
| 12 January 1553 to 15?? | Martinho Pereira, Captain |
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portuguese suzerainty | |||
| 1462 | Portuguese settlement | ||
| Corregedor (Magistrates) | |||
| 1481 to ???? | Pêro Lourenço, Corregedor | ||
| ???? to 1517 | Pêro de Guimarães, Corregedor | ||
| 1517 to 1521 | João Alemão, Corregedor | ||
| 1521 to 1527 | Leonis Correia, Corregedor | ||
| 28 August 1527 to 1534 | Gaspar Correia, Corregedor | ||
| 1534 to 1536 | Estêvão de Lagos, Corregedor | ||
| 1536 to 1541 | André Feio, Corregedor | ||
| 1539 to 1541 | Simão Afonso, Corregedor | ||
| 1541 to 1544 | Pêro Moniz, Corregedor | ||
| 1544 to 1547 | António Ferreira, Corregedor | ||
| 1547 to 1550 | Pêro de Araujo, Corregedor | ||
| 1550 to 1556 | Jorge Pimentel, Corregedor | ||
| 1556 to 1559 | Manuel de Andrade, Corregedor | ||
| 1559 to 1560 | Luís Martins de Evangelho, Corregedor | ||
| 1560 to 1562 | Gregório Martins Caminha, Corregedor | ||
| 1562 to 1571 | Bernardo de Alpoim, Corregedor | ||
| 1571 to 1577 | António Velho Tinoco, Corregedor | ||
| 1577 to 1579 | Cristóvão Soares de Mello, Corregedor | ||
| 1579 to 1584 | Diogo Dias Magro, Corregedor | ||
| 1584 to 1588 | Gaspar de Andrade, Corregedor | ||
| 1588 to 1588 | Amador Gomes Raposo, Corregedor | ||
| Governors | |||
| 1588 to 1591 | Duarte Lobo da Gama, Governor | ||
| 1591 to 1595 | Brás Soares de Melo, Governor | ||
| 1597 to 1603 | Fancisco Lobo da Gama, Governor | ||
| 1603 to 1606 | Fernão de Mesquita de Brito, Governor | ||
| 1606 to 1611 | Francisco Correia da Silva, Governor | ||
| 1611 to 1614 | Francisco Martins de Sequeira, Governor | ||
| 1614 to 1618 | Nicolau de Castilho, Governor | ||
| 1618 to 1622 | Francisco de Moura, Governor | ||
| 1622 to 1622 | Francisco de Moura Rolim, Governor | ||
| 1622 to 1624 | Manuel Afonso de Guerra, acting Governor | ||
| 1624 to 1628 | Francisco de Vasconcelos da Cunha, Governor | ||
| 1628 to 1632 | João Pereira Corte-Real, Governor | ||
| 1632 to 1636 | Cristóvão de Cabral, Governor | ||
| 1636 to 1639 | Jorge de Castilho, Governor | ||
| 1639 to 1640 | Jerónimo de Cavalcanti e Albuquerque, Governor | ||
| 1640 to 1645 | João Serrão da Cunha, Governor | ||
| 1645 to 1646 | Lourenço Garro, Governor | ||
| 1646 to 1648 | Jorge de Araújo, Governor | ||
| 1648 to 1648 | Roque de Barros do Rêgo, Governor | ||
| 1648 to 1649 | Council of Government | ||
| 12 June 1649 to 9 October 1650 | Gonçalo de Gamboa Ayala, Governor | ||
| 1650 to 1651 | Pedro Semedo Cardoso, Governor | ||
| 1651 to 1653 | Jorge de Mesquita Castelo Branco, Governor | ||
| 1563 to 1658 | Pedro Ferreira Barreto, Governor | ||
| 1558 to 1663 | Francisco de Figueroa, Governor | ||
| 1663 to 1667 | Antõnio Galvao, Governor | ||
| 1667 to 1671 | Manuel da Costa Pessoa, Governor | 1st Term | |
| 1671 to 1676 | Manuel Pacheco de Melo, Governor | ||
| 30 April 1676 to 1676 | João Cardoso Pássaro, Governor | ||
| 1676 to 1678 | Council of Government | ||
| 15 March 1678 to 1683 | Manuel da Costa Pessoa, Governor | 2nd Term | |
| 1681 to 1687 | Inácio de Franca Barbosa, Governor | ||
| 1687 to 1688 | Veríssimo Carvalho da Costa, Governor | ||
| 1688 to 1690 | Vitoriano da Costa, Governor | ||
| 1690 to 1691 | Digo Ramires Esquível, Governor | ||
| 1691 to 1692 | Council of Government | ||
| 1692 to 1696 | Manuel António Pinheiro da Câmara, Governor | ||
| 1696 to 7 June 1696 | António Gomes Mena, Governor | ||
| 1696 to 1698 | Council of Government | ||
| 4 November 1698 to 1702 | António Salgado, Governor | ||
| 10 February 1702 to 1702 | Jorge Cotrim de Mello, Governor | ||
| 12 April 1702 to 1707 | Gonçalo de Lemos Mascarenhas, Governor | ||
| 11 May 1707 to 1710 | Rodrigo de Oliveira da Fonseca, Governor | ||
| 12 February 1710 to 1715 | José Pinheiro da Câmara, Governor | ||
| 27 March 1715 to 20 June 1715 | Manuel Pereira Calheiros e Araújo, Governor | ||
| 16 December 1715 to 1719 | Serafim Teixeira Sarmento de Sá, Governor | ||
| 9 April 1719 to 1720 | Balthasar de Sousa Coutinho, Governor | ||
| 11 March 1720 to 4 January 1725 | António Vieira, Governor | ||
| 24 January 1726 to 1728 | Francisco Miguel da Nóbrega Vasconcelos, Governor | ||
| 10 July 1728 to 1733 | Francisco de Oliveira Grans, Governor | ||
| 1733 to 1737 | Bento Gomes Coelho, Governor | ||
| 1 May 1736 to 7 August 1738 | José da Fonseca Barbosa, Governor | ||
| 1738 to 1741 | Chamber Senate | ||
| 10 June 1741 to 1751 | João Zuzarte de Santa Maria, Governor | ||
| 6 March 1751 to 1751 | António José d'Eça e Faria, Governor | ||
| 1752 to 1756 | Luís António da Cunha d'Eça, Governor | ||
| 1756 to 1761 | Manuel António de Sousa e Meneses, Governor | ||
| 5 March 1761 to 1761 | Marcelino Pereira de Ávila, Governor | ||
| 1761 to 1764 | António de Barros Bezerra, Governor | ||
| 1764 to 1766 | Bartolomeu de Sousa de Brito Tigre, Governor | ||
| 1766 to 1767 | João Jácome de Brito Barena Henriques, Governor | ||
| 25 November 1768 to 1777 | Joaquim Salema Saldanha Lobo, Governor | ||
| 1777 to 1781 | António do Vale de Sousa e Meneses, Governor | ||
| 19 February 1781 to 1782 | Duarte de Melo da Silva Castro de Almeida, Governor | ||
| 1782 to 1783 | Francisco de São Simão, acting Governor | ||
| 23 August 1784 to 1789 | António Machado de Faria e Maia, Governor | ||
| 2 April 1789 to 1793 | Francisco José Teixeira Carneiro, Governor | ||
| 27 September 1793 to 10 September 1795 | José da Silva Maldonado d'Eça, Governor | ||
| 3 August 1796 to 29 November 1802 | Marcelino António Bastos, Governor | ||
| 12 May 1803 to 1818 | António Coutinho de Lencastre, Governor | ||
| 6 February 1818 to 1822 | António Pusich, Governor | ||
| 9 May 1822 to 1826 | João da Matta Chapuzet, Governor | ||
| 7 September 1826 to 1830 | Caetano Procópio Godinho de Vasconcelos, Governor | ||
| 1830 to 1831 | Duarte da Costa e Sousa de Macedo, Governor | ||
| 1831 to 1834 | José Coutinho de Lencastre, Governor | ||
| 1834 to 1835 | Manuel António Martins, Governor | ||
| 1835 to 1836 | Joaquim Pereira Marinho, Governor | 1st Term | |
| 1836 to 1837 | Domingos Correia Arouca, Governor | ||
| 1837 to 1839 | Joaquim Pereira Marinho, Governor | 2nd Term | |
| 1839 to 1842 | João de Fontes Pereira de Melo, Governor | 1st Term | |
| 5 April 1842 to 1845 | Francisco de Paula Bastos, Governor | ||
| 26 June 1845 to 1847 | José Miguel de Noronha, Governor | ||
| 28 July 1847 to 1851 | João de Fontes Pereira de Melo, Governor | 2nd Term | |
| 25 June 1851 to 1854 | Fortunato José Barreiros, Governor | ||
| 6 April 1854 to 1857 | António Maria Barreiros Arrobas, Governor | ||
| 25 November 1857 to 1860 | Sebastião Lopes de Calheiros Meneses, Governor | ||
| 1860 to 1860 | Januário Correia de Almeida, Governor | ||
| 6 September 1860 to 1863 | Carlos Joaquim Franco, Governor | ||
| 1863 to 1869 | José Guedes de Carvalho e Meneses, Governor | ||
| 29 March 1869 to 26 February 1876 | Caetano Alexandre de Almeida e Albuquerque, Governor | Some sources stated that he began his term on 11 February 1869 | |
| 1877 to 1877 | G.C. Lopes de Macedo, Governor | ||
| 1878 to 1878 | Vasco Guedes de Carvalho e Meneses, Governor | ||
| 1879 to 1881 | António de Nascimento Pereira de Sampaio, Governor | ||
| 1882 to 1886 | João Paes de Vasconcellos, Governor | ||
| 1887 to 1889 | João Cesário de Lacerda, Governor | 1st Term | |
| 1890 to 1890 | Augusto Cesário Carlos de Carvalho, Governor | ||
| 1891 to 1893 | José Guedes Brandão de Melo, Governor | 1st Term | |
| 1893 to 1894 | Fernando de Magalhães e Menezes, Governor | ||
| 1893 to 1896 | José Guedes Brandão de Melo, Governor | 2nd Term | |
| 1897 to 1897 | Alexandre Alberto da Rocha de Serpa Pinto, Governor | ||
| 1898 to 1900 | João Cesário de Lacerda, Governor | 2nd Term | |
| 1901 to 1902 | Arnaldo de Novalis Guedes de Rebelo, Governor | ||
| 1902 to 1903 | Francisco de Paula Cid, Governor | ||
| 1903 to 1904 | António Alfredo Barjona de Freitas, Governor | ||
| 1905 to 1907 | Amâncio Alpoim de Cerqueira Borges Cabral, Governor | ||
| 1907 to 1909 | Bernardo António da Costa de Macedo, Governor | ||
| 1909 to 1910 | Martinho Pinto de Queirós Montenegro, Governor | ||
| 1910 to 1911 | António de Macedo Ramalho Ortigão, Governor | ||
| 1911 to 1911 | Artur Marinha de Campos, Governor | ||
| 1911 to 1915 | Joaquím Pedro Vieira Índice Bicker, Governor | ||
| 1915 to 1918 | Abel Fontoura da Costa, Governor | ||
| 1918 to 1919 | Teófilo Duarte, Governor | ||
| 1919 to 1921 | Manuel Firmino de Almeida da Maia Magalhães, Governor | ||
| 1921 to 1922 | Filipe Carlos Dias de Carvalho, Governor | ||
| 1924 to 1926 | Júlio Henriques d'Abreu, Governor | ||
| 1927 to 1927 | João de Almeida, Governor | ||
| 1927 to 1931 | António Álvares Guedes Vaz, Governor | ||
| 1931 to 1941 | Amadeu Gomes de Figueiredo, Governor | ||
| 1941 to 1943 | José Diogo Ferreira Martins, Governor | ||
| 1943 to 1949 | João de Figueiredo, Governor | ||
| 1950 to 1953 | Carlos Alberto Garcia Alves Roçadas, Governor | ||
| 1953 to 1957 | Manuel Marques de Abrantes Amaral, Governor | ||
| 1957 to 1958 | António Augusto Peixoto Correia, acting Governor | ||
| 1958 to 1962 | Silvino Silvério Marques, Governor | ||
| 1963 to 1969 | Leão Maria Tavares Rosado do Sacramento Monteiro, Governor | ||
| 13 March 1969 to 1974 | António Lopes dos Santos, Governor | ||
| March 1974 to 25 April 1974 | Basílio Pina de Oliveira Seguro, Governor | ||
| May 1974 to July 1974 | Sérgio Fonseca, Governor | ||
| 6 August 1974 to 21 September 1974 | Henrique da Silva Horta, Governor | ||
| 21 September 1974 to 30 December 1974 | Vicente Almeida d'Eça, Governor | ||
| 30 December 1974 to 5 July 1975 | Vicente Almeida d'Eça, High Commissioner | ||
| 5 July 1975 | Independence as Republic of Cape Verde | ||
For continuation after independence, see: List of presidents of Cape Verde