The United States had previously functioned as an escape route for Cape Verdeans who hoped to avoid coerced migration to other Portuguese colonies such as São Tomé and Príncipe or Angola.
Portuguese authorities often refused to issue passports or travel permits for other destinations; however, Senegal's proximity to Cape Verde allowed emigrants to travel there in a clandestine fashion.
Women typically pursued domestic work in the homes of French colonists, while the men were employed as artisans.
[3] When Senegal achieved independence in 1960, some Cape Verdeans followed their French colonist employers to France, augmenting the numbers of Cape Verdeans already found in France in cities such as Paris, Versailles, and Nice.
[4] There are roughly 300 people among the Cape Verdean community in Senegal who have migrated back to the land of their ancestors.