Once called Ribeira Grande by the Portuguese colonists, they changed its name to Cidade Velha in the late 18th century after relocating the capital to Praia.

[4] Cidade Velha's port was a stopping place for two great navigators: Vasco da Gama, in 1497, on his way to India, and Christopher Columbus, in 1498, while on his third voyage to the Americas.

In 1522, it was the stopping place for the expedition of explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing for Spain and on the final leg of the survivors' circumnavigation of the world.

In 1533, Cidade Velha became the seat of the new Roman Catholic Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde, created by papal bull of Pope Clement VII.

The riches of Ribeira Grande and conflicts between Portugal and rival colonial powers France and Britain attracted pirate attacks, including those by Francis Drake (1585) and Jacques Cassard (1712).

[5] Ribeira Grande (now Cidade Velha) was reduced to the rank of a village and its civil, religious and military buildings began to decay after so many institutions left.