Currency of Cape Verde 500 Escudos banknote 1992 Baltasar Lopes da Silva
Bank of Cape Verde - Banco de Cabo Verde
The front of the 500-escudo note carries a portrait of Baltasar Lopes da Silva with the caption "1907 - 1989 Doutor Baltasar Lopes da Silva". This effigy is flanked to the left and right by a drawing of "Pano d’obra Bicho Antigo," made in Tarrafal, Santiago Island. Baltasar Lopes was a celebrated writer, born on the island of São Nicolau. Lopes studied at the University of Lisbon and worked for several years in Portugal before returning to Cape Verde in the 1930s, where he took up a position at the secondary school Liceu Gil Eanes. He ultimately became its director until he retired in 1972. He was one of the founding members of a literary review established in 1936 and he published his greatest work, the novel Chiquinho, in 1947. A poet, novelist, short story writer, and essayist, he promoted literature in the country and championed the used of Crioulo the Cape Verdean dialect based on old Portuguese and African languages.
In the upper right corner, reading upwards, there’s the text “23 de Abril de 1992” (23 April, 1992), which is the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Baltazar Lopes who was born on 23 April 1907.
In the upper left corner, there’s the stylization of an ear of corn, one of the elements of the Cape Verde escudo, which coincides with the same element – by transparency – on the back of the note.
Also in the upper left corner and immediately after the ear of corn, there’s the series number, consisting of figures which are differentiated and aligned horizontally.
The back of the note displays the maritime shipyards of São Vicente, with the bay of Porto Grande and the "Island of the Birds" in the background.
Watermark: Amilcar Cabral.
Dimensions: 36 x 67 mm.
Predominant Color: Blue.
Cape Verde Banknotes - Cape Verde Paper Money
1992-2002 Issue
The changes wrought by the first government of the Movement for Democracy party (MpD) saw many changes to the symbols of Cape Verde. Not only were the flag and the national emblem changed, but a new series of banknotes was commissioned. While Amilcar Cabral was still recognized as a national hero, his portrait no longer appeared on the notes introduced under the new regime, although his image is retained in the watermark.
Again printed by De La Rue, the notes of the new series were apparently released in 1992, although the specific date of their release is not known. This series initially contained three denominations—200, 500, and 1000 escudos—but a further two denominations followed several years later. The two new denominations are the 2000 and 5000 escudo notes, with the denomination of 2500 escudos being discontinued.
The notes released in 1992 have many common features, being the same size and colour as the notes they replaced, although they no longer have a common illustration on the front. The perfect registration device of the cob of corn is continued from the previous series, as is the watermark of Amilcar Cabral, the clear security thread with ‘BCV’ micro-printed on it, the micro-printing of ‘BANCODECABOVERDE’, and the fluorescent features on the front and back of the notes. The latent image on each note is now simply the denomination of the note and the signatures are of José Tomás Wahnon Veiga, the Minister of Finance and Planning, and Oswaldo Miguel Sequeira, the Governor of the Bank of Cape Verde.
On the back of each note is the new national emblem. The central device consists of a circle, containing a representation of water (three stripes) and a triangle overlaid with a torch, and with a plumb-bob at the apex of the circle. This emblem is surrounded by ten stars (five left and five right), the leaves of a plant (bottom left and right), and three links of a chain (bottom). Arching over the triangle within the circle is ‘Republic of Cape Verde’ in Portuguese. The stars represent the main islands of Cape Verde; the plumb-bob is symbolic of rectitude and virtue; the torch and triangle represent unity and freedom.
Again printed by De La Rue, the notes of the new series were apparently released in 1992, although the specific date of their release is not known. This series initially contained three denominations—200, 500, and 1000 escudos—but a further two denominations followed several years later. The two new denominations are the 2000 and 5000 escudo notes, with the denomination of 2500 escudos being discontinued.
The notes released in 1992 have many common features, being the same size and colour as the notes they replaced, although they no longer have a common illustration on the front. The perfect registration device of the cob of corn is continued from the previous series, as is the watermark of Amilcar Cabral, the clear security thread with ‘BCV’ micro-printed on it, the micro-printing of ‘BANCODECABOVERDE’, and the fluorescent features on the front and back of the notes. The latent image on each note is now simply the denomination of the note and the signatures are of José Tomás Wahnon Veiga, the Minister of Finance and Planning, and Oswaldo Miguel Sequeira, the Governor of the Bank of Cape Verde.
On the back of each note is the new national emblem. The central device consists of a circle, containing a representation of water (three stripes) and a triangle overlaid with a torch, and with a plumb-bob at the apex of the circle. This emblem is surrounded by ten stars (five left and five right), the leaves of a plant (bottom left and right), and three links of a chain (bottom). Arching over the triangle within the circle is ‘Republic of Cape Verde’ in Portuguese. The stars represent the main islands of Cape Verde; the plumb-bob is symbolic of rectitude and virtue; the torch and triangle represent unity and freedom.
Baltasar Lopes da Silva
Baltasar Lopes da Silva (Caleijão, São Nicolau, 23 April 1907 - Lisbon, Portugal, 28 May 1989) was a writer, poet and linguist from Cape Verde, who wrote in both Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole. With Manuel Lopes and Jorge Barbosa, he was the founder of Claridade. In 1947 he published Chiquinho, considered the greatest Cape Verdean novel and O dialecto crioulo de Cabo Verde which describes different dialects of creoles of Cape Verde. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Osvaldo Alcântara.
Ressaca, his work of poems can be found on the CD Poesia de Cabo Verde e Sete Poemas de Sebastião da Gama by Afonso Dias.
Biography
Baltasar Lopes da Silva was born in the village of Calejão on the island of São Nicolau in Cape Verde on April 23, 1907. He graduated with degrees in Law and Romance Philology. His last days were spent in Lisbon, where he was transferred for treatment of a cerebrovascular disease and died shortly afterwards on May 28, 1989.
Career
Baltasar Lopes, with the collaboration of other writers, such as Manuel Lopes, Manuel Ferreira, António Aurélio Gonçalves, Francisco José Tenreiro, Jorge Barbosa, and Daniel Filipe, founded the Cape Verdean journal Claridade in 1936. Claridade published essays, poems, and short stories. Its contributors wrote about the problems of their society, such as drought, famine, and emigration, bringing clarity to the study of Cape Verdean reality, especially with regard to the most disadvantaged social groups.
In 1947, Lopes published his first book, the novel Chiquinho. Chiquinho describes in detail the customs, people, landscapes, and social problems of Cape Verde in early twentieth century. It is a coming-of-age novel about the people of Cape Verde and the step that many Cape Verdeans had to take to achieve a better life: emigration. The novel is organized into three parts:
1. "Childhood" (Infância), in which the protagonist Chiquinho lives with his family and community in the village of Caleijão on the island of São Nicolau and learns his first letters.
2. "São Vicente," in which Chiquinho continues his education in high school on the island of São Vicente, where he meets new friends and his first love Nuninha. Chiquinho and his classmates found the Grémio, an association and a journal that is very similar to Claridade, in the sense that it attempts to change the social environment of the archipelago.
3. "The Waters" (As Águas), the third and final part of the novel, in which Chiquinho returns to his island and becomes a teacher. This part is focused on the calamity of drought, a major problem in Cape Verde, which results in famine and many deaths. At the end of the novel, Chiquinho emigrates to the United States with the hope of a better life.
Family
Baltasar Lopes da Silva belonged to a family of great literary figures of Cape Verde including António Aurélio Gonçalves and poet José Lopes da Silva.
Works
- Chiquinho (1947)
- A Caderneta
- Cabo Verde visto por Gilberto Freyre (1956)
- O dialecto crioulo de Cabo Verde, a description of the Cape Verdean creole language (1957).
- Antologia da Ficção Cabo-Verdiana Contemporânea (1961)
- Cântico da Manhã Futura (1986), volume of poetry published under the name Osvaldo Alcântara
- Os Trabalhos e os Dias (short stories, 1987)
Legacy
A street named after the writer (Avenida Baltasar Lopes da Silva) is located in the north of Mindelo slightly northeast of the city center.
He was featured on a Cape Verdean $500 escudo note which was issued between 1992 and 2000. On the back is Ilhéu dos Passaros and its ships.