Cacheu

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title: "Cacheu" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cacheu", "cacheu-region", "populated-places-in-guinea-bissau", "former-portuguese-colonies", "sectors-of-guinea-bissau", "populated-places-established-in-1588"] topic_path: "general/cacheu" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacheu" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
official_nameCacheu
native_name
settlement_type
image_skylineForte de Cacheu 4.jpg
imagesize300px
image_captionFortress of Cacheu
dot_x
pushpin_mapGuinea-Bissau
pushpin_label_positionbottom
pushpin_mapsize320
pushpin_map_captionLocation in Guinea-Bissau
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_name[[File:Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg
subdivision_type1Region
subdivision_name1Cacheu Region
subdivision_type2District
leader_title1
established_titleCaptaincy founded and fort built
established_date1588
established_title2Incorporated (town)
established_date21605
established_title3
area_land_km2
population_as_of2009 census
population_total9882
population_density_km2auto
population_blank1_titleEthnicities
population_blank2_titleReligions
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
elevation_m44
postal_code_type
::

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Cacheu is a town in northwestern Guinea-Bissau lying on the Cacheu River, capital of the eponymous region. Its population was estimated to be 9,849 .

Etymology

The town of Cacheu is situated in territory of the Papel people. The name is of Bainuk origin: Caticheu, meaning 'the place where we rest'.

History

Cacheu was one of the earliest European colonial settlements in sub-saharan Africa, due to its strategic location on the Cacheu River. Cacheu developed a European/Afro-European population from the late sixteenth century through informal settlement of Cape Verdian and Portuguese traders, adventurers and outcasts (lançados). The authorities in mainland Portugal also sent to Cacheu degredados - people condemned to exile for a variety of offences.

In 1567 the English slaver John Hawkins raided the settlement. Due to such threats and a period of social conflict with their hosts the Papels, in 1589 the traders sought and received permission from the king of Cacheu to build a fort. They then abandoned the town and moved en masse into the new stockade in 1591 in an attempt to avoid the control of the local government. The Papels unsuccessfully stormed the fort before an agreement was reached allowing cohabitation. The fort did not have a secure water supply, however, and the locals used their control over water to pressure the Portuguese into trade concessions. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/DC_-_Cacheu.Arredores-_Uma_fonte.jpg" caption="A well in Cacheu, circa 1900"] ::

In 1598 a resident priest was appointed, and in 1605 the settlement was offered a municipal charter by the Portuguese crown.

Cacheu was an important slave trading point for the Portuguese in the Upper Guinea region, where the crown endeavoured to ensure that duties on all slaves exported were paid. It was also a center of boat-building, with most of the artisans being African. The lancados, Papels, and other European traders all regularly violated this supposed monopoly. To bolster these attempts, in 1676 the Portuguese launched the Company of Cacheu and Rivers and Commerce of Guinea, the first of several that tried and failed to control the trade of slaves from Cacheu to the New World. In 1684 a prominent lancado slave trader, Bibiana Vaz, even captured the captain-major and imprisoned him at Farim for 14 months. When representatives of the Company arrived, the 'Republic of Cacheu' refused to let them land, demanding control over trade and direct communication with the king. A triumvirate, which included Bibiana's brother, ruled the town "in the name of the people", meaning the Afro-Portuguese traders for several months before the company regained control.

The condition of the garrison deteriorated progressively from the latter part of the 17th century up through the 19th. In 1878, a reinforced Portuguese force successfully attacked Cacanda in retaliation for the earlier assassination of the captain-major of Cacheu, the first of a series of 'pacification campaigns' that would culminate in the final conquest of the region in 1914. As Portuguese Guinea expanded and solidified, however, towns such as Bolama, Bissau and Canchungo became administrative centers at the expense of Cacheu.

Current attractions

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Cacheu_statues_in_fortress.jpg" caption="Cacheu Fort"] ::

Roads in the town are paved with oil palm kernels. Notable buildings in Cacheu include the Portuguese-built 16th-century fort, dating from the period when Cacheu was a centre for the slave trade. The Cacheu Memorial of Slavery & Black Traffic memorial museum (Memorial da Escravatura e Tráfico Negreiro de Cacheu) provides historical context to the area. Other attractions in the town include the Cacheu River Mangroves Natural Park and a regular market. The market serves the surrounding areas which export coconuts, palm oil and rice.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Cacheu is twinned with:

References

Sources

References

  2. (July 2021)
  3. Philip J. Havik, ''Silences and Soundbites: The Gendered Dynamics of Trade and Brokerage in the Pre-colonial Guinea Bissau Region'' (LIT Verlag Münster, 2004; {{ISBN. 3825877094), p. 57, citing Cissoko, paper presentation at 5th Centenary Conference 'Cacheu, Cidade Antiga', Cacheu, 1988.
  4. Disney, AR. (2009). "A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire". Cambridge University Press.
  5. "Cacheu: Historical Background and Urbanism".
  6. "Memorial da Escravatura e Tráfico Negreiro de Cacheu (in Portuguese)".
  7. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Cacheu". Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Oct. 2008, https://www.britannica.com/place/Cacheu-Guinea-Bissau. Accessed 27 July 2023.
  8. "Lisboa - Geminações de Cidades e Vilas". Associação Nacional de Municípios Portugueses [ National Association of Portuguese Municipalities].
  9. "Acordos de Geminação, de Cooperação e/ou Amizade da Cidade de Lisboa". Camara Municipal de Lisboa.

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cacheucacheu-regionpopulated-places-in-guinea-bissauformer-portuguese-coloniessectors-of-guinea-bissaupopulated-places-established-in-1588