This article focuses on the history of the Cape Verde Islands, the nature of Cape Verdean immigration to the United States, and the ethnic experience of Cape Verdeans in the U.S. The colonization of the Atlantic archipelago by the Portuguese as part of their expanding slave trade is described and the Islands' economic, ecologic, racial and cultural features are reviewed. The immigration of Cape Verdeans (or "Black Portuguese," as they are sometimes called) to New England is traced back to the mid-seventeenth century. The current distribution of Cape Verdeans, particularly throughout the northeastern region, and their occupational, educational, and economic status are also described. Patterns of ethnicity among this group are examined, focusing especially on the effects of the Islands' recent independent on the ethnic identification of Cape Verdeans abroad. (GC)