The discovery of the island of Sao Vicente in 1462 showed little interest in settling it. During the 18th century there were the first attempts, but the harsh conditions prevented it. It was not until the arrival of the English, who saw in the area of Mindelo a perfect enclave to resupply the coal ships. In the early 1800s they designed a great infrastructure, with large coal deposits, a large port with capacity for 300 ships and in 1850 the Rroyal Mail was installed. 25 years later Sao Vicente was chosen as the point to pass the telecommunications cable across the Atlantic, and many employees of the Western Telegraph moved to Mindelo. Despite the great movement and business generated by the then fourth largest coal station in the world, the inhabitants of the island of Sao Vicente never benefited. In 1869, with the inauguration of the Suez Canal, the appearance of oil as fuel and the mechanization of cable communications, the entire infrastructure was dismantled, leaving a city full of famine, robbers, prostitutes and poverty. Because of this situation and the fact that it was an intellectual capital, it was one of the origins of the idea of a revolution that would later lead to the independence of Cape Verde.