The following is a timeline of the island of Sal, Cape Verde.
Prehistoric and precolonial era
50 million years ago: The island now known as Sal was formed during the eruption of a volcano which is now inactive, the geologically oldest island in Cape Verde.
Up to about 10,000 years ago: The island was larger and compromised an estimate size of around 1,000 to 1,500 km2 of land, the southern part was underwater at the time.
Up to about 4,000 BC: The island size was about 300 to 400 km2
1919 BC - August 25: A total solar eclipse took place in the island
1776 BC - November 19: A total solar eclipse took place in the morning in the island
1500 BC - August 2: An annular solar eclipse took place at the start of the evening hours before sunset about 10-15 Roman miles (20–30 km) northeast of the island now Sal
1312 BC - June 25: A total solar eclipse took place in the mid morning hours in the island, this was one of two that could be Mursili's eclipse, the only one that included the archipelago
1294 BC - July 6: A total solar eclipse took place before sunset just between 25 and 35 Roman miles (30 to 50 km) north of the island
1262 BC - April 14 An annular solar eclipse took place in the early afternoon hours in the island
778 BC - April 4: An annular solar eclipse took place early morning in the north of the island, north of around present day Buracona, the remainder was visibly partial
89 BC - April 17: A total solar eclipse took place in parts of the island
21 BC - July 30: An annular solar eclipse took place in the island, the greatest eclipse was over 35-40 Roman miles (50 km) east of the island that is now known as Sal at 16.6 N, 22.4 W and occurred at 16:27:14 UTC (15:27 local time), its width was 95 Roman miles (144 km wide)
406 - August 29: An annular solar eclipse took place late afternoon around 20 Roman miles (30 km) northeast of the island, the remainder was visibly partial
739 - October 13: An annular solar eclipse took place nearly close to the island
Around 900 to 1000 AD - A possibility that the Arabs may have mined some salt from the island
1308 - September 24: An annular solar eclipse took place in the island
1431 - February 20: A total solar eclipse took place in the island
1460 - December 3: The island was discovered, it would be named Llana (Modern Portuguese: Plana) as most of the geography are predominantly of plain.
Around the 16th-17th century: The island's first settlement of Palmeira was founded
1662 - September 12: An annular solar eclipse took place about 90–100 miles (150 km) north of the island, it was visibly partial in the island
1726 - September 25: A total solar eclipse took place about 90 miles (150) km north of the island, it was visibly partial in the island
1799 - Salt deposits discovered
1800s - The island's first settlement Pedra de Lume established, the island became populated
1804 - Cape Verde's first tunnel constructed at Pedra de Lume
1830 - Santa Maria founded, became the chief island capital up to the mid 20th century
1832 - Estimate population: 400
1856 - Chapel near Pedra de Lume built
1887 - Salt production went into decline after Brazil nationalized its salt production to Portugal
1890 - Population: 539
1892 - Farol da Ponta do Sinó near Santa Maria completed
1897 - Farol da Ponta Norte constructed, the first tower was completed near Reguinho Fiúra
1914 - German salt company no longer mined for salt Production to Germany due to World War I
1920 - French salt company Le Salines du Cap-Vert mined for salt production to France
1927 - Portuguese salt company mined and shipped it to Belgian Congo (from 1960, Congo-Kinshasa)
1930 - Population: 764
1935 - Sal became an independent municipality carved out the municipality of Boa Vista or Boa Vista and Sal
1937 - April 1: SC Santa Maria football (soccer) club established, the first club established on the island
1939 - Italian government after granted authorization by the Portuguese government constructed Cape Verde's first major and international airport primarily to serve as a stopover for flights between Rome and South America.
1940
Population: 1,121
As a consequence of World War II in Europe, the Italians left, airport construction abandoned
1941 - Second tower of Farol da Ponta Norte completed, today the lighthouse lay in ruins
1945 - May 1: Sport Clube Verdun football (soccer) team established
1947 - The Portuguese purchased the airport installations from the Italians, the Portuguese constructed the rest
1948 - Banco Nacional Ultramarino opened its branch in the island, it would be replaced with the Bank of Cape Verde in 1975 after the nation became independent
1949
Sal International Airport (now Amílcar Cabral International Airport) opened
The settlement of Preguiça, named after a settlement in São Nicolau was founded, it is now known as Espargos due to its abundances of asparagus grown in the sandy areas of the area
1950
Population: 1,838
Alitalia served as a stopover for refueling on Rome-Sal-Buenos Aires-Caracas flight, the service continued up to 1961
1960
Population: 2,608
Sal was the stop of a Friendship Flight (Voo da amizade) between Portugal and Brazil, only Brazilian and Portuguese citizens or foreigners with permanent residence in Brazil and Portugal could use those flights, they were popular due to their low fares. Cape Verde was a Portuguese overseas province at the time.
Around the 1960s - A frigate, likely Danish sunk southeast of Sal and shipped chocolate from the Congo region to Denmark, Ponta and Costa da Fragata would be named after the sunken frigate which is now collapsed into the ocean and is no longer seen. The ship was one of the last European ships sunk in the waters of Cape Verde and within 180 km (100 nm) of the island's shoreline.
1961 - When Congo-Kinshasa (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) declared independence from Belgium, Congo nationalized the salt industry and its production, productivity in Santa Maria began to fell
1962 - February 26: Juventude (Sal) football (soccer) club established
1963
August 3: Académica do Sal football (soccer) club established, it was used for twelve years
The Portuguese Air Force's No 1 Transit Airfield (AT1, Aeródromo de Trânsito n.º 1) was installed in the Sal airport
1966 - Académico do Aeroporto football (soccer) club established
1967
South African Airways (SAA) used as a refueling stop for flights to and from Europe, since SAA was denied landing rights by most African countries due to the international boycott of apartheid.
Morabeza hotel opened, the first modern hotel in Cape Verde
1970 - Population: 5,505
1975 - July 5: Cape Verde declared independence from Portugal and became and independent nation
1977 - The island capital transferred from Santa Maria to Espargos, the parish seat remains at Santa Maria
1980 - Population: 5,826
1982
April 17: Electricidade e Água do Sal (EAS - Sal Electricity and Water) became part of the national electric company Electra.
Tropical Storm Beryl struck produced rainfall and gusty winds on the island, early in its duration
1983 - SAA used the airport as a refueling stop for its Boeing 747SP service between South Africa and Houston Intercontinental Airport in the US
1984 - Salt mining and production ceased in Santa Maria
1985 - TACV began services to Boston, Massachusetts, USA using a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 provided by LAM Mozambique Airlines, TACV flights with Boston had now shifted to Praia
1990 - Population: 7,715
1991 - September 19: GDRC Pretória basketball club established
Late 1990s - Sal's first seaside touristic village started construction and later completed years later
1991
March - When apartheid ended in South Africa, SAA would no longer use Sal as a stopover with flights to and from Europe
Ilha d' Sal album by Maria Alice released, about some of its culture of the island
September 19: GDRC Pretória basketball club established
1998 - Cabo Verde Express established its head offices at Amílcar Cabral International Airport in Espargos
1999
End of salt production in Sal
Sal Island Cup held its first edition
2000
Population: 14,816
Sal Island Super Cup held its first edition
2001 - Sal Island Opening Tournament held its first edition
2003 - March 10: Estádio Marcelo Leitão opened
2004 - The first hotels and resorts constructed in the southernmost part of the island west of Santa Maria, Funaná and Garupa, owned by RIU.
2005 - Halcyonair established its head offices at Amílcar Cabral International Airport in Espargos
2006 - July 1: SAA operated its final flight to Sal due to the ending of its flights to Atlanta, Georgia in the US
2010 - Population: 25,481
2013 - Halcyonair closes its head offices and its airline company dissolved
2014
Estimate population: 32,000
April 7:The municipality of Sal started to plan to split into the municipalities of Espargos and Santa Maria due to a massive population growth, a new parish (one may be São José) will exclude Santa Maria, no date has been set.
October: Sal Island League introduced the Second Division
2015 - Hurricane Fred struck the island on August 31 and lasted until September 1.
Timeline of Sal, Cape Verde Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
