Speech #1140051709

Wood Foundation for their collaboration in celebrating the history of Cape Verdean and Azorean culture in Southeastern Massachusetts. Our nations histories are forever interwoven. as the ancestors of todays Azoreanand Cape VerdeanAmerican families remain an integral part of Massachusetts economic prosperity. Many of these immigrants were first drawn to New Englands ports on whaling and fishing vessels in the early nineteenth century. often finding work in the regions nearby cranberry bogs. Cape Cod and Southeastern Massachusetts are home to the fastest growing Cape Verdean and Azorean communities in the United States. Today. it is estimated that over 40% of the southeastern Massachusetts population are of Portuguese descent.