Amílcar Cabral

Amílcar Lopes Cabral (September 12, 1924 – January 20, 1973) was an African agronomic engineer, writer, Marxist and nationalist politician. Cabral led African nationalism movements in Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands and led Guinea-Bissau's independence movement. He was assassinated in 1973 by Guinea-natives agents of Portuguese colonialism, just months before Guinea-Bissau declared unilateral independence.

Early years

He was born on September 12 in Bafatá, Portuguese Guinea, son of Cape-Verdeans. His half-brother Luís Cabral would later become head of state of Guinea-Bissau. Amilcar Cabral was educated in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal which was the colonial power that ruled over Portuguese Guinea at that time. While a student in Lisbon, he founded student movements dedicated to African nationalism.

He returned to Africa in the 1950s, and began forming independence movements on the continent. He was instrumental in the formation of the PAIGC or " _pt. Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde" (Portuguese for "African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde"). He also worked to form a liberation party in Angola with Agostinho Neto.

War for liberation

Beginning in 1962, Cabral led the PAIGC in a military conflict against the Portuguese imperial forces. The goal of the conflict was to attain independence for both Portuguese Guinea and Cape Verde. Over the course of the conflict, the party won land gains, and Cabral was made the de facto leader of many parcels of land in Guinea-Bissau. In 1972, Cabral began to form a People's Assembly in preparation for an independent African nation, but a disgruntled former associate assassinated him with the help of Portuguese agents operating within the PAIGC on 20 January, 1973 in Conakry, Guinea. His half-brother, Luís Cabral, became the leader of the Guinea-Bissau branch of the party and would eventually become President of Guinea-Bissau.

Tributes

Amilcar Cabral International Airport, Cape Verde's principal international airport at Sal, is named in his honor. There is also a football competition, the Amilcar Cabral Cup, in zone 2, named as a tribute to him.

ources

* [http://www.soulafrica.com/lwwcm/connect/Soul+Africa/Home/News+&+Analysis/A+Cabral Soul Africa]
* [http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/humanities/jaffee/historian/1729/sigal/biog.html Sigal, Brad. "Amilcar Cabral and the Revolution in Guinea-Bissau"; City College of New York] . Accessed 17 August 2006.

Further reading

*Bienen, Henry. "State and Revolution: The Work of Amilcar Cabral", "Journal of Modern African Studies," 15 (4): 555–568 (1977).
*Chabal, Patrick. "Amilcar Cabral: Revolutionary Leadership and People's War". New York and Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1983. ISBN 0521249449.
*Chailand, Gérard. "Armed Struggle in Africa: With the Guerrillas in "Portuguese" Guinea". New York: Monthly Review Press, 1969. ISBN 0853451060.
*Dhada, Mustafah. "Warriors at Work"
*McCollester, Charles. "The Political Thought of Amilcar Cabral." "Monthly Review," 24: 10–21 (March 1973).

Films

*Cabral's political thought and role in the liberation of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde is discussed at some length in Chris Marker's film, "Sans Soleil".

External links

* [http://www.africanholocaust.net/news_ah/weaponoftheory.html "The Weapon of Theory", a speech at the Tricontinental Conference in Havana, 1966]
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9018461/Amilcar-Cabral Encyclopaedia Britannica Amilcar Cabral]
* [http://historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/cabralnlac.html "National Liberation and Culture", a speech at Syracuse University in 1970]