Amilcar Cabral (1924-1973), father of the independence of Guinea Bissau

Amilcar Cabral was born on September 12, 1924 in Bafata, Guinea Bissau. Her father is from Cape Verde and her mother is Guinean. He did his secondary studies at the Lycée Gil Eanes in Sao Vicente, before leaving for Portugal, where he studied at the Institute of Agronomy in Lisbon until 1952.

In 1949, he created “La Maison d’Afrique” and edited a Hoje e Amanhà newsletter under the name of Arlindo Antonio. He also runs a cultural radio show that will be banned by the Portuguese government. After deciding to return to his country to improve the living conditions of his people, in the 1950s he met his companions in the struggle for the independence of Guinea and Cape Verde.
In 1956, with the help of his half-brother Luiz Cabral, Rafael Barboza and Aristide Perreira, he created an underground organization, the PAIGC (Partido Africano para Indipendencia da Guine e de Cabo Verde), to fight against the Portuguese colonial rule.

In 1963 the armed struggle began in Guinea. Amilcar Cabral fought for 20 years to obtain this independence and make his movement known to the world. In 1972, the United Nations recognized the PAIGC as “true and legitimate representative of the peoples of Guinea and Cape Verde”. Amilcar Cabral was assassinated in Conakry on January 20, 1973 by Mamadou Turé, his comrade in charge of protecting him. The independence of Guinea-Bissau is declared 6 months later.