The struggle for independence

In 1956, Amílcar Cabral and fellow activists founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). The project linked both Portuguese territories in one anti-colonial struggle, despite their different geographic and military situations.

The liberation war took place mainly in Portuguese Guinea. In Cabo Verde, political action, clandestine organisation, mobilisation and colonial repression shaped the struggle. The Tarrafal camp, opened on Santiago by the Portuguese dictatorship in 1936, remains a major memorial site of that repression.

After Amílcar Cabral was assassinated in January 1973, the movement continued. Portugal’s Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974 overthrew the dictatorship and opened decolonisation talks. An agreement signed in December 1974 organised the transition to independence.