Amilcar Cabral: The Life of a Reluctant Nationalist

Amílcar Cabral, a Bissau-Guinean revolutionary, was assassinated by his own party members on January 20, 1973. Despite this, Portuguese Guinea became the independent Republic of Guinea-Bissau. Cabral's assassination led to the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, which toppled the forty-year-old authoritarian regime and paved the way for the rest of Portugal's African colonies to achieve independence. This biography, written by a native of Angola, narrates Cabral's revolutionary trajectory and explores the challenges of national liberation in Lusophone Africa.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 272 pages
\n Publication date: 29 April 2021
\n Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
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Amílcar Cabral, a revolutionary from Bissau-Guinea, tragically met his end at the hands of militants within his own party on January 20, 1973. Cabral, who founded the PAIGC in 1960, was driven by a noble mission to fight for the liberation of Portuguese Guinea and Cape Verde. However, the insurgents who carried out the assassination were fellow Bissau-Guineans, driven by a desire to rid the party elite of Cape Verdeans who held influential positions.

Despite the assassination of Cabral, Portuguese Guinea achieved independence and became the Republic of Guinea-Bissau. The guerrilla war that Cabral initiated and led set in motion a series of events that culminated in the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon. This revolution brought down the forty-year-old authoritarian regime, paving the way for the rest of Portugal's African colonies to gain independence.

Written by a native of Angola, this biography delves into the revolutionary trajectory of Amílcar Cabral, encompassing his early life in Portuguese Guinea and his untimely demise at the hands of his own men. It sheds light on his unwavering quest for national sovereignty, navigating the complex challenges posed by ethnic-based identity conflicts that plagued the national liberation movement. Through the lens of Cabral's life, António Tomás offers a critical reflection on prevailing ways of thinking and writing about the independence of Lusophone Africa.

\n Weight: 494g\n
Dimension: 148 x 224 x 32 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781787381445\n \n