Posted
on January 20, 2016
On
this date in 1973, a hero to two nations was assassinated.
Amílcar
Lopes da Costa Cabral was born in Guinea-Bissau, but his parents were
from Cape Verde.
Both of these places were African colonies ruled by
Portugal.
While
Cabral was going to college in Lisbon, Portugal, he started student
movements dedicated to opposing Portugal's colonial rule in Africa.
He believed fervently that the colonies should be liberated,
independent.
Cabral
returned to Africa in the 1950s, when he was in his early 30s, and he
became an important figure in the struggle for independence in both
Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau. He led a guerrilla movement against the
Portuguese. Guerrilla warfare is an “irregular” sort of warfare
with small bands of armed civilians or other not-quite-military
personnel doing ambushes, sabotage, raids, hit-and-run attacks in
order to fight a large, powerful enemy. Guerrilla tactics are common
in order to attack a colonizing or occupying force.
Cabral's
movement is considered one of the most successful wars of
independence in modern African history. This is because:
Cabral
had studied agriculture (to be specific, agronomy), and he was able
to teach his troops better farming techniques that they in turn
could teach to people. That way, the soldiers could not only grow
their own food and live off the land, allowing them to last a long
time, they could help the non-soldiers and win their support for the
movement.
Cabral
set up a trade-and-barter system that made staple goods (the most
important things that people need, such as flour, yams, and eggs)
available to people at lower cost than those goods were sold in
Portuguese-owned stores.
 |
The flag of Guinea-Bissau (above)
and Cape Verde (below). |
Cabral
has been influential among other freedom fighters, particularly
Africans. Unfortunately, he was killed in 1973, eight months before
Guinea Bissau declared independence, and before Cape Verde's 1975
independence. Some people think that Cabral was assassinated by
feuding ethnic groups but possibly with “Lisbon's complicity.”
That means that Portuguese rulers may have known about a plot against
Cabral but didn't do anything to stop it.
What
do you know about these nations?
Decide
if each item below tells about Cape Verde or Guinea-Bissau.
Made
up of 10 volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean.
Located
in West Africa, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
A
very poor nation, depending mostly on agriculture.
One
of the most developed countries in Africa, with an economy based on
services and tourism.
Noted
for being politically unstable, with no elected president yet
serving a full five-year term!
A
stable representative democracy, one of the most democratic nations
in Africa.
Features
an active volcano, extensive salt flats, and ocean cliffs formed by
“catastrophic debris landslides.”
Covered
by mangrove swamps.
Capital
is Bissau.
Capital
is Praia.
Here
are some pictures of the two nations:
 |
| 14. |
ANSWERS:
1-
Cape Verde; 2 - Guinea-Bissau; 3 - Guinea-Bissau; 4 - Cape Verde; 5 -
Guinea-Bissau; 6 - Cape Verde; 7- Cape Verde; 8 - Guinea-Bissau; 9 -
Guinea-Bissau; 10 - Cape Verde; 11 - Guinea-Bissau; 12 - Cape Verde;
13 - Cape Verde; 14 - Guinea-Bissau.
Also
on this date:
Anniversary
of the U.S. patent for the first successful roller coaster
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest pages on:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
10 volcanic islands.
1000s and 1000s of enslaved people passing through from Africa to the Americas. 
