History of Cape Verde Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau). This largesse ultimately backfired on the Portuguese, however, as literate Cape Verdeans became aware of the pressures for independence building on the mainland, while the islands continued suffering from frequent drought and famine, at times from epidemic diseases and volcanic eruptions, and the Portuguese government did nothing. Thousands of people died of starvation during the first half of the 20th century. Although the nationalist movement appeared less fervent in Cape Verde than in Portugal's other African holdings, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC, acronym for the Portuguese "Partido Africano da Independência
National Assembly (Cape Verde) by the Assembly on 12 February 1981. That same year the Cape Verdean branch of the PAIGC, which was also the ruling party in Guinea-Bissau, was renamed African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). Elections for an enlarged 83-seat National People's Assembly took place on 7 December 1985. For the first time a few independent, PAICV-endorsed candidates won seats in the legislature. In 1990, Cape Verde became one of the first African countries to abandon one-party rule and embrace multiparty democracy. The first multiparty National Assembly elections took place on 13 January 1991. The ruling PAICV was soundly