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
Architecture of Cape Verde people used before independence. The first 500 years would have mainly Portuguese elements in its architecture and continued until the independence of Cape Verde in 1975. When the city of Ribeira Grande (now Cidade Velha) was enlarged in its early years in the 1450s, in the 1490s and the start of the 15th century, Manueline architecture would be featured in its buildings. Some of its styles survived in some buildings in São Filipe. The town's pillory (not a building) is one example, the other was Nossa Senhora do Rosário church, the world's first colonial church and the Sé Cathedral. After