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
African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde The African Party of Independence of Cape Verde () is a former socialist party and currently a social-democratic political party in Cape Verde. Its members are nicknamed “os tambarinas” in Portuguese (the tamarinds), and they identify themselves with the color yellow. In 1956, its forerunner, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), was founded by the Bissau-Guinean nationalist leader Amílcar Cabral. PAIGC fought to overthrow the Portuguese Empire, unify Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau, and use its vanguardism to advance socialist revolution. From 1961 on, the PAIGC fought