Cabral, Amilcar [key], 1924–73, revolutionary leader of Guinea-Bissau. Returning from Angolan exile (1956), he founded Guinea-Bissau's nationalist movement (PAIGC). By 1959, Portuguese repression prompted Cabral to adopt guerrilla tactics. By 1973 when he was assassinated, the PAIGC controlled half of Portuguese Guinea. When Guinea-Bissau became independent (1974), Cabral's brother, Luis, became president (1974–80). An adept military strategist and shrewd diplomat, Cabral was also a skilled essayist, theorist, and public thinker. His articulation of pan-Africanist solidarity would inspire numerous global freedom struggles.
See A. F. Peterson, Dubois, Fanon, Cabral: The Margins of Elite Anti-colonial Leadership (2007); C. Lopes, ed., Africa's Contemporary Challenges: The Legacy of Amilcar Cabral (2013); R. Rabaka, Concepts of Cabralism: Amilcar Cabral and Africana Critical Theory (2014); P. K. Mendy, Amílcar Cabral: A Nationalist and Pan-Africanist Revolutionary (2019); A. Tomás, Amílcar Cabral: The Life of a Reluctant Nationalist (2021).
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