1973 — The Assassination of Amílcar Cabral

On the night of January 20, 1973, Amílcar Cabral, founder and leader of the PAIGC liberation movement, was shot dead outside his home in Conakry, Guinea. The men who killed him came from within his own movement. By then, his guerrillas controlled two-thirds of Guinea-Bissau, and full independence was eight months away.

The agronomist and poet's writings on culture and resistance influenced liberation movements worldwide, long outliving the gunmen. The shockwaves of his assassination helped crack Portugal's own dictatorship, toppled the following year in the 1974 Carnation Revolution. In 2024, his remains were moved to the Fort of São José da Amura, as Guinea-Bissau continues to honor his name.