Amílcar Lopes Cabral (1924-1973) was the father of modern African nationalism in Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands and led Guinea-Bissau's independence movement, which was successful in 1975.

Amílcar Lopes Cabral was born on September 12, 1924, in Bafatá (Guinea-Bissau), on the western coast of Africa. His parents, Juvenal Cabral and Iva Pinhel Évora, were from Santiago, an island in the offshore Cape Verde archipelago. Cabral's parents trained him at home until he was seven, when they sent him to Cape Verde to attend primary and secondary school. An exceptional student, he completed his program in eight years, rather than the normal 11, and scored high enough on his final examinations to continue his studies in Lisbon. These formative years in Cape Verde significantly influenced Cabral's later commitment to the liberation of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, which until 1973 and 1975, respectively, were Portuguese colonies.

Throughout their history...