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The nationalist movement in Cape Verde appeared less fervent than in Portugal's other African holdings. Therefore, when the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was founded in 1956 by Amílcar Cabral and other pan-africanists, it would remain quiet for 3 years, preparing its military resources.
The PAIGC launched its first major activity by instigating a dock-workers strike at the Pijiguiti Docks in the Port of Bissau, Guinea, on August 3. The colonial police (P.I.D.E.) suppressed the strike, opening fire on the striking workers, killing over 50 people. Thjis was the intital point in a 13 year uprising in Portuguese Guinea that pitted 10,000 Soviet bloc-supported PAIGC soldiers against 35,000 Portuguese and African troops, and would eventually lead to independence in Cape Verde and all of Portuguese Africa.
