196 Books: Guinea-Bissau

 Amilcar Cabral by Peter Karibe Mendy

Predictably, Guinea-Bissau is next to Guinea:

Summary:

Amílcar Cabral was an agronomist who led an armed struggle that ended Portuguese colonialism in Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde. The uprising contributed significantly to the collapse of a fascist regime in Lisbon and the dismantlement of Portugal’s empire in Africa. Assassinated by a close associate with the deep complicity of the Portuguese colonial authorities, Cabral not only led one of Africa’s most successful liberation movements, but was the voice and face of the anticolonial wars against Portugal.

A brilliant military strategist and astute diplomat, Cabral was an original thinker who wrote innovative and inspirational essays that still resonate today. His charismatic and visionary leadership, his active pan-Africanist solidarity and internationalist commitment to “every just cause in the world,” remain relevant to contemporary struggles for emancipation and self-determination. Peter Karibe Mendy’s compact and accessible biography is an ideal introduction to his life and legacy.

Man. This one was a chore, and I can't tell you how many times my eyes glazed over. It's a bummer because Cabral's story is actually really interesting; he went from studying how to grow things to dismantling colonialist Portugal's hold in Africa. But it was just so boring in this book. It was written like a textbook and made me think of the history teachers that just drone on and you get nothing out of it. Come on, people, history is exciting and interesting! Stop taking the fun out of it!

I knew I was in for it when the first FOUR AND A HALF PAGES were consumed with abbreviations and acronyms. That's SO MANY and basically impossible to keep track of. Cue eye glaze. Ok, I'll try to bitch less and cut through the bullshit to some of the more interesting bits. 

"Cabral's importance lies in the fact that (i) he competently organized and led one of Africa's most consequential armed liberation struggles, (ii) he skillfully mobilized more than a dozen ethnic groups into a united binationalist cause, (iii) he ably led a successful united front against Portuguese colonialism in Africa, and (iv) he wrote incisive essays and innovative books that still resonate today." See? This guy was a badass, but when you write it like this...oof. Ooops, guess I wasn't finished bitching. 

Here's Cabral's review of the education he received in Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde:

"All Portuguese education disparages the African, his culture and civilization. African languages are forbidden in schools. The white man is always presented as a superior being and the African as an inferior. The colonial 'conquistadors' are shown as saints and heroes. As soon as African children enter into elementary schools, they develop an inferiority complex. They learn to fear the white man and to feel ashamed of being Africans. African geography, history and culture are either ignored or distorted, and children are forced to study Portuguese geography and history instead." 

At least in the US, this is still pretty much how history is taught. The white people are great and came to save the people of color from themselves. The more I read about colonized countries the more astonishing it is. The white people came in (usually because there was something they wanted there), somehow deluded themselves into thinking they were helping the native people, took over, then refused to leave. It's crazy. 

Later on, Cabral went to study in Portugal. This line was funny (but not haha funny): "It is obvious that in the metropole you will not encounter racism so rooted as, let's say, in the United States." I love how half the people in the US think this is the best most amazing place you could be and the rest of the countries are glad they're not as bad as the US. 

Bitching again... "Deeply grief-stricken, he went into self-imposed solitary confinement in his bedroom for several days." Come on, man. I imagine him drinking expensive scotch and smoking a Cuban cigar as he writes this overly complicated, pretentious line. 

Anyway, the gist of it is that the Portuguese came in, basically turned the native people into slaves or indentured servants at best, and of course didn't want to leave. So Cabral mustered the people, and they were good. They managed to out-maneuver the Portuguese military with some help from other Communist countries. This reminded me a bit of the book from Grenada, except with a bit of a happier ending. It also coincided with the book from Guinea, as it was the same time period and the author of that one was in some of the same places. Very interesting. 

I think it's about time to wrap this one up. Cabral is eventually assassinated by a supposed friend, just as he predicted. But, kind of surprisingly, the movement goes on and eventually gets freedom for Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde. "The men and women he inspired went on to defeat Portugal militarily and politically and establish the independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde. But the victory was also consequential beyond the borders of these two countries: its ripple effects contributed significantly to transformative developments in Portugal and the rest of her African colonies."