Dock workers went on strike, seeking higher pay, but a manager called the PIDE, the Portuguese state police, who fired into the crowd, killing at least 25 people.

The government blamed the revolutionary group African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), arresting several of its members.

In the 1950s, the Portuguese conglomerate Companhia União Fabril controlled much of the commerce on the Pijiguiti docks through a subsidiary called Casa Gouveia.

Although the Portuguese colonial government had enacted a number of reforms in these years to try and quell the growing anti-colonial and pro-independence sentiments in the region, low wages and poor working conditions still served as catalysts for social unrest.

[3] Preparations for another strike were organized in late July 1959, with workers meeting under the quay palm trees to discuss the specifics.

On the morning of 3 August, the dock-workers were set to meet with Antonio Carreira, the manager of Casa Gouveia, to negotiate their wage increase.

[5] The authorities blamed the PAIGC of fomenting discontent among the workers, and the party's supporters had to rethink long range strategies for achieving their goals.