.gif)
Angola (Portugal)
Encyclopedia
Angola is the common name by which the Portuguese colony in southwestern Africa was known across different periods of time. The former colony became an independent country in 1975 and now forms the Republic of Angola
.
, in 1575, until the decolonization of the territory in 1975. During these four centuries, several entirely different situations have to be distinguished.
When a Portuguese explorer reached the Kongo Kingdom at the end of the 15th century, Angola as such did not exist; on its present territory, a number of independent peoples were living, some of them organized in political units ("kingdoms") of variable size. At first, territorial conquest was out of the question for the Portuguese; they were interested in trade, mainly slave trade. They thus maintained a peaceful and mutually profitable relationship with the rulers and dominant social segment of the Kongo Kingdom, whom they cristianized and taught reading and writing in Portuguese, allowing them a share of the benefits from the slave trade. They established small trading posts on the lower Kongo River
, which now belongs to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
, and a more importante trading settlement on the Atlantic coast, at Soyo
which then belonged to the Kongo Kingdom and is today Angola's nothernmost town.
From 1580 to the 1820s, well over a million people from current-day Angola were exported as slaves to the so-called New World
, mainly to Brazil
which demanded the most part of black African slaves from Angola, but also to North America where slaves were also usual workforce supply.Kingdom of Portugal
sailors, explorers, soldiers and merchants had historically began a process of conquest and establishment of military and trading outposts in Africa with the conquest of Muslim-ruled Ceuta in 1415 and the establishment of bases in current-day Morocco
and the Gulf of Guinea
. The Portuguese had catholic
beliefs and their exploratory and military expeditions included from the very beginning evangelization
of foreign peoples. Local African societies were varied, mostly relying on agriculture and trade. Those societies included a multiplicity of ethnicities and forms of political organization, social structure and religious beliefs which varied from region to region. One of the most powerful political unit in the region was that of the Kongo Kingdom.
Portugal defeated the Kongo Kingdom in the Battle of Mbwila
on October 29, 1665, but suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Kitombo
when they tried to invade Kongo in 1670. Full Portuguese administrative control of the interior was not achieved until the beginning of the 18th century. However, the coastal regions, including fortified Portuguese towns like those of Luanda
(established in 1575 with 400 Portuguese settlers) and Benguela
(a fort from 1587, a town from 1617) remained almost continuously in Portuguese hands until the independence of Angola in 1975.
In 1884 Britain
, which up to that time refused not acknowledged that Portugal possessed territorial rights north of Ambriz, concluded a treaty recognizing Portuguese sovereignty over both banks of the lower Congo, but the treaty, meeting with opposition there and Germany
, was not ratified. Agreements concluded with the Congo Free State
, the German Empire
and France
in 1885-1886 fixed the limits of the province, except in the south-east, where the frontier between Barotseland
(north-west Rhodesia
) and Angola was determined by an Anglo-Portuguese agreement of 1891 and the arbitration award of the King of Italy
in 1905.
During the Portuguese’s colonial rule of Angola, cities, towns and trade-posts were founded, railroads were opened, ports built, and a Westernized society was being gradually developed, despite the fact of a deep traditional tribal heritage in Angola which the minority European rulers were neither willing nor interested to eradicate. Since the 1920s, Portugal's administration showed an increasing interest in developing Angola's economy and social infrustructure.
In 1951, the Portuguese Colony of Angola became an Overseas Province of Portugal. In the late 1950s the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) began to organize strategies and action plans to fight Portuguese rule as well as the remunerated forced labor system which affected many of the native black people from the countryside that were relocated from their homes and had to perform compulsory work, almost always unskilled hard work, in an environment of economic boom. Organized guerrilla warfare
began in 1961, the same year that a law was passed to end every sort of forced labor. The conflict, conversibly known as the Colonial War or the War of Liberation
, erupted in the north of the territory when UPA rebels based in Republic of the Congo
, massacred civilians in surprise attacks. The military effective in Angola were composed by about 40,000 men (20% white and 80% black). After these events the Portuguese Government under the dictatorial Estado Novo regime of António de Oliveira Salazar
, sent thousands of troops from Europe in order to perform counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations, but, despite an overall military superiority of the Portuguese Army in the Angolan theatre, the independence guerrilla movements
were never eradicated. In 1972, the Portuguese National Assembly
wanting to grant Angola its independence, formed a coalition government (GREA) with the liberation movements, and thus effectively changing Angola's status from an overseas province to an “autonomous state” with authority over internal affairs; Portugal was to retain responsibility for defense and foreign relations. In April 1974, the Portuguese government was overthrown in a military uprising in Lisbon
. In May of that year the new revolutionary government of Portugal proclaimed a truce with the guerrillas in an effort to promote peace talks and independence.
These events prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens, both black and white, from Portugal's African territories, creating over a million destitute Portuguese refugee
s — the retornados. Angola gained its independence on 11 November 1975.
The government of Angola, as it was in Portugal, was highly centralized. Power was concentrated in the executive branch, and all elections where they occurred were carried out using indirect methods. From the Prime Minister's office in Lisbon, authority extended down to the most remote posts of Angola through a rigid chain of command. The authority of the government of Angola was residual, primarily limited to implementing policies already decided in Europe. In 1967, Angola also sent a number of delegates to the National Assembly
in Lisbon.
The highest official in the province was the governor-general, appointed by the Portuguese cabinet on recommendation of the Overseas Minister. The governor-general had both executive and legislative authority. A Government Council advised the governor-general in the running of the province. The functional cabinet consisted of five secretaries appointed by the Overseas Minister on the advice of the governor. A Legislative Council had limited powers and its main activity was approving the provincial budget. Finally, an Economic and Social Council had to be consulted on all draft legislation, and the governor-general had to justify his decision to Lisbon if he ignored its advice.
In 1972, the Portuguese National Assembly changed Angola's status from an overseas province to an “autonomous state” with authority over internal affairs; Portugal was to retain responsibility for defense and foreign relations. Elections were held in Angola for a legislative assembly in 1973.
and Spain
put together. It had 5,198 km of terrestrial borders and a coastline with 1,600 km. Its geography was diverse. From the coastal plain, ranging in width from 25 kilometres in the south to 100-200 kilometers in the north, the land rises in stages towards the high inland plateau covering almost two-thirds of the country, with an average altitude of between 1,200 and 1,600 metres. Angola's two highest peaks were located in these central highlands. They were Moco Mountain (2,620 m) and Meco Mountain (2,538 m).
Most of Angola’s rivers rose in the central mountains. Of the many rivers that drain to the Atlantic Ocean, the Cuanza
and Cunene
were the most important. Other major streams included the Kwango River
, which drains north to the Congo River
system, and the Kwando and Cubango Rivers, both of which drain generally southeast to the Okavango Delta
. As the land drops from the plateau, many rapids and waterfalls plunge downward in the rivers. Portuguese Angola had no sizable lakes, besides those formed by dams and reservoirs built by the Portuguese administration.
The Portuguese authorities established several national parks and natural reserves across the territory: Bicauri
, Cameia
, Cangandala
, Iona
, Mupa
, Namibe
and Quiçama
. Iona was Angola's oldest and largest national park, it was proclaimed as a reserve in 1937 and upgraded to a national park in 1964.
Angola was indeed a territory that underwent a great deal of progress after 1950. The Portuguese government built dams, roads, schools, etc. There was also an economic boom that led to a huge increase of the European population. The white population increased from 44,083 in 1940 to 172,529 in 1960. With around 1,000 immigrants arriving each month. On the eve of the end of the colonial period, the ethnic European residents numbered 400,000 (1974) (excluding enlisted and commissioned soldiers from the mainland) and the mixed race population was at around 100,000 (many were Cape Verdian migrants working in the territory). The total population was around 5.9 million at that time.
Luanda
grew from a town of 61,208 with 14.6% of those inhabitants being white in 1940, to a major cosmopolitan city of 475,328 in 1970 with 124,814 Europeans (26.3%) and around 50,000 mixed race inhabitants. Most of the other large cities in Angola had around the same ratio of Europeans at the time, with the exception of Sá da Bandeira (Lubango
), Moçâmedes (Namibe
) and Porto Alexandre (Tombua) in the south where the white population was more established. All of these cities had European majorities from 50% to 60%.
The capital of the territory was Luanda, officially called São Paulo de Luanda. Other cities and towns were:
The exclave of Cabinda
was to the north.
explorers and settlers had founded trading posts and forts along the coast of Africa
since the 15th century, and reached the Angolan coast in the 16th century. Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais
founded Luanda in 1575 as "São Paulo de Loanda", and the region developed as a slave trade
market with the help of local Imbangala
and Mbundu
peoples who were notable slave hunters
. Trade was mostly with the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the so called "New World
"; Brazilian ships were the most numerous in the ports of Luanda and Benguela. By this time, Angola, a Portuguese colony, was in fact like a colony of Brazil, another Portuguese colony. A strong Brazilian influence was also exercised by the Jesuits in religion and education.
War gradually gave way to the philosophy of trade. The great trade routes and the agreements that made them possible were the driving force for activities between the different areas; warlike states become states ready to produce and to sell. In the Planalto (the high plains), the most important states were those of Bié
and Bailundo
, the latter being noted for its production of foodstuffs and rubber. The colonial power, Portugal, becoming ever richer and more powerful, would not tolerate the growth of these neighbouring states and subjugated them one by one, so that by the beginning of this century the Portuguese had complete control over the entire area. During the period of the Iberian Union
(1580-1640), Portugal lost influence and power and made new enemies. The Dutch
, a major enemy of Castile
, invaded many Portuguese overseas possessions, including Luanda. The Dutch ruled Luanda from 1640 to 1648 as Fort Aardenburgh. They were seeking black slaves for use in sugarcane
plantations of Northeastern Brazil
(Pernambuco
, Olinda
, Recife
) which they had also seized from Portugal. John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, conquered the Portuguese possessions of Saint George del Mina
, Saint Thomas, and Luanda, Angola, on the west coast of Africa. After the dissolution of the Iberian Union in 1640, Portugal reestablished its authority over the lost territories of the Portuguese Empire
.
The Portuguese started to develop townships, trading posts, logging camps and small processing factories. From 1764 onwards, there was a gradual change from a slave-based society
to one based on production for domestic consumption and export. Meanwhile, with the independence of Brazil in 1822, the slave trade was abolished in 1836, and in 1844 Angola's ports were opened to foreign shipping. By 1850, Luanda was one of the greatest and most developed Portuguese cities in the vast Portuguese Empire outside Mainland Portugal, full of trading companies, exporting (together with Benguela
) palm and peanut oil, wax, copal, timber, ivory, cotton, coffee, and cocoa, among many other products. Maize, tobacco, dried meat and cassava flour also began to be produced locally. The Angolan bourgeoisie was born. From the 1920s to the 1960s, strong economic growth, abundant natural resources and development of infrastruture, led to the arrival of even more Portuguese settlers from the metropole
.
Diamond
mining began in 1912, when the first gems were discovered by Portuguese prospectors in a stream of the Lunda region, in the northeast. In 1917 Diamang was granted the concession for diamond mining and prospecting in Portuguese Angola. From the mid-1950s until 1974, iron ore was mined in Malanje
, Bié
, Huambo
, and Huíla
provinces, and production reached an average of 5.7 million tons per year between 1970 and 1974. Most of the iron ore was shipped to Japan
, West Germany
, and the United Kingdom
, and earned almost US$50 million a year in export revenue. During 1966-67 a major iron ore terminal was built by the Portuguese at Saco, the bay just 12 km North of Moçâmedes
(Namibe). The client was the Compania Mineira do Lobito, the Lobito Mining Company, which developed an iron ore mine inland at Cassinga
. The construction of the mine installations and a 300 km railway were commissioned to Krupp
of Germany and the modern harbour terminal to SETH, a Portuguese company owned by Hojgaard & Schultz of Denmark. The small fishing town of Moçâmedes hosted construction workers, foreign engineers and their families for 2 years. The Ore Terminal was completed on time within one year and the first 250,000 ton ore carrier docked and loaded with ore in 1967. The Portuguese discovered petroleum
in Angola in 1955. Production began in the Cuanza basin in the 1950s, in the Congo basin
in the 1960s, and in the exclave of Cabinda
in 1968. The Portuguese government granted operating rights for Block Zero to the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco, in 1955. Oil production surpassed the exportation of coffee
as Angola's largest export in 1973.
By the early 1970s, a variety of crops and livestock were produced in Portuguese Angola. In the north, cassava
, coffee
, and cotton
were grown; in the central highlands, maize
was cultivated; and in the south, where rainfall is lowest, cattle herding was prevalent. In addition, there were large plantations run by Portuguese that produced palm oil
, sugarcane
, banana
s, and sisal
. These crops were grown by commercial farmers, primarily Portuguese, and by peasant farmers, who sold some of their surplus to local Portuguese traders in exchange for supplies. The commercial farmers were dominant in marketing these crops, however, and enjoyed substantial support from the overseas province's Portuguese government in the form of technical assistance
, irrigation facilities, and financial credit. They produced the great majority of the crops that were marketed in Angola's urban centres or exported for several countries.
Fishing in Portuguese Angola was a major and growing industry. In the early 1970s, there were about 700 fishing boats, and the annual catch was more than 300,000 tons. Including the catch of foreign fishing fleets in Angolan waters, the combined annual catch was estimated at over 1 million tons. The Portuguese territory of Angola was a net exporter of fish products, and the ports of Moçâmedes
, Luanda
and Benguela
were among the most important fishing harbous in the region.
, most were not even able to speak Portuguese
and did not have knowledge of Portuguese culture and history
. Until the 1950s, educational facilities run by the Portuguese colonial government were largely restricted to the urban areas. Responsibility for educating rural Africans were commissioned by the authorities to several Roman Catholic
and Protestant
missions based across the vast countryside, which taught black Africans in Portuguese language and culture. As a consequence, each of the missions established its own school system, although all were subject to ultimate control and support by the Portuguese.
In mainland Portugal, the homeland of the colonial authorities who ruled in the territory from the 16th century until 1975, by the end of the 19th century the illiteracy rates were at over 80 percent and higher education was reserved for a small percentage of the population. 68.1 percent of mainland Portugal's population was still classified as illiterate by the 1930 census. Mainland Portugal's literacy rate by the 1940s and early 1950s was low by North America
n and Western Europe
an standards at the time. Only in the 1960s did the country make public education available for all children between the ages of six and twelve, and the overseas territories profited from this new educational developments and change in policy at Lisbon
.
Starting in the early 1950s, the access to basic, secondary and technical education was expanded and its availability was being increasingly opened to both the African indigenes and the ethnic Portuguese of the territories. Education beyond the primary
level became available to an increasing number of black Africans since the 1950s, and the proportion of the age group that went on to secondary school
in the early 1970s was an all-time record high enrolment. Primary school attendance was also growing substantially. In general, the quality of teaching at the primary level was acceptable, even with instruction carried on largely by black Africans who sometimes had substandard qualifications. Most secondary school teachers were ethnically Portuguese, especially in the urban centers.
Two state-run university institutions were founded in Portuguese Africa in 1962 by the Portuguese Ministry of the Overseas Provinces headed by Adriano Moreira
- the Estudos Gerais Universitários de Angola in Portuguese Angola and the Estudos Gerais Universitários de Moçambique in Portuguese Mozambique - awarding a wide range of degrees from engineering to medicine. In the 1960s, the Portuguese mainland had four public universities, two of them in Lisbon (which compares with the 14 Portuguese public universities today). In 1968, the Estudos Gerais Universitários de Angola was renamed Universidade de Luanda (University of Luanda).
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
.
History
The colonial history of Angola lasted from the foundation of a Portuguese settlement in what today is LuandaLuanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
, in 1575, until the decolonization of the territory in 1975. During these four centuries, several entirely different situations have to be distinguished.
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
, which now belongs to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, and a more importante trading settlement on the Atlantic coast, at Soyo
Soyo
Soyo is a city located in the province of Zaire in Angola. Soyo recently became the largest oil-producing region in the country, with an estimate of .-Early history:...
which then belonged to the Kongo Kingdom and is today Angola's nothernmost town.
From 1580 to the 1820s, well over a million people from current-day Angola were exported as slaves to the so-called New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, mainly to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
which demanded the most part of black African slaves from Angola, but also to North America where slaves were also usual workforce supply.Kingdom of Portugal
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
sailors, explorers, soldiers and merchants had historically began a process of conquest and establishment of military and trading outposts in Africa with the conquest of Muslim-ruled Ceuta in 1415 and the establishment of bases in current-day Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf....
. The Portuguese had catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
beliefs and their exploratory and military expeditions included from the very beginning evangelization
Evangelization
Evangelization is that process in the Christian religion which seeks to spread the Gospel and the knowledge of the Gospel throughout the world. It can be defined as so:-The birth of Christian evangelization:...
of foreign peoples. Local African societies were varied, mostly relying on agriculture and trade. Those societies included a multiplicity of ethnicities and forms of political organization, social structure and religious beliefs which varied from region to region. One of the most powerful political unit in the region was that of the Kongo Kingdom.
Portugal defeated the Kongo Kingdom in the Battle of Mbwila
Battle of Mbwila
At the Battle of Mbwila on October 29, 1665, Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitated king António I of Kongo, also called Nvita a Nkanga.-Origins of the War:...
on October 29, 1665, but suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Kitombo
Battle of Kitombo
The Battle of Kitombo was a military engagement between forces of the BaKongo state of Soyo, formerly a province of the Kingdom of Kongo, and the Portuguese colony of Angola.-Pre-Battle Situation:...
when they tried to invade Kongo in 1670. Full Portuguese administrative control of the interior was not achieved until the beginning of the 18th century. However, the coastal regions, including fortified Portuguese towns like those of Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
(established in 1575 with 400 Portuguese settlers) and Benguela
Benguela
Benguela is a city in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name, in 12° 33’ S., 13° 25’ E...
(a fort from 1587, a town from 1617) remained almost continuously in Portuguese hands until the independence of Angola in 1975.
In 1884 Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, which up to that time refused not acknowledged that Portugal possessed territorial rights north of Ambriz, concluded a treaty recognizing Portuguese sovereignty over both banks of the lower Congo, but the treaty, meeting with opposition there and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, was not ratified. Agreements concluded with the Congo Free State
Congo Free State
The Congo Free State was a large area in Central Africa which was privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Its origins lay in Leopold's attracting scientific, and humanitarian backing for a non-governmental organization, the Association internationale africaine...
, the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
and France
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
in 1885-1886 fixed the limits of the province, except in the south-east, where the frontier between Barotseland
Barotseland
Barotseland is a region in the western part of Zambia, and is the homeland of the Lozi people or Barotse who were previously known as Luyi or Aluyi. Its heartland is the Barotse Floodplain on the upper Zambezi River, also known as Bulozi or Lyondo, but it includes the surrounding higher ground of...
(north-west Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
) and Angola was determined by an Anglo-Portuguese agreement of 1891 and the arbitration award of the King of Italy
King of Italy
King of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
in 1905.
During the Portuguese’s colonial rule of Angola, cities, towns and trade-posts were founded, railroads were opened, ports built, and a Westernized society was being gradually developed, despite the fact of a deep traditional tribal heritage in Angola which the minority European rulers were neither willing nor interested to eradicate. Since the 1920s, Portugal's administration showed an increasing interest in developing Angola's economy and social infrustructure.
In 1951, the Portuguese Colony of Angola became an Overseas Province of Portugal. In the late 1950s the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) began to organize strategies and action plans to fight Portuguese rule as well as the remunerated forced labor system which affected many of the native black people from the countryside that were relocated from their homes and had to perform compulsory work, almost always unskilled hard work, in an environment of economic boom. Organized guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
began in 1961, the same year that a law was passed to end every sort of forced labor. The conflict, conversibly known as the Colonial War or the War of Liberation
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War , also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974, when the Portuguese regime was...
, erupted in the north of the territory when UPA rebels based in Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...
, massacred civilians in surprise attacks. The military effective in Angola were composed by about 40,000 men (20% white and 80% black). After these events the Portuguese Government under the dictatorial Estado Novo regime of António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
, sent thousands of troops from Europe in order to perform counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations, but, despite an overall military superiority of the Portuguese Army in the Angolan theatre, the independence guerrilla movements
African independence movements
The African Independence Movements took place in the 20th century, when a wave of struggles for independence in European-ruled African territories were witnessed....
were never eradicated. In 1972, the Portuguese National Assembly
Assembly of the Republic
The Assembly of the Republic is the Portuguese parliament. It is located in a historical building in Lisbon, referred to as Palácio de São Bento, the site of an old Benedictine monastery...
wanting to grant Angola its independence, formed a coalition government (GREA) with the liberation movements, and thus effectively changing Angola's status from an overseas province to an “autonomous state” with authority over internal affairs; Portugal was to retain responsibility for defense and foreign relations. In April 1974, the Portuguese government was overthrown in a military uprising in Lisbon
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
. In May of that year the new revolutionary government of Portugal proclaimed a truce with the guerrillas in an effort to promote peace talks and independence.
These events prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens, both black and white, from Portugal's African territories, creating over a million destitute Portuguese refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s — the retornados. Angola gained its independence on 11 November 1975.
Government
In the 20th century, Portuguese Angola was subject to the Estado Novo regime. In 1951, the Portuguese authorities changed the statute of the territory from Colony to an Overseas Province of Portugal. Legally, the territory was as much a part of Portugal as Lisbon but as an overseas province enjoyed special derogations to account for its distance from Europe. Most members of the government of Angola were from Portugal, but a few were Africans. Nearly all members of the bureaucracy were from Portugal, as most Africans did not have the necessary qualifications to obtain positions.The government of Angola, as it was in Portugal, was highly centralized. Power was concentrated in the executive branch, and all elections where they occurred were carried out using indirect methods. From the Prime Minister's office in Lisbon, authority extended down to the most remote posts of Angola through a rigid chain of command. The authority of the government of Angola was residual, primarily limited to implementing policies already decided in Europe. In 1967, Angola also sent a number of delegates to the National Assembly
Assembly of the Republic
The Assembly of the Republic is the Portuguese parliament. It is located in a historical building in Lisbon, referred to as Palácio de São Bento, the site of an old Benedictine monastery...
in Lisbon.
The highest official in the province was the governor-general, appointed by the Portuguese cabinet on recommendation of the Overseas Minister. The governor-general had both executive and legislative authority. A Government Council advised the governor-general in the running of the province. The functional cabinet consisted of five secretaries appointed by the Overseas Minister on the advice of the governor. A Legislative Council had limited powers and its main activity was approving the provincial budget. Finally, an Economic and Social Council had to be consulted on all draft legislation, and the governor-general had to justify his decision to Lisbon if he ignored its advice.
In 1972, the Portuguese National Assembly changed Angola's status from an overseas province to an “autonomous state” with authority over internal affairs; Portugal was to retain responsibility for defense and foreign relations. Elections were held in Angola for a legislative assembly in 1973.
Geography
Portuguese Angola was a territory covering 1,246,700 km², an area greater than FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
put together. It had 5,198 km of terrestrial borders and a coastline with 1,600 km. Its geography was diverse. From the coastal plain, ranging in width from 25 kilometres in the south to 100-200 kilometers in the north, the land rises in stages towards the high inland plateau covering almost two-thirds of the country, with an average altitude of between 1,200 and 1,600 metres. Angola's two highest peaks were located in these central highlands. They were Moco Mountain (2,620 m) and Meco Mountain (2,538 m).
Most of Angola’s rivers rose in the central mountains. Of the many rivers that drain to the Atlantic Ocean, the Cuanza
Cuanza River
The Cuanza River is a river in Angola. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean just south of the nation's capital, Luanda....
and Cunene
Cunene River
The Cunene River or Kunene River is a river in Southern Africa. It flows from the Angola highlands south to the border with Namibia. It then flows west along the border until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the few perennial rivers in the region. It is about long, with a drainage...
were the most important. Other major streams included the Kwango River
Kwango River
The Cuango or Kwango is a transboundary river of Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the largest left bank tributary of the Kasai River in the Congo River basin. It flows through Malanje town in Angola...
, which drains north to the Congo River
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
system, and the Kwando and Cubango Rivers, both of which drain generally southeast to the Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta , in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea...
. As the land drops from the plateau, many rapids and waterfalls plunge downward in the rivers. Portuguese Angola had no sizable lakes, besides those formed by dams and reservoirs built by the Portuguese administration.
The Portuguese authorities established several national parks and natural reserves across the territory: Bicauri
Bicauri National Park
Bicauri National Park is a national park in Angola....
, Cameia
Cameia National Park
Cameia National Park is a national park in the Moxico province of Angola, located at about 1100 m above sea level. It shares its name with the nearby municipality of Cameia. The Cameia–Luacano road forms the northern boundary of the park with the Chifumage River forming the southern portion of the...
, Cangandala
Cangandala National Park
Cangandala National Park is a national park in Malanje Province, Angola. It is situated between the Cuije river and 2 unnamed territories of the Cuanza, with the towns of Culamagia and Techongolola on the edges of the park. It is the smallest national park in Angola.-History:The park was created in...
, Iona
Iona National Park
Iona National Park is a National park in Namibe Province of Angola. It is about 200 km from the city of Namibe and, at 5850 sq. miles, the largest in the country. Before the independence of Angola and the Angolan Civil War, Iona was an "animal paradise, rich in big game"...
, Mupa
Mupa National Park
Mupa National Park is a National Park in Angola's Cunene province. It was proclaimed a National Park on 26 December 1964 while Angola was a Portuguese territory....
, Namibe
Namibie Partial Reserve
Namibie Partial Reserve is a protected area in Angola, located to the north of Iona National Park, and separated by a narrow strip of occupied land along the Curoca River...
and Quiçama
Quiçama National Park
Quiçama National Park, also known as Kissama National Park , is a national park in northwestern Angola....
. Iona was Angola's oldest and largest national park, it was proclaimed as a reserve in 1937 and upgraded to a national park in 1964.
Angola was indeed a territory that underwent a great deal of progress after 1950. The Portuguese government built dams, roads, schools, etc. There was also an economic boom that led to a huge increase of the European population. The white population increased from 44,083 in 1940 to 172,529 in 1960. With around 1,000 immigrants arriving each month. On the eve of the end of the colonial period, the ethnic European residents numbered 400,000 (1974) (excluding enlisted and commissioned soldiers from the mainland) and the mixed race population was at around 100,000 (many were Cape Verdian migrants working in the territory). The total population was around 5.9 million at that time.
Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
grew from a town of 61,208 with 14.6% of those inhabitants being white in 1940, to a major cosmopolitan city of 475,328 in 1970 with 124,814 Europeans (26.3%) and around 50,000 mixed race inhabitants. Most of the other large cities in Angola had around the same ratio of Europeans at the time, with the exception of Sá da Bandeira (Lubango
Lubango
Lubango is the capital city of the Angolan province of Huíla. Its last known population was 100,757. Until 1975, the city's official name was Sá da Bandeira.-Portuguese rule:...
), Moçâmedes (Namibe
Namibe
Namibe is the capital city of Namibe Province in Angola. It is a coastal desert city located in southwestern Angola and was founded in 1840 by the Portuguese rulers of the territory. The city's current population is 132,900...
) and Porto Alexandre (Tombua) in the south where the white population was more established. All of these cities had European majorities from 50% to 60%.
The capital of the territory was Luanda, officially called São Paulo de Luanda. Other cities and towns were:
- Porto Amboim
- Vila Teixeira da SilvaBailundoBailundo is a municipality and town in Huambo Province in the central highlands of Angola.In the 1990s, Bailundo was the location of the headquarters of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi....
- São Felipe de BenguelaBenguelaBenguela is a city in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name, in 12° 33’ S., 13° 25’ E...
- Vila Robert WilliamsCaálaCaála is a town located in Huambo Province in Angola. It was known as Robert Williams town while Angola was a Portuguese colony, after the famous railroad developer and mining magnate, Sir Robert Williams. The town's last known population count was 22,010....
- Duque de BragançaCalandulaCalandula is a town and municipality in Malanje Province in Angola....
- Vila General MachadoCamacupaCamacupa is a town and municipality in Bié Province in Angola.It lies on the Central Railway of Angola which heads inland from the port of Benguela.- External links :*...
- Vila João de AlmeidaChibiaChibia is a town and municipality in Huíla Province in Angola.It is served by a station on the southern network of the national railway network....
- Vila Mariano MachadoGanda, AngolaGanda is a town and municipality in Benguela Province in Angola.It lies on the central line of Angolan Railways where there is a junction....
- Nova LisboaHuamboHuambo, formerly Nova Lisboa , is the capital of Huambo province in Angola. The city is located about 220 km E from Benguela and 600 km SE from Luanda. The city's last known population count was 225,268...
- Silva PortoKuitoKuito is a city located in central Angola. It is the administrative capital of Bié Province. Under Portuguese rule until 1975, it was called Silva Porto. Kuito was under siege in 1993/94 and again in 1998/99 by the rebel forces from UNITA...
- Vila da PonteKuvangoKuvango or Cuvango is a town and municipality in Huíla Province in Angola.It is served by a station on the southern line of the national railway system....
- LobitoLobitoLobito is a town and municipality in Benguela Province in Angola.It dates from 1905 and owes its existence to the bay of the same name having been chosen as the sea terminus of the Benguela railway to the far interior, passing through Luau to Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The...
- Sá da BandeiraLubangoLubango is the capital city of the Angolan province of Huíla. Its last known population was 100,757. Until 1975, the city's official name was Sá da Bandeira.-Portuguese rule:...
- Vila LusoLuenaLuena can refer to:*Luena, Moxico Province, Angola, the Luena River, Angola which rises near it, and the Luena people, and ethnic group in the area*Luena River, the name of several rivers in south-central Africa*Luena, Cantabria, Spain...
- MalanjeMalanjeMalanje is the capital city of Malanje Province in Angola with a population of approximately 222,000. Nearby is the spectacular Calandula waterfalls, 85 km from the city. These falls are 105 metres high and their great width makes them the main tourist attraction in the region. It is a...
- Forte RepúblicaMassangoMassango is a town and municipality in Malanje Province in Angola....
- São Salvador do Congo
- Serpa PintoMenongueMenongue is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango Province in Angola.It is the terminus of the southern railway from Namibe.-History:Menongue, formerly Serpa Pinto, was originally named for Alexandre Alberto da Rocha de Serpa Pinto, a late 19th-century Portuguese explorer of the interior of...
- MoçâmedesNamibeNamibe is the capital city of Namibe Province in Angola. It is a coastal desert city located in southwestern Angola and was founded in 1840 by the Portuguese rulers of the territory. The city's current population is 132,900...
- Vila SalazarN'dalatandoN'dalatando is a town and municipality and capital of Cuanza Norte Province in Angola.It is served by a station on the northern railway of Angolan Railways....
- Vila Pereira d'Eça
- Vila Henrique de CarvalhoSaurimoSaurimo is the capital of the Lunda Sul province of Angola, Saurimo has a population of approximately 200,000...
- Santo António do ZaireSoyoSoyo is a city located in the province of Zaire in Angola. Soyo recently became the largest oil-producing region in the country, with an estimate of .-Early history:...
- Novo RedondoSumbeSumbe is a city located in west central Angola. It is the administrative capital of Cuanza Sul Province. Its population counts about 26,000....
- Porto Alexandre
- CarmonaUígeUíge is a provincial capital city in northwestern Angola located in the province of the same name. It grew from a small market centre in 1945 to becoming a city in 1956.-Name:...
The exclave of Cabinda
Cabinda (province)
Cabinda is an exclave and province of Angola, a status that has been disputed by many political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda. The province is divided into four municipalities - Belize, Buco Zau, Cabinda and Cacongo.Modern Cabinda is the result of a fusion...
was to the north.
Economy
PortugueseKingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
explorers and settlers had founded trading posts and forts along the coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
since the 15th century, and reached the Angolan coast in the 16th century. Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais
Paulo Dias de Novais
Paulo Dias de Novais , a nobleman of the Royal Household, was a Portuguese colonizer of Africa in the 16th century and the first Captain-Governor of Angola. He was the grandson of the explorer Bartolomeu Dias....
founded Luanda in 1575 as "São Paulo de Loanda", and the region developed as a slave trade
Slavery in Angola
Slavery in Angola existed since early times. Several peoples and tribes from current-day Angola, like the Imbangala and the Mbundu, were active slave traders for centuries...
market with the help of local Imbangala
Imbangala
The Imbangala or Mbangala were 17th century groups of Angolan warriors and marauders who founded the kingdom of Kasanje.-Origins of the Imbangala:...
and Mbundu
Mbundu
The Northern Mbundu or Ambundu are a people living in Angola's North-West, North of the river Kwanza. The Ambundu speak Kimbundu, and mostly also the official language of the country, Portuguese...
peoples who were notable slave hunters
African slave trade
Systems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. In some African societies, the enslaved people were also indentured servants and fully integrated; in others, they were treated much worse...
. Trade was mostly with the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the so called "New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
"; Brazilian ships were the most numerous in the ports of Luanda and Benguela. By this time, Angola, a Portuguese colony, was in fact like a colony of Brazil, another Portuguese colony. A strong Brazilian influence was also exercised by the Jesuits in religion and education.
War gradually gave way to the philosophy of trade. The great trade routes and the agreements that made them possible were the driving force for activities between the different areas; warlike states become states ready to produce and to sell. In the Planalto (the high plains), the most important states were those of Bié
Bié (province)
Bié is a province of Angola. Located on Bié Plateau in central part of country. Its capital is Kuito and it has an area of 70,314 km² and a population of approximately 800,000. Municipalities in the province include Andulo, Nharea, Cunhinga, Chinguar, Chitembo, Catabola, Camacupa and Cuemba...
and Bailundo
Bailundo
Bailundo is a municipality and town in Huambo Province in the central highlands of Angola.In the 1990s, Bailundo was the location of the headquarters of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi....
, the latter being noted for its production of foodstuffs and rubber. The colonial power, Portugal, becoming ever richer and more powerful, would not tolerate the growth of these neighbouring states and subjugated them one by one, so that by the beginning of this century the Portuguese had complete control over the entire area. During the period of the Iberian Union
Iberian Union
The Iberian union was a political unit that governed all of the Iberian Peninsula south of the Pyrenees from 1580–1640, through a dynastic union between the monarchies of Portugal and Spain after the War of the Portuguese Succession...
(1580-1640), Portugal lost influence and power and made new enemies. The Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, a major enemy of Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
, invaded many Portuguese overseas possessions, including Luanda. The Dutch ruled Luanda from 1640 to 1648 as Fort Aardenburgh. They were seeking black slaves for use in sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
plantations of Northeastern Brazil
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....
(Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
, Olinda
Olinda
Olinda is a historic city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, just north of Recife and south of Paulista...
, Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
) which they had also seized from Portugal. John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, conquered the Portuguese possessions of Saint George del Mina
Elmina
Elmina, is a town in the Central Region, situated on a south-facing bay on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, about 12 km west of Cape Coast...
, Saint Thomas, and Luanda, Angola, on the west coast of Africa. After the dissolution of the Iberian Union in 1640, Portugal reestablished its authority over the lost territories of the Portuguese Empire
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
.
The Portuguese started to develop townships, trading posts, logging camps and small processing factories. From 1764 onwards, there was a gradual change from a slave-based society
Slavery in Angola
Slavery in Angola existed since early times. Several peoples and tribes from current-day Angola, like the Imbangala and the Mbundu, were active slave traders for centuries...
to one based on production for domestic consumption and export. Meanwhile, with the independence of Brazil in 1822, the slave trade was abolished in 1836, and in 1844 Angola's ports were opened to foreign shipping. By 1850, Luanda was one of the greatest and most developed Portuguese cities in the vast Portuguese Empire outside Mainland Portugal, full of trading companies, exporting (together with Benguela
Benguela
Benguela is a city in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name, in 12° 33’ S., 13° 25’ E...
) palm and peanut oil, wax, copal, timber, ivory, cotton, coffee, and cocoa, among many other products. Maize, tobacco, dried meat and cassava flour also began to be produced locally. The Angolan bourgeoisie was born. From the 1920s to the 1960s, strong economic growth, abundant natural resources and development of infrastruture, led to the arrival of even more Portuguese settlers from the metropole
Metropole
The metropole, from the Greek Metropolis 'mother city' was the name given to the British metropolitan centre of the British Empire, i.e. the United Kingdom itself...
.
Diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
mining began in 1912, when the first gems were discovered by Portuguese prospectors in a stream of the Lunda region, in the northeast. In 1917 Diamang was granted the concession for diamond mining and prospecting in Portuguese Angola. From the mid-1950s until 1974, iron ore was mined in Malanje
Malanje
Malanje is the capital city of Malanje Province in Angola with a population of approximately 222,000. Nearby is the spectacular Calandula waterfalls, 85 km from the city. These falls are 105 metres high and their great width makes them the main tourist attraction in the region. It is a...
, Bié
Bié (province)
Bié is a province of Angola. Located on Bié Plateau in central part of country. Its capital is Kuito and it has an area of 70,314 km² and a population of approximately 800,000. Municipalities in the province include Andulo, Nharea, Cunhinga, Chinguar, Chitembo, Catabola, Camacupa and Cuemba...
, Huambo
Huambo
Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa , is the capital of Huambo province in Angola. The city is located about 220 km E from Benguela and 600 km SE from Luanda. The city's last known population count was 225,268...
, and Huíla
Huila
Huila may refer to:* Huila Department, in Colombia* Atlético Huila a first division Association football team in Colombia.* Huíla Province, in Angola* Nevado del Huila, volcano in Colombia...
provinces, and production reached an average of 5.7 million tons per year between 1970 and 1974. Most of the iron ore was shipped to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and earned almost US$50 million a year in export revenue. During 1966-67 a major iron ore terminal was built by the Portuguese at Saco, the bay just 12 km North of Moçâmedes
Namibe
Namibe is the capital city of Namibe Province in Angola. It is a coastal desert city located in southwestern Angola and was founded in 1840 by the Portuguese rulers of the territory. The city's current population is 132,900...
(Namibe). The client was the Compania Mineira do Lobito, the Lobito Mining Company, which developed an iron ore mine inland at Cassinga
Cassinga
Cassinga is a former town in the Huíla province of southern Angola.The transliteration Kassinga is also commonly used, with the "K" being a mutation of the original Portuguese name either by German miners, or by indigenous people in whose language the letter "K" is also common...
. The construction of the mine installations and a 300 km railway were commissioned to Krupp
Krupp
The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...
of Germany and the modern harbour terminal to SETH, a Portuguese company owned by Hojgaard & Schultz of Denmark. The small fishing town of Moçâmedes hosted construction workers, foreign engineers and their families for 2 years. The Ore Terminal was completed on time within one year and the first 250,000 ton ore carrier docked and loaded with ore in 1967. The Portuguese discovered petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
in Angola in 1955. Production began in the Cuanza basin in the 1950s, in the Congo basin
Congo Basin
The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin that is the drainage of the Congo River of west equatorial Africa. The basin begins in the highlands of the East African Rift system with input from the Chambeshi River, the Uele and Ubangi Rivers in the upper reaches and the Lualaba River draining wetlands...
in the 1960s, and in the exclave of Cabinda
Cabinda (province)
Cabinda is an exclave and province of Angola, a status that has been disputed by many political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda. The province is divided into four municipalities - Belize, Buco Zau, Cabinda and Cacongo.Modern Cabinda is the result of a fusion...
in 1968. The Portuguese government granted operating rights for Block Zero to the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco, in 1955. Oil production surpassed the exportation of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
as Angola's largest export in 1973.
By the early 1970s, a variety of crops and livestock were produced in Portuguese Angola. In the north, cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
, coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, and cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
were grown; in the central highlands, maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
was cultivated; and in the south, where rainfall is lowest, cattle herding was prevalent. In addition, there were large plantations run by Portuguese that produced palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
, sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, and sisal
Sisal
Sisal is an agave that yields a stiff fibre traditionally used in making twine, rope and also dartboards. The term may refer either to the plant or the fibre, depending on context...
. These crops were grown by commercial farmers, primarily Portuguese, and by peasant farmers, who sold some of their surplus to local Portuguese traders in exchange for supplies. The commercial farmers were dominant in marketing these crops, however, and enjoyed substantial support from the overseas province's Portuguese government in the form of technical assistance
Development aid
Development aid or development cooperation is aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social and political development of developing countries.It is distinguished...
, irrigation facilities, and financial credit. They produced the great majority of the crops that were marketed in Angola's urban centres or exported for several countries.
Fishing in Portuguese Angola was a major and growing industry. In the early 1970s, there were about 700 fishing boats, and the annual catch was more than 300,000 tons. Including the catch of foreign fishing fleets in Angolan waters, the combined annual catch was estimated at over 1 million tons. The Portuguese territory of Angola was a net exporter of fish products, and the ports of Moçâmedes
Namibe
Namibe is the capital city of Namibe Province in Angola. It is a coastal desert city located in southwestern Angola and was founded in 1840 by the Portuguese rulers of the territory. The city's current population is 132,900...
, Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
and Benguela
Benguela
Benguela is a city in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name, in 12° 33’ S., 13° 25’ E...
were among the most important fishing harbous in the region.
Education
Non-urban black African access to educational opportunities was very limited for most of the colonial periodColonial history of Angola
During the colonial history of Angola, the Portuguese sought to reassert their control over Angola after the Dutch occupation of the 1640s. Angola was a part of Portuguese West Africa from the annexation of several territories in the region as a colony in 1655 until its designation as an overseas...
, most were not even able to speak Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and did not have knowledge of Portuguese culture and history
History of Portugal
The history of Portugal, a European and an Atlantic nation, dates back to the Early Middle Ages. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it ascended to the status of a world power during Europe's "Age of Discovery" as it built up a vast empire including possessions in South America, Africa, Asia and...
. Until the 1950s, educational facilities run by the Portuguese colonial government were largely restricted to the urban areas. Responsibility for educating rural Africans were commissioned by the authorities to several Roman Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Angola
thumb|250px|Catholic Church in [[Huambo]]The Roman Catholic Church in Angola is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Curia in Rome...
and Protestant
Protestantism in Angola
The existence of Protestants in Angola dates back to the late 19th century and in some places predates Portuguese colonial missionaries. Many of the nationalist independence leaders were raised as Protestants, including Jonas Savimbi...
missions based across the vast countryside, which taught black Africans in Portuguese language and culture. As a consequence, each of the missions established its own school system, although all were subject to ultimate control and support by the Portuguese.
In mainland Portugal, the homeland of the colonial authorities who ruled in the territory from the 16th century until 1975, by the end of the 19th century the illiteracy rates were at over 80 percent and higher education was reserved for a small percentage of the population. 68.1 percent of mainland Portugal's population was still classified as illiterate by the 1930 census. Mainland Portugal's literacy rate by the 1940s and early 1950s was low by North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n and Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
an standards at the time. Only in the 1960s did the country make public education available for all children between the ages of six and twelve, and the overseas territories profited from this new educational developments and change in policy at Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
.
Starting in the early 1950s, the access to basic, secondary and technical education was expanded and its availability was being increasingly opened to both the African indigenes and the ethnic Portuguese of the territories. Education beyond the primary
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
level became available to an increasing number of black Africans since the 1950s, and the proportion of the age group that went on to secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in the early 1970s was an all-time record high enrolment. Primary school attendance was also growing substantially. In general, the quality of teaching at the primary level was acceptable, even with instruction carried on largely by black Africans who sometimes had substandard qualifications. Most secondary school teachers were ethnically Portuguese, especially in the urban centers.
Two state-run university institutions were founded in Portuguese Africa in 1962 by the Portuguese Ministry of the Overseas Provinces headed by Adriano Moreira
Adriano Moreira
Adriano José Alves Moreira , is a Portuguese statesman, deputy, politician, lawyer and professor...
- the Estudos Gerais Universitários de Angola in Portuguese Angola and the Estudos Gerais Universitários de Moçambique in Portuguese Mozambique - awarding a wide range of degrees from engineering to medicine. In the 1960s, the Portuguese mainland had four public universities, two of them in Lisbon (which compares with the 14 Portuguese public universities today). In 1968, the Estudos Gerais Universitários de Angola was renamed Universidade de Luanda (University of Luanda).
Famous people
- António da Silva PortoAntonío da Silva PortoAntónio Francisco Ferreira da Silva Porto was a Portuguese trader and explorer in Angola, in the Portuguese West Africa.-Biography:...
- Agostinho NetoAgostinho NetoAntónio Agostinho Neto served as the first President of Angola , leading the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the war for independence and the civil war...
- Assunção CristasAssunção CristasAssunção Cristas is a prominent leader of the Democratic and Social Center - People's Party, a conservative party in Portugal. As of 2011, she is the Portuguese Agriculture, Sea, Environment and Spatial Planning Minister. Graduated in law by the University of Lisbon, she is a lawyer by training...
- BongaBonga (musician)Bonga Kwenda , better known as Bonga, is a folk and semba singer and songwriter from Angola. Bonga was born in 1943 in the province of Bengo, and left Angola at age 23 to become an athlete, becoming the Portuguese record holder for the 400 metres...
- Carlos CastroCarlos Castro (journalist)Carlos Castro was a Portuguese television personality and journalist, who had worked in the media for over 35 years, mainly covering gossip items about musicians, actors and celebrities. He became well known after he had come out on television and participated in the Big Show SIC, presented by...
- Carlos CruzCarlos Cruz (television presenter)Carlos Cruz GCIH is a Portuguese former television presenter who has been convicted on charges of child sexual abuse.-Biography:Carlos Cruz was born in 1942 in Torres Novas...
- Daniel ChipendaDaniel ChipendaDaniel Chipenda fought in the Angolan War of Independence, serving as the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola's field commander in the Eastern Front before founding and leading the Eastern Revolt, a faction of the MPLA. He later joined the National Liberation Front of Angola , but left,...
- Eduardo NascimentoEduardo NascimentoEduardo Nascimento is an Angolan singer, best known for his participation on behalf of Portugal in the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest.Nascimento was the leader of a five-member band, Os Rocks, formed in Luanda in 1962...
- Fernando NobreFernando NobreFernando José de La Vieter Ribeiro Nobre is a Portuguese doctor who is the founder and president of the Portuguese NGO AMI . In 2007 he was voted as the 25th greatest Portuguese ever in the contest Os Grandes Portugueses, being the 5th most voted among Portuguese living people at that date...
- Fernando José de França Dias Van-DúnemFernando José de França Dias Van-DúnemDr. Fernando José de França Dias Van-Dúnem is an Angolan political figure who was the First Vice-President of the African Union's Pan-African Parliament...
- Fernando PeyroteoFernando PeyroteoFernando Baptista Seixas Peyroteo was a Portuguese footballer....
- Francisca Van DunemFrancisca Van DunemFrancisca Van Dunem is a Portuguese lawyer. Since 2001 she is the director of the Lisbon public prosecution service.-Education:She has a law degree, Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon, awarded in 1977...
- Henrique GalvãoHenrique GalvãoHenrique Galvão was a Portuguese military officer, writer and politician. He was initially a supporter but later become one of the strongest opponents of the Portuguese fascist regimen, the Estado Novo....
- Holden RobertoHolden RobertoHolden Álvaro Roberto founded and led the National Liberation Front of Angola from 1962 to 1999. His memoirs are unfinished.-Early life:...
- Horácio RoqueHorácio RoqueHorácio da Silva Roque was a Portuguese financier and businessman, who founded the Banco Internacional do Funchal in 1988....
- Isabel dos SantosIsabel dos SantosIsabel José dos Santos is an Angolan investor. She is considered by Forbes worth at least 50 million US Dollars and as the most powerful and richest woman in her country and among the richest in Africa....
- Jacinto JoãoJacinto JoãoJacinto João, also known as J. J. was one of the greatest Portuguese football players of his time. He played as a left winger....
- Joana Amaral DiasJoana Amaral DiasJoana Beatriz Nunes Vicente Amaral Dias, widely referred to in the media as Joana Amaral Dias is a Portuguese politician and clinical psychologist, with masters' and Ph.D. degrees in this area. Born in Luanda, Angola, on January 1, 1975, she is the daughter of psychiatrist Carlos Amaral Dias...
- João CarqueijeiroJoão CarqueijeiroJoão Edmundo Lemos Carqueijeiro was born in Lobito, Angola on 25 February 1954. He is a Portuguese plastic artist.Until he was twenty years old he lived in Lourenço Marques , Mozambique and in 1974, after the Carnation revolution, he went to Porto, Portugal.It was there that, in 1982, he concluded...
- Jonas SavimbiJonas SavimbiJonas Malheiro Savimbi was an Angolan political leader. He founded and led UNITA, a movement that first waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule, 1966–1974, then confronted the rival MPLA during the decolonization conflict, 1974/75, and after independence in 1975 fought the ruling...
- JordãoJordão (footballer born 1971)Adelino José Martins Batista , aka Jordão, is a retired Angolan-Portuguese footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.-Football career:...
- José ÁguasJosé ÁguasJosé Pinto de Carvalho Santos Águas was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker.He endured a lengthy professional spell with Benfica, never scoring less than 18 goals in his first division seasons.-Football career:...
- José Eduardo AgualusaJosé Eduardo AgualusaJosé Eduardo Agualusa is an Angolan journalist and writer. He studied agronomy and silviculture in Lisbon, Portugal. He currently spends most of his time in Portugal, Angola and Brazil, working as a writer and journalist. His books have been translated into twenty languages...
- José Eduardo dos SantosJosé Eduardo dos SantosJosé Eduardo dos Santos is an Angolan politician who has been the second and current President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces and president of the MPLA , the party that has been ruling Angola since...
- José Norton de MatosJosé Norton de MatosJosé Maria Mendes Ribeiro Norton de Matos, GCTE, GCL was a general and a Portuguese politician.-1880s:...
- José QuitongoJose QuitongoJosé Manuel Quitongo is an Angolan former professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his career in Scotland.-Career:...
- Mário Pinto de AndradeMário Pinto de AndradeMário Coelho Pinto de Andrade was an Angolan poet and politician.He was born in Golungo-Alto, in Portuguese Angola, and studied philology at the University of Lisbon and sociology at the Sorbonne in Paris...
- Marcolino MocoMarcolino MocoMarcolino Moco was the Prime Minister of Angola from December 2, 1992 until June 3, 1996. Moco was fired from his role by President José Eduardo dos Santos. Santos removed the entire cabinet alongside the Governor of the central bank in a bid to be seen as decisive...
- Miguel ArcanjoMiguel ArcanjoMiguel Arcanjo Arsénio de Oliveira is an Angolan-born former Portuguese footballer. He played as a central defender.- Football career :...
- Nzinga of Ndongo and MatambaNzinga of Ndongo and MatambaNzinga Mbande , also known as Ana de Sousa Nzinga Mbande, was a 17th century queen of the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundu people in southwestern Africa.-Early life:...
- Paulo KassomaPaulo KassomaAntónio Paulo Kassoma is an Angolan politician. He was Prime Minister of Angola September 2008 until the new constitution replaced his role with a vice president in February 2010.-Biography:...
- Pedro Passos CoelhoPedro Passos CoelhoPedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho , is Prime Minister of Portugal. Passos Coelho started very early in politics, becoming the national leader of the youth branch of the Social Democratic Party...
- PepetelaPepetelaArtur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos is a major Angolan writer of fiction. He writes under the name Pepetela....
- Raul ÁguasRaul ÁguasRaul António Águas is a retired Angolan-born Portuguese football striker and manager.-Football career:...
- Viriato da CruzViriato da CruzViriato Clemente da Cruz, an Angolan poet and politician, was born in 1928 in Kikuvo, Porto Amboim, Portuguese Angola and died in Beijing, People's Republic of China on 13 June 1973....
- Waldemar BastosWaldemar BastosWaldemar dos Santos Alonso de Almeida Bastos is an Angolan musician who combines Afropop, Portuguese , and Brazilian influences.- History :...
- Zeca AfonsoZeca AfonsoJosé Manuel Cerqueira Afonso dos Santos, known as Zeca Afonso or just Zeca , was born in Aveiro, Portugal, the son of José Nepomuceno Afonso, a judge, and Maria das Dores. Zeca is among the most influential folk and political musicians in Portuguese history...
See also
- History of AngolaHistory of AngolaAngola is a country in southwestern Africa. Its name derives from the Kimbundu word for king, 'N'gola'. It was first settled by Bushmen hunter-gatherer societies before the northern domains came under the rule of Bantu states such as Kongo and Ndongo. From the 15th century Portuguese colonists...
- 1910s in Angola1910s in AngolaIn the 1910s in Angola the colonial government transitioned from a monarchy to republican rule following a coup d'état in October 1910. The Portuguese First Republic, the new state, re-abolished slavery.-Slavery:...
- 1920s in Angola1920s in AngolaIn the 1920s in Angola mining became the primary source of revenue for the colonial government.-Economy:Comphania de Diamantes de Angola, the Diamang diamond company of Angola, was established in 1920. The government maintained a 5% stake in the company, gave it a thirty year lease to mine...
- 1930s in Angola1930s in AngolaIn the 1930s in Angola the Portuguese colonial government of António de Oliveira Salazar cut spending on colonization, leading to less emigration to Angola and a decline in the population of Portuguese Angolans....
- 1940s in Angola1940s in AngolaThe 1940s in Angola saw the emergence of the first separatist agitation in the province of Cabinda. By the 1950s Angolan Communists actively campaigned against the Salazar government's control over Angola. Cabindans rallied for independence from Portugal in 1946. The Portuguese colonial authorities...
- 1950s in Angola1950s in AngolaAngola in the 1950s transitioned from colonial to provincial status. Angola had the status of a Portuguese colony from 1655 until the Assembly of the Republic passed a law on June 11, 1951, giving all Portuguese colonies provincial status, effective on October 20, 1951...
- 1960s in Angola1960s in AngolaThe 1960s in Angola were marked by the War of Independence . Portuguese police arrested Agostinho Neto of the MPLA and future President of Angola in 1960 for the third time. Delegates discussed Cabinda's self-determination in relation to Angola at the 4th Commission of the United Nations on...
- 1970s in Angola1970s in AngolaThe 1970s in Angola, a time of political and military turbulence, saw the end of Angola's War of Independence and the outbreak of civil war . Agostinho Neto, the leader of the MPLA, declared the independence of the People's Republic of Angola on November 11, 1975, in accordance with the Alvor...
- Portuguese East AfricaPortuguese East AfricaMozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
- Portuguese GuineaPortuguese GuineaPortuguese Guinea was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974.-History:...