History of Angola
Encyclopedia
Angola 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 began trading and a settlement was established at Luanda in the 16th century. Portugal annexed territories in the region which were ruled as a colony from 1655, and Angola
was incorporated as an overseas province
of Portugal in 1951. After the Angolan War of Independence
(1961–1974) which ended with an army mutiny and leftist coup
in Lisbon
, Angola's independence from Portugal was achieved on November 11, 1975 through the Alvor Agreement
.
was inhabited during the paleolithic
and neolithic
eras, as attested by remains found in Luanda, Congo and the Namibe desert, eventually, at the beginning of recorded history other cultures and people also arrived.
The first to settle were the Bushmen
, great hunters, similar to Pygmies in stature. This changed at the beginning of the sixth century AD, when the Bantu, already in possession of metal-working technology, ceramics and agriculture began one of the greatest migrations in history. They came from the north, probably originating from somewhere near the present day Republic of Cameroon. When they reached what is now Angola they encountered the Bushmen and other groups. The establishment of the Bantu took many centuries and gave rise to various groupings that took on different ethnic characteristics. The first large political entity in the area, known to history as the Kingdom of Kongo
, appeared in the thirteenth century and stretched from Gabon
in the north to the river Kwanza in the south, and from the Atlantic in the west to the river Cuango in the east.
The wealth of the Kongo came mainly from agriculture. Power was in the hands of the Mani, aristocrats who occupied key positions in the kingdom and who answered only to the all-powerful King of the Kongo. Mbanza was the name given to a territorial unit administered and ruled by a Mani; Mbanza Congo, the capital, had a population of over fifty thousand in the sixteenth century.
The Kingdom of Kongo was divided into six provinces and included some dependent kingdoms, such as Ndongo to the south. Trade was the main activity, based on highly productive agriculture and increasing exploitation of mineral wealth. In 1482, Portuguese caravels commanded by Diogo Cão
arrived in the Congo. Other expeditions followed, and close relations were soon established between the two states. The Portuguese brought firearms and many other technological advances, as well as a new religion (Christianity
); in return, the King of the Congo offered plenty of slaves, ivory
, and minerals.
The Portuguese colony of Angola was founded in 1575 with the arrival of Paulo Dias de Novais
with a hundred families of colonists and four hundred soldiers. Luanda was granted the status of city in 1605.
The King of the Kongo soon converted to Christianity, and adopted a similar political structure to the Europeans; he became a well-known figure in Europe, to the point of receiving missives from the Pope
himself.
To the south of the Kingdom of the Kongo, around the river Kwanza, there were various important states, of which the Kingdom of Ndongo
, ruled by the Ngola (King), was the most significant. At the time of the arrival of the Portuguese, Ngola Kiluange was in power, and by maintaining a policy of alliances with neighbouring states, managed to hold out against the foreigners for several decades. Eventually he was beheaded in Luanda
. Years later, the Ndongo rose to prominence again when Jinga Mbandi, known as Queen Jinga, took power. A wily politician, she kept the Portuguese in check with carefully prepared agreements. After undertaking various journeys she succeeded in 1635 in forming a grand coalition with the states of Matamba and Ndongo, Kongo, Kassanje, Dembos
and Kissamas. At the head of this formidable alliance, she forced the Portuguese to retreat.
Meanwhile, Portugal had lost its King and the Spanish took control of the Portuguese monarchy. By this time, Portugal's overseas territories had taken second place. The Dutch
took advantage of this situation and occupied Luanda in 1641. Jinga entered into an alliance with the Dutch, thereby strengthening her coalition and confining the Portuguese to Massangano, which they fortified strongly, sallying forth on occasion to capture slaves in the Kuata! Kuata! Wars. Slaves from Angola were essential to the development of the Portuguese colony of Brazil
, but the traffic had been interrupted by these events. In 1648, after Portugal has regained its independence from the Spanish rulers in 1640, a large Portuguese force from Brazil under the command of Salvador Correia de Sá retook Luanda, leading to the return of the Portuguese in large numbers.
Jinga's coalition began to fall apart; the absence of their Dutch allies with their firearms, and the strong position of Correia de Sá, delivered a deadly blow to the morale of the native forces. Jinga died in 1663; two years later, the King of the Congo committed all his forces to an attempt to capture the island of Luanda, occupied by Correia de Sá, but they were defeated and lost their independence. The Kingdom of Ndongo
likewise submitted to the Portuguese Crown in 1671.
Trade was mostly with the Portuguese colony of Brazil
; 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, paradoxically 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. Slave-trading routes and the conquests that made them possible were the driving force for activities between the different areas; independent states were subjugated to the demands of American slavery. 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 the twentieth century the Portuguese had complete control over the entire area.
The slave trade was not abolished until 1836, and in 1844 Angola's ports were opened to foreign shipping. This facilitated the continuation of slave smuggling to the United States and Brazil. By 1850, Luanda was one of the largest Portuguese cities in the Portuguese Empire
outside Mainland Portugal exporting (together with Benguela
) palm and peanut oil, wax, copal, timber, ivory, cotton, coffee, and cocoa, among many other products - almost all the produce of a continued forced labour system.
The Berlin Conference
compelled Portugal to move towards the immediate occupation of all the territories it laid claimed to but had been unable to effectively conquer. The territory of Cabinda
, to the north of the river Zaire, was also ceded to Portugal on the legal basis of the Treaty of Simulambuko Protectorate, concluded between the Portuguese Crown and the princes of Cabinda in 1885. After a brutal and complicated process of conquest, the end of the nineteenth century saw the establishment of a colonial administration based directly on the territory and the people to be ruled.
With regard to the economy, colonial strategy was based on agriculture
and the export of raw material
s. Trade in rubber
and ivory
, together with the taxes imposed on the population of the Empire (including the mainland), brought vast income to Lisbon
.
Portuguese policy in Angola was modified by certain reforms introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century. The fall of the Portuguese monarchy and a favourable international climate led to reforms in administration, agriculture, and education. With the advent of the New State regime (Estado Novo) extended to the colony, in 1951 Angola became a province of Portugal (Ultramarine Province), called the Província Ultramarina de Angola (Overseas Province of Angola).
However, Portuguese rule remained characterised by deep-seated racism, mass forced labour and an almost complete failure to modernize the country. By 1960, after 400 years of colonial tyranny, there was not a single university in the entire territory To counter this backwardness, more overtly political organisations first appeared in the 1950s, and began to make organized demands for human and civil rights, initiating diplomatic campaigns throughout the world in their fight for independence. The Portuguese regime, meanwhile, refused to accede to the nationalist]s' demands for independence, thereby provoking the armed conflict that started in 1961 when guerrillas attacked colonial assets in cross-border operations in northeastern Angola. The war came to be known as the Colonial War
.
In this struggle, the principal protagonists were the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola), founded in 1956, the FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola), which appeared in 1961, and UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola), founded in 1966. After many years of conflict, the nation gained its independence on 11 November 1975, after the 1974 coup d'état
in the Lisbon
, Portugal. Portugal's new leaders began a process of democratic change at home and acceptance of its former colonies' independence abroad.
in Portugal established a military government led by President António de Spínola
. The Spínola government agreed to give all of Portugal's colonies independence, and handed power in Angola over to a coalition of the three, largest, separatist movements, the MPLA, UNITA, and the FNLA, through the Alvor Agreement
. The coalition quickly broke down, however, and the country descended into civil war. The MPLA gained control of the capital Luanda and much of the rest of the country. With the support of the United States, Zaïre
and South Africa intervened militarily in favour of the FNLA and UNITA with the intention of taking Luanda before the declaration of independence. In response, Cuba
intervened in favor of the MPLA (see: Cuba in Angola). In the meantime the South Africans and UNITA had come as close as 200 km to the south of the capital, the FNLA and Zairean forces as far as Kifangondo, 30 km to the east.
With Cuban support, the MPLA held Luanda and declared independence on November 11, 1975, the day the Portuguese left the country. Agostinho Neto
became the first president. FNLA and UNITA proclaimed their own short-lived republics (the Democratic Republic of Angola and the Social Democratic Republic of Angola) on November 24, 1975, for the zones they controlled with Holden Roberto
and Jonas Savimbi
as co-presidents (dissolved after January 30, 1976). By the end of January 1976 the Angolan army (FAPLA) and the Cubans had all but crushed FNLA, Zaireans and UNITA, and the South African forces withdrew.
The proxy war continued. The Angolan government, recognised internationally (although not by the United States), requested that Cuban forces remain in the country. Led by Jonas Savimbi, UNITA received clandestine support from the U.S. and other nations and took up military resistance in the southeast of the country while the Angolan government was supported by the USSR and Eastern Bloc countries. South Africa continued to pursue South-West Africa People's Organisation
(SWAPO) forces in Southern Angola, soon established bases and increased support of UNITA, which gained control of more and more territory. In an effort to deliver a final blow to UNITA and to drive South Africa out of the country, in 1987 the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola
(FAPLA), with Soviet support, launched a campaign fraught with failures and defeats. Again, the Cubans intervened, stopping UNITA and South African advances, leading to the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
from January 13 to March 23, the largest battle in African history since World War II.
Angola and the U.S. had been in negotiations for a peaceful solution since June 1987. The U.S. agreed to include Cuba in direct talks. Cuba joined the negotiations January 28, 1988; South Africa joined March 9. Angola, Cuba and South Africa signed the Tripartite Accord on December 22, 1988, in which the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola was linked to the retreat of South African soldiers from Angola and Namibia.
The Bicesse Accord in 1991 spelled out an electoral process for a democratic Angola under the supervision of the United Nations
. MPLA won the first round with 49% of the votes, against 40% for UNITA. UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi rejected the results and returned to war. A second peace accord, the Lusaka Protocol
, was brokered in Lusaka
, Zambia
and signed on November 20, 1994.
The peace accord between the government and UNITA provided for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government and armed forces. However, in 1995, localized fighting resumed. A national unity government was installed in April 1997, but serious fighting resumed in late 1998 when Savimbi renewed the war for a second time, claiming that the MPLA was not fulfilling its obligations. The UN Security Council voted on August 28, 1997, to impose sanctions on UNITA. The Angolan military launched a massive offensive in 1999 that destroyed UNITA's conventional capacity and recaptured all major cities previously held by Savimbi's forces. Savimbi then declared that UNITA would return to guerrilla tactics, and much of the country remained in turmoil.
The extended civil war rendered hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost in fighting over the past quarter century. It only ended when Savimbi was killed in 2002.
and Lunda Sul
, hurting Savimbi's ability to pay his troops.
Angola agreed to trade oil to Slovakia in return for arms, buying six Sukhoi Su-17
attack aircraft on April 3, 2000. The Spanish government in the Canary Islands
prevented a Ukrainian freighter from delivering 636 tons of military equipment to Angola on February 24, 2001. The captain of the ship had inaccurately reported his cargo, falsely claiming the ship carried automobile parts. The Angolan government admitted Simportex had purchased arms from Rosvooruzhenie, the Russian state-owned arms company, and acknowledged the captain might have violated Spanish law by misreporting his cargo, a common practice in arms smuggling to Angola.
Government troops captured and destroyed UNITA's Epongoloko base in Benguela province and Mufumbo base in Cuanza Sul in October 2001. The Slovak government sold fighter jets to the Angolan government in 2001 in violation of the European Union
Code of Conduct on Arms Exports.
Government troops killed Savimbi on February 22, 2002, in Moxico province. UNITA Vice President António Dembo
took over, but died from diabetes twelve days later on March 3, and Secretary-General Paulo Lukamba
became UNITA's leader. After Savimbi's death, the government came to a crossroads over how to proceed. After initially indicating the counter-insurgency might continue, the government announced it would halt all military operation
s on March 13. Military commanders for UNITA and the MPLA met in Cassamba and agreed to a cease-fire. However, Carlos Morgado, UNITA's spokesman in Portugal, said that the UNITA's Portugal wing had been under the impression General Kamorteiro, the UNITA general who agreed to the ceasefire, had been captured more than a week earlier. Morgado did say that he had not heard from Angola since Savimbi's death. The military commanders signed a Memorandum of Understanding as an addendum to the Lusaka Protocol
in Luena
on April 4, Dos Santos and Lukambo observing.
The United Nations Security Council
passed Resolution 1404
on April 18, extending the monitoring mechanism of sanctions by six months. Resolutions 1412
and 1432
, passed on May 17 and August 15 respectively, suspended the UN travel ban on UNITA officials for 90 days each, finally abolishing the ban through Resolution 1439
on October 18. UNAVEM III, extended an additional two months by Resolution 1439, ended on December 19.
In August 2002, UNITA declared itself a political party and officially demobilised its armed forces. That same month, the United Nations Security Council replaced the United Nations Office in Angola with the United Nations Mission in Angola, a larger, non-military, political presence.
The civil war internally displaced four million people (IDPs), one third of Angola's population. The government spent $187 million settling IDPs between April 4, 2002 and 2004, after which the World Bank
gave $33 million to continue the settling process. Militant forces laid approximately 15 million landmines by 2002. The HALO Trust
charity began demining in 1994, destroying 30,000 by July 2007. There are 1,100 Angolans and seven foreign workers who are working for HALO Trust in Angola, with operations expected to finish sometime between 2011 and 2014.
Human Rights Watch
estimates UNITA and the government employed more than 86,000 and 3,000 child soldiers respectively, some forcibly impressed, during the war. Human rights analysts found 5,000 to 8,000 underage girls married to UNITA militants. Some girls were ordered to go and forage for food to provide for the troops. If the girls did not bring back enough food as judged by their commander, then the girls would not eat. After victories, UNITA commanders would be rewarded with women who were often then sexually abused. The government and UN agencies identified 190 child soldiers in the Angolan army and relocated seventy of them by November 2002, but the government continued to knowingly employ other underage soldiers.
Fernando Vendrell produced and Zézé Gamboa directed The Hero
, a film about the life of average Angolans after the civil war, in 2004. The film follows the lives of three individuals; Vitório, a war veteran
crippled by a landmine who returns to Luanda, Manu, a young boy searching for his soldier father, and Joana, a teacher who mentors the boy and begins a love affair with Vitório. The Hero won the 2005 Sundance
World Dramatic Cinema Jury Grand Prize. A joint Angolan, Portuguese, and French production, Gamboa filmed The Hero entirely in Angola.
Kimbundu
North Mbundu, or Kimbundu, one of two Bantu languages called Mbundu is one of the most widely spoken Bantu languages in Angola, concentrated in the north-west of the country, notably in the Luanda Province, the Bengo Province and the Malanje Province...
word for king, 'N'gola'. It was first settled by Bushmen
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
hunter-gatherer societies before the northern domains came under the rule of Bantu states such as Kongo
Kingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in what are now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
and Ndongo. From the 15th century Portuguese colonists began trading and a settlement was established at Luanda in the 16th century. Portugal annexed territories in the region which were ruled as a colony from 1655, and Angola
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...
was incorporated as an overseas province
Administrative divisions of Portugal
Administratively, Portugal is a unitary and decentralized State. Nonetheless, operationally, it is highly centralized system with administrative divisions organized into three tiers. The State is organized under the principles of subsidiarity, local government autonomy, and democratic...
of Portugal in 1951. After the Angolan War of Independence
Angolan War of Independence
The Angolan War of Independence began as an uprising against forced cotton cultivation, and became a multi-faction struggle for control of Portugal's Overseas Province of Angola with three nationalist movements and a separatist movement...
(1961–1974) which ended with an army mutiny and leftist coup
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 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...
, Angola's independence from Portugal was achieved on November 11, 1975 through the Alvor Agreement
Alvor Agreement
The Alvor Agreement, signed on January 15, 1975, granted Angola independence from Portugal on November 11, ending the war for independence while marking the transition to civil war...
.
From prehistory to the sovereign country
The area of current day AngolaAngola
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...
was inhabited during the paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
and neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
eras, as attested by remains found in Luanda, Congo and the Namibe desert, eventually, at the beginning of recorded history other cultures and people also arrived.
The first to settle were the Bushmen
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
, great hunters, similar to Pygmies in stature. This changed at the beginning of the sixth century AD, when the Bantu, already in possession of metal-working technology, ceramics and agriculture began one of the greatest migrations in history. They came from the north, probably originating from somewhere near the present day Republic of Cameroon. When they reached what is now Angola they encountered the Bushmen and other groups. The establishment of the Bantu took many centuries and gave rise to various groupings that took on different ethnic characteristics. The first large political entity in the area, known to history as the Kingdom of Kongo
Kingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in what are now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, appeared in the thirteenth century and stretched from Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
in the north to the river Kwanza in the south, and from the Atlantic in the west to the river Cuango in the east.
The wealth of the Kongo came mainly from agriculture. Power was in the hands of the Mani, aristocrats who occupied key positions in the kingdom and who answered only to the all-powerful King of the Kongo. Mbanza was the name given to a territorial unit administered and ruled by a Mani; Mbanza Congo, the capital, had a population of over fifty thousand in the sixteenth century.
The Kingdom of Kongo was divided into six provinces and included some dependent kingdoms, such as Ndongo to the south. Trade was the main activity, based on highly productive agriculture and increasing exploitation of mineral wealth. In 1482, Portuguese caravels commanded by Diogo Cão
Diogo Cão
Diogo Cão was a Portuguese explorer and one of the most remarkable navigators of the Age of Discovery, who made two voyages sailing along the west coast of Africa to Namibia in the 1480s.-Early life and family:...
arrived in the Congo. Other expeditions followed, and close relations were soon established between the two states. The Portuguese brought firearms and many other technological advances, as well as a new religion (Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
); in return, the King of the Congo offered plenty of slaves, ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
, and minerals.
The Portuguese colony of Angola was founded in 1575 with the arrival of 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....
with a hundred families of colonists and four hundred soldiers. Luanda was granted the status of city in 1605.
The King of the Kongo soon converted to Christianity, and adopted a similar political structure to the Europeans; he became a well-known figure in Europe, to the point of receiving missives from the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
himself.
To the south of the Kingdom of the Kongo, around the river Kwanza, there were various important states, of which the Kingdom of Ndongo
Kingdom of Ndongo
The Kingdom of Ndongo, formerly known as Dongo or Angola, is the name of an early-modern African state located in what is now day Angola. Ndongo was built by the Northern Mbundu people, a Bantu-speaking people inhabiting northern Angola....
, ruled by the Ngola (King), was the most significant. At the time of the arrival of the Portuguese, Ngola Kiluange was in power, and by maintaining a policy of alliances with neighbouring states, managed to hold out against the foreigners for several decades. Eventually he was beheaded in 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...
. Years later, the Ndongo rose to prominence again when Jinga Mbandi, known as Queen Jinga, took power. A wily politician, she kept the Portuguese in check with carefully prepared agreements. After undertaking various journeys she succeeded in 1635 in forming a grand coalition with the states of Matamba and Ndongo, Kongo, Kassanje, Dembos
Dembos
Dembos is a town and municipality in Cuanza Norte Province in Angola....
and Kissamas. At the head of this formidable alliance, she forced the Portuguese to retreat.
Meanwhile, Portugal had lost its King and the Spanish took control of the Portuguese monarchy. By this time, Portugal's overseas territories had taken second place. The Dutch
Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...
took advantage of this situation and occupied Luanda in 1641. Jinga entered into an alliance with the Dutch, thereby strengthening her coalition and confining the Portuguese to Massangano, which they fortified strongly, sallying forth on occasion to capture slaves in the Kuata! Kuata! Wars. Slaves from Angola were essential to the development of the Portuguese colony of 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...
, but the traffic had been interrupted by these events. In 1648, after Portugal has regained its independence from the Spanish rulers in 1640, a large Portuguese force from Brazil under the command of Salvador Correia de Sá retook Luanda, leading to the return of the Portuguese in large numbers.
Jinga's coalition began to fall apart; the absence of their Dutch allies with their firearms, and the strong position of Correia de Sá, delivered a deadly blow to the morale of the native forces. Jinga died in 1663; two years later, the King of the Congo committed all his forces to an attempt to capture the island of Luanda, occupied by Correia de Sá, but they were defeated and lost their independence. The Kingdom of Ndongo
Kingdom of Ndongo
The Kingdom of Ndongo, formerly known as Dongo or Angola, is the name of an early-modern African state located in what is now day Angola. Ndongo was built by the Northern Mbundu people, a Bantu-speaking people inhabiting northern Angola....
likewise submitted to the Portuguese Crown in 1671.
Trade was mostly with the Portuguese colony of Brazil
Colonial Brazil
In the history of Brazil, Colonial Brazil, officially the Viceroyalty of Brazil comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to kingdom alongside Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves.During the over 300 years...
; 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, paradoxically 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. Slave-trading routes and the conquests that made them possible were the driving force for activities between the different areas; independent states were subjugated to the demands of American slavery. In the Planalto (the high plains), the most important states were those of Bié 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 the twentieth century the Portuguese had complete control over the entire area.
The slave trade was not abolished until 1836, and in 1844 Angola's ports were opened to foreign shipping. This facilitated the continuation of slave smuggling to the United States and Brazil. By 1850, Luanda was one of the largest Portuguese cities in 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...
outside Mainland Portugal 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 - almost all the produce of a continued forced labour system.
The Berlin Conference
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power...
compelled Portugal to move towards the immediate occupation of all the territories it laid claimed to but had been unable to effectively conquer. The territory 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...
, to the north of the river Zaire, was also ceded to Portugal on the legal basis of the Treaty of Simulambuko Protectorate, concluded between the Portuguese Crown and the princes of Cabinda in 1885. After a brutal and complicated process of conquest, the end of the nineteenth century saw the establishment of a colonial administration based directly on the territory and the people to be ruled.
With regard to the economy, colonial strategy was based on agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and the export of raw material
Raw material
A raw material or feedstock is the basic material from which a product is manufactured or made, frequently used with an extended meaning. For example, the term is used to denote material that came from nature and is in an unprocessed or minimally processed state. Latex, iron ore, logs, and crude...
s. Trade in rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
and ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
, together with the taxes imposed on the population of the Empire (including the mainland), brought vast income to 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...
.
Portuguese policy in Angola was modified by certain reforms introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century. The fall of the Portuguese monarchy and a favourable international climate led to reforms in administration, agriculture, and education. With the advent of the New State regime (Estado Novo) extended to the colony, in 1951 Angola became a province of Portugal (Ultramarine Province), called the Província Ultramarina de Angola (Overseas Province of Angola).
However, Portuguese rule remained characterised by deep-seated racism, mass forced labour and an almost complete failure to modernize the country. By 1960, after 400 years of colonial tyranny, there was not a single university in the entire territory To counter this backwardness, more overtly political organisations first appeared in the 1950s, and began to make organized demands for human and civil rights, initiating diplomatic campaigns throughout the world in their fight for independence. The Portuguese regime, meanwhile, refused to accede to the nationalist]s' demands for independence, thereby provoking the armed conflict that started in 1961 when guerrillas attacked colonial assets in cross-border operations in northeastern Angola. The war came to be known as the Colonial War
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...
.
In this struggle, the principal protagonists were the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola), founded in 1956, the FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola), which appeared in 1961, and UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola), founded in 1966. After many years of conflict, the nation gained its independence on 11 November 1975, after the 1974 coup d'état
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 the 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...
, Portugal. Portugal's new leaders began a process of democratic change at home and acceptance of its former colonies' independence abroad.
Civil war
A 1974 coup d'étatCarnation 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 Portugal established a military government led by President António de Spínola
António de Spínola
António Sebastião Ribeiro de Spínola , GCTE, ComA was a Portuguese soldier, conservative politician and author, who was important in the transition to democracy following the Portuguese Carnation...
. The Spínola government agreed to give all of Portugal's colonies independence, and handed power in Angola over to a coalition of the three, largest, separatist movements, the MPLA, UNITA, and the FNLA, through the Alvor Agreement
Alvor Agreement
The Alvor Agreement, signed on January 15, 1975, granted Angola independence from Portugal on November 11, ending the war for independence while marking the transition to civil war...
. The coalition quickly broke down, however, and the country descended into civil war. The MPLA gained control of the capital Luanda and much of the rest of the country. With the support of the United States, Zaïre
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
and South Africa intervened militarily in favour of the FNLA and UNITA with the intention of taking Luanda before the declaration of independence. In response, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
intervened in favor of the MPLA (see: Cuba in Angola). In the meantime the South Africans and UNITA had come as close as 200 km to the south of the capital, the FNLA and Zairean forces as far as Kifangondo, 30 km to the east.
With Cuban support, the MPLA held Luanda and declared independence on November 11, 1975, the day the Portuguese left the country. Agostinho Neto
Agostinho Neto
António 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...
became the first president. FNLA and UNITA proclaimed their own short-lived republics (the Democratic Republic of Angola and the Social Democratic Republic of Angola) on November 24, 1975, for the zones they controlled with Holden Roberto
Holden Roberto
Holden Álvaro Roberto founded and led the National Liberation Front of Angola from 1962 to 1999. His memoirs are unfinished.-Early life:...
and Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Savimbi
Jonas 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...
as co-presidents (dissolved after January 30, 1976). By the end of January 1976 the Angolan army (FAPLA) and the Cubans had all but crushed FNLA, Zaireans and UNITA, and the South African forces withdrew.
The proxy war continued. The Angolan government, recognised internationally (although not by the United States), requested that Cuban forces remain in the country. Led by Jonas Savimbi, UNITA received clandestine support from the U.S. and other nations and took up military resistance in the southeast of the country while the Angolan government was supported by the USSR and Eastern Bloc countries. South Africa continued to pursue South-West Africa People's Organisation
South-West Africa People's Organisation
The South West Africa People's Organization is a political party and former liberation movement in Namibia. It has been the governing party in Namibia since achieving independence in 1990...
(SWAPO) forces in Southern Angola, soon established bases and increased support of UNITA, which gained control of more and more territory. In an effort to deliver a final blow to UNITA and to drive South Africa out of the country, in 1987 the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola
Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola
The People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola was originally the armed wing of the Angolan MPLA movement but later became the country's official armed forces when the MPLA took control of the government.-History:In the early 1960s the MPLA named its guerrilla forces the "People's Army for...
(FAPLA), with Soviet support, launched a campaign fraught with failures and defeats. Again, the Cubans intervened, stopping UNITA and South African advances, leading to the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1987/88 was an important episode in the Angolan Civil War . Between 9 September and 7 October 1987, the Angolan Army , in an attempt to finally subdue the Angolan insurgent movement UNITA in south-eastern Angola, was decisively repelled in a series of battles at the...
from January 13 to March 23, the largest battle in African history since World War II.
Angola and the U.S. had been in negotiations for a peaceful solution since June 1987. The U.S. agreed to include Cuba in direct talks. Cuba joined the negotiations January 28, 1988; South Africa joined March 9. Angola, Cuba and South Africa signed the Tripartite Accord on December 22, 1988, in which the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola was linked to the retreat of South African soldiers from Angola and Namibia.
The Bicesse Accord in 1991 spelled out an electoral process for a democratic Angola under the supervision of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. MPLA won the first round with 49% of the votes, against 40% for UNITA. UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi rejected the results and returned to war. A second peace accord, the Lusaka Protocol
Lusaka Protocol
The Lusaka Protocol, signed in Lusaka, Zambia on October 31, 1994, attempted to end the Angolan Civil War by integrating and disarming UNITA and national reconciliation. Both sides signed a ceasefire as part of the protocol on November 20.-Negotiation:...
, was brokered in Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
and signed on November 20, 1994.
The peace accord between the government and UNITA provided for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government and armed forces. However, in 1995, localized fighting resumed. A national unity government was installed in April 1997, but serious fighting resumed in late 1998 when Savimbi renewed the war for a second time, claiming that the MPLA was not fulfilling its obligations. The UN Security Council voted on August 28, 1997, to impose sanctions on UNITA. The Angolan military launched a massive offensive in 1999 that destroyed UNITA's conventional capacity and recaptured all major cities previously held by Savimbi's forces. Savimbi then declared that UNITA would return to guerrilla tactics, and much of the country remained in turmoil.
The extended civil war rendered hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost in fighting over the past quarter century. It only ended when Savimbi was killed in 2002.
2000s
A Russian freighter delivered 500 tons of Ukrainian 7.62 mm ammunition to Simportex, a division of the Angolan government, with the help of a shipping agent in London on September 21, 2000. The ship's captain declared his cargo "fragile" to minimize inspection. The next day, the MPLA began attacking UNITA, winning victories in several battles from September 22–25. The government gained control over military bases and diamond mines in Lunda NorteLunda Norte
Lunda Norte is a province of Angola. It has an area of 103,000 km² and a population of approximately 850,000. Angola's first President, Agostino Neto, made Lucapa the provincial capital after independence, but the capital was later moved to Dundo. Municipalities in this province includeShah-Muteba,...
and Lunda Sul
Lunda Sul
Lunda Sul is a province of Angola. It has an area of 77,637 km² and a population of approximately 125,000. Saurimo is the capital of the province. Other municipalities include Cacolo, Dala and Muconda. This region is rich with diamonds....
, hurting Savimbi's ability to pay his troops.
Angola agreed to trade oil to Slovakia in return for arms, buying six Sukhoi Su-17
Sukhoi Su-17
The Sukhoi Su-17 is a Soviet attack aircraft developed from the Sukhoi Su-7 fighter-bomber. It enjoyed a long career in Soviet, later Russian, service and was widely exported to communist and Middle Eastern air forces, under names Su-20 and Su-22.-Development:Seeking to improve low-speed and...
attack aircraft on April 3, 2000. The Spanish government in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
prevented a Ukrainian freighter from delivering 636 tons of military equipment to Angola on February 24, 2001. The captain of the ship had inaccurately reported his cargo, falsely claiming the ship carried automobile parts. The Angolan government admitted Simportex had purchased arms from Rosvooruzhenie, the Russian state-owned arms company, and acknowledged the captain might have violated Spanish law by misreporting his cargo, a common practice in arms smuggling to Angola.
Government troops captured and destroyed UNITA's Epongoloko base in Benguela province and Mufumbo base in Cuanza Sul in October 2001. The Slovak government sold fighter jets to the Angolan government in 2001 in violation of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
Code of Conduct on Arms Exports.
Government troops killed Savimbi on February 22, 2002, in Moxico province. UNITA Vice President António Dembo
Antonio Dembo
General António Sebastião Dembo served as Vice President and later President of UNITA, an anti-Communist rebel group that fought against the MPLA in the Angolan Civil War....
took over, but died from diabetes twelve days later on March 3, and Secretary-General Paulo Lukamba
Paulo Lukamba
General Paulo Armindo Lukamba "Gato" led UNITA, an anti-Communist rebel group that fought against the MPLA in the Angolan Civil War, from the death of António Dembo on March 3, 2002 until he lost the 2003 leadership election to Isaías Samakuva.Lukamba was born in the province of Huambo, in central...
became UNITA's leader. After Savimbi's death, the government came to a crossroads over how to proceed. After initially indicating the counter-insurgency might continue, the government announced it would halt all military operation
Military operation
Military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state's favor. Operations may be of combat or non-combat types, and are referred to by a code name for the purpose...
s on March 13. Military commanders for UNITA and the MPLA met in Cassamba and agreed to a cease-fire. However, Carlos Morgado, UNITA's spokesman in Portugal, said that the UNITA's Portugal wing had been under the impression General Kamorteiro, the UNITA general who agreed to the ceasefire, had been captured more than a week earlier. Morgado did say that he had not heard from Angola since Savimbi's death. The military commanders signed a Memorandum of Understanding as an addendum to the Lusaka Protocol
Lusaka Protocol
The Lusaka Protocol, signed in Lusaka, Zambia on October 31, 1994, attempted to end the Angolan Civil War by integrating and disarming UNITA and national reconciliation. Both sides signed a ceasefire as part of the protocol on November 20.-Negotiation:...
in Luena
Luena
Luena 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...
on April 4, Dos Santos and Lukambo observing.
The United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
passed Resolution 1404
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1404
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1404, adopted unanimously on April 18, 2002, after reaffirming Resolution 864 and all subsequent resolutions on Angola, particularly resolutions 1127 , 1173 , 1237 , 1295 , 1336 , 1348 and 1374 , the Council extended the monitoring mechanism of...
on April 18, extending the monitoring mechanism of sanctions by six months. Resolutions 1412
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1412
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1412, adopted unanimously on May 17, 2002, after reaffirming resolutions 696 , 864 and all subsequent resolutions on Angola, particularly Resolution 1127 , the Council suspended travel restrictions against UNITA officials the country after the signing of...
and 1432
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1432
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1432, adopted unanimously on August 15, 2002, after reaffirming resolutions 1127 and 1412 , the Council extended the suspension of travel restrictions against UNITA officials in Angola for a further 90 days.The Security Council again welcomed the signing...
, passed on May 17 and August 15 respectively, suspended the UN travel ban on UNITA officials for 90 days each, finally abolishing the ban through Resolution 1439
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1439
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1439, adopted unanimously on October 18, 2002, after reaffirming Resolution 864 and all subsequent resolutions on Angola, particularly resolutions 1127 , 1173 , 1237 , 1295 , 1336 , 1348 , 1374 , 1404 , 1412 and 1432 , the Council extended the monitoring...
on October 18. UNAVEM III, extended an additional two months by Resolution 1439, ended on December 19.
In August 2002, UNITA declared itself a political party and officially demobilised its armed forces. That same month, the United Nations Security Council replaced the United Nations Office in Angola with the United Nations Mission in Angola, a larger, non-military, political presence.
The civil war internally displaced four million people (IDPs), one third of Angola's population. The government spent $187 million settling IDPs between April 4, 2002 and 2004, after which the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
gave $33 million to continue the settling process. Militant forces laid approximately 15 million landmines by 2002. The HALO Trust
HALO Trust
The HALO Trust is a non-political, non-religious registered British charity and American non-profit organization whose purpose is to remove the debris left behind by war, in particular, landmines and unexploded ordnance that might present a danger to civilians. Founded in 1988 it was the first...
charity began demining in 1994, destroying 30,000 by July 2007. There are 1,100 Angolans and seven foreign workers who are working for HALO Trust in Angola, with operations expected to finish sometime between 2011 and 2014.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
estimates UNITA and the government employed more than 86,000 and 3,000 child soldiers respectively, some forcibly impressed, during the war. Human rights analysts found 5,000 to 8,000 underage girls married to UNITA militants. Some girls were ordered to go and forage for food to provide for the troops. If the girls did not bring back enough food as judged by their commander, then the girls would not eat. After victories, UNITA commanders would be rewarded with women who were often then sexually abused. The government and UN agencies identified 190 child soldiers in the Angolan army and relocated seventy of them by November 2002, but the government continued to knowingly employ other underage soldiers.
Fernando Vendrell produced and Zézé Gamboa directed The Hero
The Hero (2004 film)
The Hero is a film about the life of average Angolans after the Angolan Civil War. The film follows the lives of three individuals; Vitório, a war veteran crippled by a landmine who returns to Luanda, Manu, a young boy searching for his soldier father, and Joana, a teacher who mentors the boy and...
, a film about the life of average Angolans after the civil war, in 2004. The film follows the lives of three individuals; Vitório, a war veteran
War Veteran
War Veteran is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. It was first published in If magazine in March 1955.-Plot summary:The plot concerns an old man who claims to have travelled back in time from a future in which Earth has lost a devastating war to its own Martian and Venusian colonies...
crippled by a landmine who returns to Luanda, Manu, a young boy searching for his soldier father, and Joana, a teacher who mentors the boy and begins a love affair with Vitório. The Hero won the 2005 Sundance
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
World Dramatic Cinema Jury Grand Prize. A joint Angolan, Portuguese, and French production, Gamboa filmed The Hero entirely in Angola.
Further reading
Some of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.- Gerald Bender, Angola Under the Portuguese, London: Heinemann, 1978
- David Birmingham, The Portuguese Conquest of Angola, London: Oxford University Press, 1965.
- David Birmingham, Trade and Conquest in Angola, London: Oxford University Press, 1966.
- Armando Castro, O sistema colonial português em África (Meados do século XX), Lisbon: Caminho, 1978
- Patrick Chabal and others, A History of Postcolonial Lusophone Africa, London: Hurst, 2002 (article on Angola by David Birmingham)
- Basil Davidson, Portuguese-speaking Africa. In: Michael Crowder (Hg.): The Cambridge History of Africa. Vol. 8. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1984 S. 755-806.
- Jonuel Gonçalves, A economia ao longo da história de Angola, Luanda: Mayamba Editora, 2011 ISBN 978-989-8528-11-7
- Fernando Andresen Guimarães, The Origins of the Angolan Civil War, London + New York: Macmillan Press + St. Martin's Press, 1998
- Beatrix Heintze, Studien zur Geschichte Angolas im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert, Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, 1996
- Lawrence W. Henderson, Angola: Five Centuries of Conflict, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1979
- W. Martin James & Susan Herlin Broadhead, Historical dictionary of Angola, Lanham/MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004, ISBN 9780810849402
- John Marcum, The Angolan Revolution, vol.I, The anatomy of an explosion (1950–1962), Cambridge, Mass. & London, MIT Press, 1969; vol. II, Exile Politics and Guerrilla Warfare (1962–1976), Cambridge, Mass. & London, MIT Press, 1978
- Christine Messiant, L’Angola colonial, histoire et société: Les prémisses du mouvement nationaliste, Basle: Schlettwein, 2006.
- René Pélissier, Les Guerres Grises: Résistance et revoltes en Angola (1845–1941), Orgeval: published by the author, 1977
- René Pélissier, La colonie du Minotaure: Nationalismes et revoltes en Angola (1926–1961), Orgeval: published by the author,1978
- René Pélissier, Les campagnes coloniales du Portugal, Paris: Pygmalion, 2004
- Graziano Saccardo, Congo e Angola con la storia dell'antica missione dei Cappuccini, 3 vols., Venice, 1982-3
See also
- History of AfricaHistory of AfricaThe history of Africa begins with the prehistory of Africa and the emergence of Homo sapiens in East Africa, continuing into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states. Agriculture began about 10,000 BCE and metallurgy in about 4000 BCE. The history of early...
- History of Southern Africa
- List of Presidents of Angola
- Politics of AngolaPolitics of AngolaSince the adoption of a new constitution, early in 2010, the politics of Angola takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Angola is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government...
- Portuguese West Africa
- Slavery in AngolaSlavery in AngolaSlavery 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...
External links
- Rulers.org — Angola list of rulers for Angola
- WorldStatesmen
- The African Activist Archive Project website has material on colonialism and the struggle for independence in Angola and support in the U.S. for that struggle produced by many U.S. organizations including documents, photographs, buttons, posters, T-shirts, audio and video.