The Scramble For Africa: Angola's Colonization By European Powers

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-central coast of Southern Africa. It is the seventh-largest country in Africa and the second-largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country in both total area and population.

The formation of Angola as a nation-state originates from the Kingdom of Kongo, a hegemonic state of a number of other Kikongo-speaking kingdoms that flourished in and after the 14th century. The Portuguese first landed in what is today northern Angola in 1482, encountering the Kingdom of the Congo stretching from modern-day Gabon in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. The Portuguese established relations with the Kingdom of Kongo in 1483 and gradually took control of the coastal area by a series of treaties and wars throughout the 16th century.

The Portuguese colony that became Angola did not achieve its present borders until the early 20th century. After a protracted anti-colonial struggle (1961–1974), Angola achieved independence in 1975 as a one-party Republic. However, competing movements still struggled for power in the new nation, and the country descended into a devastating civil war that lasted until 2002.

Angola's colonial power was Portugal, which was present and active in the territory for over four centuries

Angola's colonial power was Portugal, which was present and active in the territory, in one way or another, for over four centuries. Portuguese explorers first landed in what is today northern Angola in 1482, encountering the Kingdom of the Congo. The Portuguese gradually took control of the coastal area by a series of treaties and wars throughout the 16th century, and their interest in Angola quickly turned to the slave trade.

The Portuguese established their primary early trading post at Soyo, which is now the northernmost city in Angola apart from the Cabinda exclave. In 1575, Paulo Dias de Novais founded São Paulo de Loanda (Luanda) with a hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers. Benguela was fortified in 1587 and became a township in 1617.

The Portuguese colony that became Angola did not achieve its present borders until the early 20th century. There had been strong resistance by native groups such as the Cuamato, the Kwanyama, and the Mbunda. Portugal eventually secured administrative control over the interior in the beginning of the 20th century.

Portugal granted Angola independence on November 11, 1975, at a time when multiple Angolan nationalist forces were fighting among themselves to establish control over the newly liberated state. The Angolan Civil War began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal and continued, with interludes, until 2002.

Portugal annexed territories in the region, which were ruled as a colony from 1655

Portugal's interest in Angola was initially driven by the slave trade. In the 15th century, Portuguese colonists began trading and established a settlement in Luanda during the 16th century. Portugal gradually took control of the coastal area through a series of treaties and wars.

In 1575, the Portuguese colony of Angola was founded with the arrival of Paulo Dias de Novais, who came with a hundred Portuguese families and four hundred soldiers. The settlement's centre at Luanda was granted city status in 1605.

In the 17th century, Portugal lost its king, and the Spanish took control of the Portuguese monarchy. The Dutch took advantage of this situation and occupied Luanda in 1641. Portugal regained its independence, and a large force from Brazil, under the command of Salvador Correia de Sá, retook Luanda in 1648, leading to the return of the Portuguese in large numbers.

Angola was incorporated as an overseas province of Portugal in 1951.

Portugal granted Angola independence on November 1975

Portugal granted Angola independence on November 11, 1975, after a protracted anti-colonial struggle that lasted from 1961 to 1974. The independence came at a time when multiple Angolan nationalist forces were fighting among themselves to establish control over the newly liberated state. The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) were the three major movements fighting for independence.

The granting of independence by Portugal was preceded by the Alvor Agreement, which was signed in January 1975 by the three movements. The agreement was a result of a 1974 military coup d'etat in Portugal that established a military government, agreeing to hand power to a coalition of the three movements. However, ideological clashes led to armed conflict between the movements, with the MPLA eventually taking power when the Portuguese abandoned the capital city of Luanda.

The MPLA, backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba, managed to force the FNLA out of Luanda, and UNITA voluntarily withdrew from the capital to its stronghold in the south. By August 1975, the MPLA had control of 11 of the 15 provincial capitals, including Luanda. On November 10, 1975, Portugal began airlifting more than 200,000 white Portuguese Angolans from Luanda to Lisbon. The following day, on November 11, 1975, Portugal officially granted independence to Angola, and the MPLA declared the independence of the People's Republic of Angola.

The FNLA and UNITA responded by proclaiming their own government based in Huambo. South African forces invaded Angola on October 23, 1975, and FNLA-UNITA-South African forces took control of five provincial capitals. However, with the help of Cuban forces, the MPLA retook most of the south by the beginning of 1976.

The granting of independence by Portugal did not end the conflict in Angola. Instead, it marked the transition to a bitter civil war among the independentist forces and their respective allies, which lasted until 2002.

The Angolan Civil War was a 27-year conflict that began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal

The roots of the conflict can be traced back to the anti-colonial movements of the 1950s. The MPLA, primarily an urban-based movement in Luanda, was largely composed of Mbundu people. On the other hand, the other two major anti-colonial movements, the FNLA and UNITA, were rural groups. The FNLA consisted mainly of Bakongo people from Northern Angola, while UNITA, an offshoot of the FNLA, was made up of the Ovimbundu—Angola's largest ethnic group—from the Bié Plateau.

Despite their shared aim of ending colonial rule, the MPLA and UNITA had different roots in Angolan society and mutually incompatible leaderships. The MPLA was supported by the Soviet Union and several African countries, including Cuba, which became its strongest ally. The UNITA, meanwhile, was backed by the United States and South Africa.

The Angolan Civil War can be divided into three periods of major fighting: from 1975 to 1991, 1992 to 1994, and from 1998 to 2002. By the time the MPLA achieved victory in 2002, between 500,000 and 800,000 people had died, over one million had been internally displaced, and Angola's infrastructure, public administration, economy, and religious institutions had been severely damaged.

The war is widely considered a Cold War proxy conflict, with the Soviet Union and the United States, along with their respective allies Cuba and South Africa, assisting the opposing factions. The conflict also became closely intertwined with the Second Congo War in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo and the South African Border War.

The civil war devastated Angola's infrastructure and severely damaged public administration, the economy, and religious institutions

The Angolan Civil War, which lasted from 1975 to 2002, had a devastating impact on the country's infrastructure and severely damaged its public administration, economy, and religious institutions. The conflict, which was fuelled by the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of over a million more.

The civil war caused significant damage to Angola's infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, churches, railways, and bridges. This destruction led to a brain drain, with over 500,000 educated professionals fleeing the country during the conflict. The loss of these skilled individuals hampered the country's post-war reconstruction efforts and contributed to a cycle of poverty and underdevelopment. The lack of infrastructure and skilled professionals also created a vacuum in the labour market, with nearly half of the population under the age of 15.

The civil war also severely damaged Angola's public administration. The country was already suffering from a lack of skilled workers in public administration before the war, and the conflict only exacerbated this issue. The war also led to a breakdown in law and order, with militant forces laying approximately 15 million landmines by 2002. Additionally, the country's religious institutions were not spared, with churches and other places of worship being caught in the crossfire.

The economy was also severely impacted by the civil war. The fighting disrupted oil production, which is a key source of revenue for the country. The conflict also led to a decline in foreign investment and trade, further damaging the economy. The destruction of infrastructure and disruption of supply chains made it difficult for businesses to operate, and the lack of economic opportunities during the war contributed to the growth of a shadow economy, with citizens relying on grey and black-market alternatives for goods and services.

Frequently asked questions