preview

Angola

Better Essays

Angola is located in south western Africa. Bordered by Zamibia, Nambia, The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Atlantic Ocean, it is Africa’s seventh largest country with a total area of 1,246,700km2. Angola has a rich history full of hardships and grandeur. Its largest and most important city is the capital, Luanda. Angola contains a rich culture made up of diverse urban and tribal peoples. It is a unitary presidential republic and has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The Portuguese reached Angola in 1484, but the region had previously been occupied by the Bantu peoples, who set up many kingdoms and trade routes, such as the Kingdom of Kongo. They arrived around 500 AD and traded with other, West African civilizations. …show more content…

Portugal began battling Spain under the Portuguese Restoration War, which is when Portugal truly began expanding their borders through victories and treaties. The territory’s borders were fixed in 1885 through the Berlin Conference, which occurred when Germany started to gain power. The conference established which European powers would rule over which African territory. Portugal was granted Angola and Mozambique. The Portuguese Colonial Act in 1933 gave Portugal power over native Angolans. However, in 1961, the Angolan peoples began their rebellion from the Portuguese government; it began as an uprising against forced cotton production, known as the Baixa de Cassanje Revolt, and evolved into a full on war for Angola’s independence. The Portuguese responded to this revolt by bombing local villages, killing thousands of villagers. This began the beginning of the end of Portugal’s control of Angola. Within the first year of the war, already 20,000 to 30,000 native Angolans had been killed by the Portuguese. The war for independence ended after thirteen years and many deaths, mainly thanks to three groups fighting for the country’s independence: the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, the National Front for the Liberation of Angola, and the …show more content…

This creates a rich cultural aspect of Angola. The tribes that reside in Angola consist of the Khoisan, Ovimbundu, Mbundu, Bakongo, Lunda-Chokwe, and the Nganguela. The people of the Khoisan tribe (often called bushmen) are believed to be the oldest inhabitants in all of humanity. They communicate through a series of clicking noses, which is believed to be the oldest current language in the world. This group is currently at risk for extinction, but about 5,000 of them live in southern Angola. While they used to be hunter-gatherers, they have recently been forced to alter their lifestyle to become herdsmen and farmers. There is a cave located near Virei, Angola that contains cave paintings dating back to the Stone

Get Access