Angola's Woes - Part II

Continued from Part I

The Freedom Struggle

Portugal treated Angola with contempt and indifference during its five centuries of colonization. Even after slavery was abolished in Angola in 1858, Portugal continued to exploit the region. During the last part of the 19th century Portugal was fighting against the regional African Kingdoms to gain control over the territories awarded to it at the Berlin Conference of 1884. The Portuguese raised small armies, which went about destroying the African Kingdoms and their culture.

The Portuguese suppressed African Nationalism throughout the first half of the 20th century. When Antonio Salazar came to power in Portugal he exploited Angola's agricultural and mineral wealth by inducing Portuguese to settle in Angola to manage mines and plantations. He also enacted strict labor laws, which forced the Angolans to work for the Portuguese.

After World War II, spontaneous clashes became frequent between various African communities and the colonial administration due to African resistance to colonial rule.

During the 1950s and 1960s, many of the African colonies were gaining independence from the European colonial powers. In 1951 Portugal decided to treat Angola as an overseas province, which resulted in a new surge of nationalistic fervor. Due to the continued oppression of Angola by the Salazar regime and its stubbornness in refusing independence to Angola saw the emergence of nationalist movements.

In 1956, Africans and mixed-race mesticos founded the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). The Portuguese crackdown on the movement forced its leadership to flee to neighboring countries. The MPLA carried on guerrilla attacks from the Congo on the eastern part of Angola. Rebellion broke out in the northern part of Angola in 1961, which sowed seeds for the freedom struggle.

The three most important liberation movements, which emerged in Angola, were the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The movements were divided along ethnic lines: the MPLA came to be identified with the Mbundu, the FNLA with the Bakongo, and UNITA with the Ovimbundu.

To be continued...