Angolan History: part 1

Angola has always been inhabited by different people, but it was first in the 6th century AD that more advanced people were settling. The Bushmen had already been there for some time, but as the Bantus arrived from what now is known as Republic of Cameroon the Bantus easily dominated the less advanced groups with their superior knowledge of metal-working. The establishment of the Bantu took several centuries and gave rise to various groups.

The first large political entity in the area appeared in the 13th century, known to history as the Kingdom of Kongo. I will not go much into depth on the history of Kongo, but Angola was largely a part of it. In 1482 Portuguese explorers led by Diogo Cao arrived to the Kongo, other expeditions followed and soon close relationships were established between the two states. The Portuguese offered firearms and an interesting religion in return for slaves, ivory and minerals. The king of Kongo soon converted to Christianity and became a well-known figure in Europe. He also adopted a political structure similar to the one used by the Europeans. He was even, at one point, receiving missives from the Pope himself. (read more about the Kingdom of Kongo in my article about the Kingdoms of Angola or Ethnic Groups)

To the south of the Kwanza river, which was the southern border of the Kingdom of Kongo, there were various important states. The Kingdom of Ndongo was the most significant, it was ruled by the Ngola (King). At the arrival of the Portuguese Ngola Kiluange was in power, by maintaining a policy of alliances with neighboring states Ndongo managed to hold out against the foreigners for several decades, but it ended with the beheading of Ngola Kiluange in Luanda. Years later the Ndongo again rose to prominence when Jinga Mbandi, known as Queen Jinga, took power. She kept the Portuguese in check with carefully prepared agreements. After many journeys she managed to form a grand coalition with the states of Matamba and Ndongo, Congo, Kassanje, Dembos and Kissamas. At the head of this formidable alliance she forced the Portuguese to retreat. Today there is a statue of her in the middle of Luanda, not far from the Hotel Tropico.

At the same time as this happened Portugal had been occupied by Spain, and their overseas territories had come second. The Dutch took advantage of this and occupied Luanda. Jinga allied with the Dutch to get even more strength to her already so strong alliance. The Portuguese, however, were depending on the slaves from Angola to develop their colony of Brazil. In 1648 a large force from Brazil retook Luanda, leading the return of the Portuguese in large numbers. After this Jinga's coalition began to fall apart; the absence of the Dutch with firearms, and the strong position on Correia de Sá (the man who led the Brazilian forces in their operation to recapture Luanda) broke down the moral of the native forces. Jinga died in 1663, two years later the king of Kongo committed all his forces in an attempt to recapture the island of Luanda, but lost both the war and the independence of the native Africans under his rule.

The Portuguese colony of Angola was founded in 1575, that year Portugal sent 400 soldiers and 100 families to Angola. Most of these lived in Luanda which was granted the status of city in 1605. Trade was mostly with Brazil, whose ships were the most numerous in the ports of Luanda and Benguela. Angola, a Portuguese colony, was in fact a colony of Brazil, another Portuguese colony. Angola was exporting slaves to Brazil among other countries. This lasted until 1836 when the slave trade was abolished. The house from which the slaves were kept before they were sent is today a museum in which tourists can get guided tours. In 2002 work was being done on the house to restore it, and now it is in good shape. Inside several objects used for capturing and keeping the slaves are kept along with photos.

From 1764 onwards, there was a gradual change from a slave-based society to one based on production for domestic consumption. Less than 100 years after this Luanda was a great city, full of life and business. In 1844 the ports of Angola were opened for foreign shipping. Angola exported such products as wax, timber, ivory, cotton, coffee, tobacco, dried meat and palm oils.

In the 1950's the first Angolan nationalist movements were started, asking for their independence. In 1956 MPLA was founded, in 1961 FNLA was started and in 1966 Savimbi formed UNITA after having been working with both FNLA and MPLA. On November 11th 1975 Angola gained its independence after many years of struggle.