Angola Historical Background

There is evidence of the Bantu-speaking people having established themselves in Angola 2000 years ago. In the late 15th century, Portuguese voyagers arrived in Angola in search of an ocean passage to India and colonised the native tribes. The inhabitants were subjected to Portuguese colonial rule for the next five centuries. Although most European powers were granting independence to their colonies after the Second World War, Portugal maintained that their overseas colonies were integral parts of Portugal and held on to Angola.

In the early 1960s, the locals began their fight for Independence. Three gorilla groups organized themselves, all with one objective, to make Angola free. The three groups were the Movement for the liberation of Angola (MPLA), Union of the Populations of northern Angola (UPNA) and National union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Despite all three of these groups fighting for the same cause they had huge differences, which were caused by tribalism. After the exit of the colonial rulers in 1974, negotiations began towards Angola’s Independence. The three gorilla groups came together to form a transitional government, but because of their ideological differences the government was dissolved. The country plunged into a brutal civil war that is still being fought today. Angola is littered with the largest number of landmines in the world. A brokered and monitored peace by the United Nations is currently holding, although elections have not yet occurred and demobilizations of gorilla groups is proceeding much slower than most international observers would like to see.