Angola

Overview

After decades of civil war, Angola is picking up the pieces and rebuilding the country. It is potentially a rich country, with vast reserves of oil and diamonds, but the civil war and ruling elite have not helped the distribution of its resources. While in 2005 the country is still quite tough for travellers (who do not speak Portuguese), it is improving by the month and may become a worthwhile extension of a visit to southern Africa or even a destination in its own right in a few years.

Luanda is the capital of Angola and the biggest city; quite overwhelming for the average traveller. Along the coast, the cities of Lobito and Benguela are more tranquil, but certainly worth a visit. Further south Lubango offers magnificent scenery and quiet surroundings, connected by Angola's best road, to Namibe  - a lovely and quiet coastal town. Kissama  (Quiçama) National Park is located some 70 km south of Luanda. Iona National Park is located some 200 km south of Namibe and borders Namibia's Skeleton Coast.

Destinations in Angola Namibe Luanda Porto Amboim Cabinda Lubango Kissama Catumbela Malange Massoulo Bibala Lobito Iona National Park

History

In NOVEMBER 1975 after nearly five centuries as a Portuguese colony Angola became an independent state. By late 1988 however despite fertile land large deposits of oil and gas and great mineral wealth Angola had achieved neither prosperity nor peace-- the national economy was stagnating and warfare was ravaging the countryside. True independence also remained unrealized as foreign powers continued to determine Angola's future.

But unattained potential and instability were hardships well known to the Angolan people. They had suffered the outrage of slavery and the indignity of forced labor and had experienced years of turmoil going back to the early days of the indigenous kingdoms.

The ancestors of most present-day Angolans found their way to the region long before the first Portuguese arrived in the late fifteenth century. The development of indigenous states such as the Kongo Kingdom was well under way before then. The primary objective of the first Portuguese settlers in Angola and the motive behind most of their explorations was the establishment of a slave trade. Although several early Portuguese explorers recognized the economic and strategic advantages of establishing friendly relations with the leaders of the kingdoms in the Angolan interior by the middle of the sixteenth century the slave trade had engendered an enmity between the Portuguese and the Africans that persisted until independence.

Most of the Portuguese who settled in Angola through the nineteenth century were exiled criminals called degredados (see Glossary) who were actively involved in the slave trade and spread disorder and corruption throughout the...more