Angola: Rise of Nationalism (1951-1975)

Updated October 2005

In the post-war period, as the tide of nationalism and demands for self-determination swept the European colonies of Africa and Asia, the Portuguese attempted to tighten their control over their colonies and any stirrings of nationalism were ruthlessly suppressed (Meijer & Birmingham 2004). The mindset of the state was reflected in the decision of 1951 to make the colonies, including Angola, "overseas provinces" of Portugal (Human Rights & Documentation Centre undated).

This decision by the Portuguese government led directly to an upsurge of nationalism in Angola. The heavy extractions of the colonial power, the parasitic prosperity of the settlers founded on land alienation and forced labour and the tightening of political control together made the situation increasingly intolerable to Angolans. A number of underground movements sprang up in the fifties and early sixties (Embassy of The Republic of Angola undatedc, Human Rights & Documentation Centre undated, Library of Congress 1989p).

The new nationalist organizations were regionally based and rooted in ethnicity (Ellsworth 1999, Human Rights & Documentation Centre undated, Embassy of The Republic of Angola undatedc, Meijer & Birmingham 2004, History World undated, Accord 2004):

  • The MPLA emerged in 1956 under the leadership of Agostinho Neto, founded by urban based mestiços and assimilados who were members of the underground Portuguese Communist Party. Supported by the Soviet Union and articulating a socialist vision of Angola's future, it found wide support amongst urban intellectuals and the Mbundu of the Luanda hinterland.
  • From Bakongo migrant workers emerged the Union of the People of Angola (UPA, 1957?), which merged with the Angolan Democratic Party to create the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) under Roberto Holden in 1962. This movement, financed mainly by the USA, but also by China, was anti-communist.
  • The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) was formed in 1963, based among the Bakongo of Cabinda. It sought independence from Portugal and succession from Angola. It was not able to maintain its unity, however, and split into a number of factions over the years.
  • In 1966 Jonas Savimbi led an Ovimbundu breakaway group from the FNLA called the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Based in the south and centre, and deriving much of its support from traders; it was also anti-communist.

The armed conflict was sparked by an uprising of plantation workers against forced labour in the north-west in 1961, which was suppressed by the colonial government. The uprising led directly to the formation of the FNLA. Closely connected with the president of Zaïre, Mobuto Sese Seko, the FNLA began its armed incursions from bases in that country. In the wake of the uprising, and in response to an attack on a prison in an attempt to free political prisoners, the Portuguese government clamped down on the MPLA. In return the MPLA began infiltrating guerrillas from the Congo into Cabinda and from Zambia into the east (Embassy of The Republic of Angola undatedc, History World undated, Accord 2004, Meijer & Birmingham 2004).

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References

ACCORD 2004 "Chronology" Accord 15, [www] http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/angola/chronology.php [opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).

HISTORY WORLD UNDATED, "History of Angola", [www] http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad33 [opens new window] (accessed 16 Oct 2007).

HUMAN RIGHTS & DOCUMENTATION CENTRE UNDATED, "Historical Background" IN Angola, [www] http://www.hrdc.unam.na/an_history.htm (site off-line 16 Oct 2007).

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1989p, "Administration and Development" IN Country Study: Angola [www] http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ao0028) [opens new window] (accessed 16 Oct 2007).

MEIJER, G & BIRMINGHAM, D 2004, "Angola from past to present" Accord 15 [www] http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/angola/past-present.php [opens new window] (accessed 15 May 2008).