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 1989).

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).

Alarmed by the uprising and subsequent developments the Portuguese government abolished forced labour in 1961 and began making belated reforms in education and healthcare (Library of Congress 1989, History World undated). Simultaneously troops were poured into the colony to suppress the armed resistance. In 1964 conflict broke out in Mozambique and Guinea, making further demands on the Portuguese military (History World undated, Library of Congress 1993). In 1966 matters were further complicated by the discovery of oil in Cabinda, for this provided the Portuguese with both an additional motive for holding onto Angola, as well as the some of the means to do so (Accord 2004). Le Billion (2001, 77) asserts that remittances by Gulf Oil formed some 30% of Portugal's US$54 billion military budget for Angola.

In 1968 Salazar's 38 years reign was brought to an end when he was incapacitated by a stroke. His successor, Marcello Caetano, liberalised somewhat, initiating new economic development projects and easing a little the tight control the state exercised over society. On the issue of retention of the "overseas provinces" he proved to be as intractable as Salazar (History World undated).

The groups engaged in armed struggle, the MPLA, FNLA, FLEC and UNITA, remained divided regionally, ethnically and to a certain extent ideologically from one another. Despite their slight success in threatening Portuguese control over Angola they were unable to combine against their common foe. Indeed, they fought with one another as much as they did with Portugal, so that the civil war may be said to have begun well before independence (History World undated).

Although the Portuguese military seemed to have the situation in Angola well in hand, fighting anti-colonial forces in three African territories simultaneously placed immense strain on the economy and on society. In 1974 some 140 000 troops, 80% of its military resources, were committed to Africa (Library of Congress 1993). This manpower was obtained through conscription of Portuguese youths, which proved to be extremely unpopular. According to War Resisters' International (1997), "By April 1974 (when the coup took place) about 80,000 Portuguese draft evaders were thought to be staying abroad". The economic costs were staggering; some 40% of government spending in 1974 was taken up my military spending (Columbia Encyclopedia 2003).

The strains on the Portuguese economy and society were enormous and the increasingly untenable situation came to an end when the right-wing government was overthrown by left-wing military officers in 1974 (History World undated). The new regime that emerged in April under António de Spínola was unwilling to continue with the colonial wars and set about the withdrawal process from the African colonies, Angola included. The process was hasty and chaotic and amounted to little more than abandoning the colonies to their fate. In the end, in Angola's case, power was handed over to neither a transitional government, nor to one of the political parties, but to the "people of Angola" (History World undated, Meijer & Birmingham 2004, Accord 2004).

By June 1974 the military government had negotiated a cease-fire with the FNLA, MPLA and UNITA and Angola's right to independence was acknowledged. This was followed by an agreement between the parties and Portugal to establish a joint transitional government in January 1975 in preparation for independence and elections (Accord 2004).

References

ACCORD 2004 "Chronology" Accord 15, [www] http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/angola/chronology.php [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPEDIA 2003, "Portugal in the Late Twentieth Century" IN Portugal, Spanish And Portuguese Political Geography [www] http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/P/Portugal-history-portugal-in-the-late- twentieth-century.html [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

HISTORY WORLD UNDATED, "History of Angola", [www] http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad33 [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

HUMAN RIGHTS & DOCUMENTATION CENTRE UNDATED, "Historical Background" IN Angola, [www] http://www.hrdc.unam.na/an_history.htm (offline 10 Mar 2010).

LE BILLION, P 2001, "The political ecology of war: natural resources and armed conflicts" IN Political Geography 20, 561-584 [www] http://geography.fullerton.edu/550/political/Lebillon.pdf (Document off-line 16 Oct 2007).

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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 10 Mar 2010).

WAR RESISTERS' INTERNATIONAL 1997, "Portugal", [www] http://www.wri-irg.org/co/rtba/archive/portugal.htm [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).