Angola

Practically all that is known of the early history of Angola is that the Stone Age hunters and gatherers of the region were displaced by metalworking Bantu as early as the 7th century  AD. The country was on the migration routes of peoples from the north and east, which resulted in considerable mixture of populations. Thus, the culture of the Lunda, on the Kasai River in the east, affected the Chokwe to the extent that they are now known as the Lunda-Chokwe; similarly, the Bakongo, at the time of their migration into northern Angola, put their stamp on the preexisting local chiefdoms. Advent of Europeans When the Portuguese arrived in 1483, seeking the legendary kingdom of Prester John, as well as precious metals, they found the realm of the Bakongo well established. The ruler of the state welcomed the newcomers, and in 1491 Portuguese traders and missionaries bearing gifts were sent to the court of Manikongo ("king") Nzinga Nkuwu, who converted to Christianity. Also converting was the succeeding manikongo, Afonso I, who also accepted Portuguese guidance in the administration of his realm. The Portuguese, however, were more interested in profit from a booming trade in slaves than in either missionary work or spreading European civilization. The slave traffic, aided by local chiefs, gradually undermined the authority of the manikongo, and 25 years after Afonso's death the state succumbed to the onslaught of the Jaga, a fierce group of nomads from the east. Native Resistance The Portuguese, meanwhile, had extended their reach southward to the area around and south of present Luanda, over which they soon claimed colonial authority; it was the title of the local ruler, ngola, that became the name of the country. Portugal appointed royal governors who tried to impose their will on the population, but foreign rule was stubbornly resisted. Prolonged warfare ensued, while slave raids helped to keep the country in continuous turmoil. In addition, the Jaga overran the area after they had devastated the Bakongo, and in the middle of the 17th century, Luanda, founded by the Portuguese in 1575, was temporarily taken by the Dutch. Practically no European settlement was attempted during this time, owing to the much greater profits to be made in the slave trade; by 1845 there were still only 1800 Europeans in all of Angola. The slave trade went on almost uninterrupted throughout the 19th century. By the end of that time an estimated 3 million people had been taken and sold off across the Atlantic to North and South America. Portugal did not gain full control over the country's interior until the early 20th century. After that it was governed under the so-called regime do indigenato, an invidious system of economic exploitation, educational neglect, and political repression that remained in force until 1961. In 1951 Angola's official status was changed from colony to overseas province; soon after, a policy of accelerated European settlement was adopted-the futile attempt of the colonial power to stave off the inevitable. During the 1950s a nationalist movement grew rapidly, and in 1961 a guerrilla war against the Portuguese was initiated. War and Independence The nationalists, however, were split into three rival groups: the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola, or FNLA), the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, or MPLA), and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, or UNITA). All three had armed forces in the field, but none made much headway until the revolution in Portugal in April 1974 (see Portugal: History). After that, the whole Portuguese colonial empire began to fall apart. The new Lisbon regime agreed to a transfer of power, and on November 11, 1975, Angola became independent. Two governments claimed to represent the new nation, one formed by the MPLA in Luanda, the other by UNITA and FNLA in Huambo. The ensuing civil war assumed international overtones: the MPLA was armed by the USSR and aided by Cuban troops, while some Western powers and South Africa allied themselves with the FNLA/UNITA coalition and its leader, Jonas Savimbi. By early 1976 the MPLA had gained the upper hand, and its government, with MPLA leader Agostinho Neto as president, was gradually recognized throughout the world. Neto died in 1979, and leadership of the nation was assumed by José Eduardo dos Santos. Although the FNLA surrendered to the government in 1984, UNITA continued to wage guerrilla warfare against the MPLA, supported militarily by South Africa and the United States. South Africa was also battling the Angolan government over control of Namibia. In August 1988 a peace agreement was reached between Angola, South Africa, and Cuba that granted independence to Namibia and ended Cuban and South African military involvement in the Angolan civil war. The U.S. government continued to send aid to UNITA, but also pushed forward diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. In March 1991 the two sides signed a peace accord providing for a cease-fire and the legalization of all political parties by May. President dos Santos called for multiparty elections to be held in September 1992, and a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force maintained order. Tensions and small skirmishes arose just before the election, however. When the MPLA emerged with the majority of seats in parliament (129 of 220) and dos Santos received 49.6 percent of the vote, Savimbi rejected the results as fraudulent, refused to participate in the runoff election, and resumed the war at an even deadlier level. In 1993 the United States and other foreign powers officially ended their support of the warring factions. Daily relief flights by the UN World Food Program were required to avert mass starvation throughout the country, as most of Angola's resources went toward weapons and other war costs. By the end of 1994 an estimated 3.6 million Angolans were war refugees, and 500,000 people had been killed. In May 1995 dos Santos and Savimbi met in Zambia to sign the Lusaka Protocol, a peace accord drawn up by rebel leaders and government representatives in November 1994. The accord called for a cease-fire, which had been generally respected since November, and greater collaboration between dos Santos and Savimbi. The UN undertook the task of enforcing the treaty, the third since war broke out in 1975, by agreeing to send 8000 peacekeeping troops to Angola in 1995. The demobilization of UNITA troops progressed slowly. In May 1996 the government and UNITA agreed to merge their armies and to create a unified government by the end of July. After numerous delays, a unified government was inaugurated in April 1997, with dos Santos remaining as president and Savimbi becoming the officially recognized leader of the largest opposition group in parliament. Tension between former UNITA forces and government troops remained high, however.