View source for Cabinda Province

{{Short description|Exclave and province of Angola}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| name               = Cabinda
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| settlement_type    = [[Provinces of Angola|Province]]
| image_skyline      = 
| imagesize          = 
| image_alt          = 
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| image_flag         = 
| flag_size          = 
| flag_alt           = 
| image_seal         = Cabinda logo.gif
| seal_size          = 90px
| seal_alt           = 
| image_shield       = 
| shield_size        = 
| shield_alt         = 
| image_blank_emblem = Logo of the Province of Cabinda.svg
| blank_emblem_type  = Logo
| blank_emblem_size  = 150px
| blank_emblem_alt   = 
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| image_map          = Cabinda in Angola (2024).svg
| mapsize            = 
| map_alt            = 
| map_caption        = {{leftlegend|#c22234|&nbsp;Cabinda, exclave of Angola}}
| image_map1         = 
| mapsize1           = 
| map_alt1           = 
| map_caption1       = 
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = [[Angola]]
| subdivision_type1  = 
| subdivision_name1  = 
| subdivision_type2  = 
| subdivision_name2  = 
| coordinates        = {{Coord|4|56|03|S|12|24|19|E|region:AO-CAB_type:adm1st_source:geonames|display=title}}
| established_title  = [[Alvor Agreement]]
| established_date   = 15 January 1975
| founder            = 
| named_for          = 
| seat_type          = [[Capital (political)|Capital]]
| seat               = [[Cabinda (city)|Cabinda]]
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = [[Provincial government]]
| leader_party       = 
| leader_title       = Governor
| leader_name        = Suzana Fernanda Pemba Massiala de Abreu
| leader_name1       = Macário Romão Lembe
| leader_title1      = Vice-Governor for the Economic Services
| leader_name2       = Miguel dos Santos de Oliveira
| leader_title2      = Vice-Governor for the Political and Social Sector
| leader_name3       = Juliano Cuabi Niongue Capita
| leader_title3      = Vice-Governor for Technical Services and Infrastructures
| total_type         = 
| unit_pref          = 
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 7290
| area_total_sq_mi   = 
| area_total_dunam   = 
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| area_note          = 
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = 
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 824143
| population_as_of   = mid-2019
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = 
| population_est     = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
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| timezone1          = 
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| area_code_type     = 
| area_code          = 
| iso_code           = AO-CAB
| blank_name_sec1    = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2022)
| blank_info_sec1    = 0.688<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/ |title=Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab |website=hdi.globaldatalab.org |language=en |access-date=26 February 2020 |archive-date=23 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923120638/https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/ |url-status=live}}</ref><br />{{color|#fc0|medium}} · [[List of provinces of Angola by Human Development Index|2nd]]
| website            = {{URL|https://cabinda.gov.ao/}}
| footnotes          = 
}}
[[File:Cabinda, R. Congo, D.R. Congo, Angola.png|right|thumb|250px|{{legend|#ff0000|Cabinda}}{{legend|#00ff00|[[Republic of the Congo]]}}{{legend|#0000ff|[[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]}}{{legend|#ff00ff|[[Angola]]}}]]
'''Cabinda''' (formerly called '''Portuguese Congo''', {{langx|kg|Kabinda}}) is an [[exclave]] and [[Provinces of Angola|province]] of [[Angola]], a status that has been disputed by several political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called [[Cabinda (city)|Cabinda]], known locally as ''Tchiowa'', ''Tsiowa'' or ''Kiowa''.<ref>André Gomes Capita Nionje, ''Arquitetura tradicional em Cabinda Comuna do Tando-zinze Aldeia de Lucula-zenze Cabinda-Angola'', Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, 2019</ref> The province is divided into four municipalities—[[Belize, Angola|Belize]], [[Buco-Zau]], [[Cabinda (city)|Cabinda]] and [[Cacongo (municipality)|Cacongo]].

Modern Cabinda is the result of a fusion of three kingdoms: [[N'Goyo]], [[Kingdom of Loango|Loango]] and [[Kakongo]]. It has an area of {{convert|7290|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and a population of 716,076 at the 2014 census; the latest official estimate (as at mid-2019) is 824,143. According to 1988 [[United States government]] [[statistics]], the total population of the province was 147,200, with a near even split between rural and urban populations.<ref>Collelo, Thomas (editor) (1989) ''A Country Study: Angola'' Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/angola/ao_appen.html Appendix A, Table 2, Cabinda], [https://web.archive.org/web/19990302031012/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/angola/ao_appen.html Archived] 2 March 1999</ref> At one point an estimated one third of Cabindans were refugees living in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]];<ref>{{cite web |title=Refugees from Angola's Cabinda enclave cautious about returning |url=http://www.unhcr.org/422c55754.html |publisher=United Nations High Commission for Refugees |date=7 March 2005 |access-date=7 March 2005 |archive-date=19 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219010030/http://www.unhcr.org/422c55754.html |url-status=live}}</ref> however, after the 2007 peace agreement, refugees started returning to their homes.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100315154611/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/af/135937.htm ''2009 Human Rights Report: Angola''] United States State Department (11 March 2010) accessed 21 December 2023</ref>

Cabinda is separated from the rest of Angola by a narrow strip of territory belonging to the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (formerly known, up until 1960, as the [[Belgian Congo]]), which bounds the province on the south and the east. Cabinda is bounded on the north by the [[Republic of the Congo]] (formerly known as [[French Congo]]), and on the west by the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Adjacent to the coast are some of the largest [[Offshore drilling|offshore oil fields]] in the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15261678&source=features_box1 |title=Sport and terrorism: A deadly game |date=11 January 2010 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=11 January 2010 |archive-date=24 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124093631/http://www.economist.com/world/middleeast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15261678&source=features_box1 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Petroleum exploration]] began in 1954 with the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, when the territory was under [[Portuguese West Africa|Portuguese rule]].<ref>[http://www1.american.edu/TED/ice/cabinda.htm Cabinda, Angola] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327074505/http://www.american.edu/TED/ice/cabinda.htm |date=27 March 2009 }}, ICE Case Studies Number 129, 2004 by Alan Neff</ref>

Cabinda also produces [[hardwood]]s, [[coffee]], [[Cocoa bean|cacao]], [[rubber]], and [[palm oil]] products; however, [[petroleum]] production accounts for most of Cabinda's domestic product. Cabinda produces {{convert|700000|oilbbl}} of crude oil per day.{{when|date=November 2017}} [[Cabinda Oil]] is associated with [[Sonangol]], [[Agip]] Angola Lda (41%), [[Chevron Corp.|Chevron]] (39.2%), [[TotalEnergies]] (10%) and [[Eni]] (9.8%).

In 1885, the [[Treaty of Simulambuco]] established Cabinda as a [[protectorate]] of the [[Portuguese Empire]], and Cabindan independence movements consider the occupation of the territory by Angola illegal. While the [[Angolan Civil War]] largely ended in 2002, [[Cabinda War|an armed struggle]] persists in the exclave of Cabinda.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ojakorotu |first1=Victor |title=The Paradox of Terrorism, Armed Conflict and Natural Resources: An Analysis of Cabinda in Angoloa |journal=Perspectives on Terrorism |year=2011 |volume=5 |issue=3/4 |pages=96–109 |jstor=26298526 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26298526 |access-date=24 June 2023 |issn=2334-3745 |archive-date=25 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625153043/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26298526 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some of the factions have proclaimed an independent [[Republic of Cabinda]], with offices in [[Paris]].

== History ==

=== Portuguese Congo ===
Portuguese explorers, [[Missionary|missionaries]], and traders arrived at the mouth of the [[Congo River]] in the mid-15th century, making contact with the [[Manikongo]], the powerful King of the [[Kongo people|Bakongo tribe]]. The Manikongo controlled much of the region through affiliation with smaller kingdoms, such as the Kingdoms of [[Ngoyo]], [[Kingdom of Loango|Loango]], and [[Kakongo]] in present-day Cabinda.

Over the years, the Portuguese, [[Netherlands|Dutch]], and [[England|English]] established [[trading posts]], [[logging]] camps, and small [[palm oil]] processing factories in Cabinda. Trade continued and the European presence grew, resulting in conflicts between the rival colonial powers.  Between 1827 and 1830, the [[Imperial Brazilian Navy]] maintained a [[Eastern Naval Division|naval base]] in the western part of Cabinda, making it the only Brazilian colony outside of South America.

[[File:CarteBasCongo1913.JPG|thumb|250px|1913 map of [[Bas-Congo]] and Cabinda]]

Portugal first claimed sovereignty over Cabinda in the February 1885 [[Treaty of Simulambuco]], which gave Cabinda the status of a protectorate of the [[List of Portuguese monarchs|Portuguese Crown]] under the request of "the princes and governors of Cabinda". This is often the basis upon which the legal and historical arguments in defense of the [[self-determination]] of modern-day Cabinda are constructed. Article 1, for example, states, "the princes and chiefs and their successors declare, voluntarily, their recognition of Portuguese sovereignty, placing under the protectorate of this nation all the territories by them governed" {{sic}}. Article 2, which is often used in separatist arguments, goes even further: "Portugal is obliged to maintain the integrity of the territories placed under its protection". The [[Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda]] (FLEC-R) argues that the above-mentioned treaty was signed between the emissaries of the Portuguese Crown and the princes and notables of Cabinda, then called Portuguese Congo, giving rise to not one, but three protectorates: Cacongo, Loango, and Ngoio.

Through the Treaty of Simulambuco in 1885 between the kings of Portugal and the princes of Cabinda, a Portuguese [[protectorate]] was decreed, reserving rights to the local princes and independent of Angola. Cabinda once had the Congo River as the only natural boundary with Angola, but in 1885, the [[Berlin Conference]] extended the territory of the [[Congo Free State]] along the Congo River to the river's mouth at the sea.

During this time rubber was harvested and traded in Cabinda. Atrocities such as the cutting of hands were also committed there, although comprehensive reports on these atrocities were more scant and less publicly known compared to the neighbouring Congo Free State.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://atrocitieswatch.org/publications/mutilation-and-brutality/ |title=Mutilation and brutality |access-date=13 February 2023 |archive-date=13 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213154516/http://atrocitieswatch.org/publications/mutilation-and-brutality/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Van Reybrouck |first=David |date=2014 |title=Congo: The Epic History of a People |location=London |publisher=Fourth Estate |isbn=978-0-00-756290-9}}</ref>

=== Administrative merger with Angola ===
By the mid-1920s, the borders of Angola had been finally established in negotiations with the neighboring colonial powers. From there on Angola and Cabinda were treated distinctively under the Portuguese constitution of 1933 until 15 January 1975 under the Alvor Agreement.
[[File:Cabinda map-en.svg|thumb|250px]]
[[File:Cabinda2025OSM.png|thumb|250px|Detailed map of Cabinda Province]]
The Portuguese constitution of 1933 distinguished between the colony of Angola and the protectorate of Cabinda, but in 1956, the administration of Cabinda was transferred to the governor-general of Angola. The legal distinction of Cabinda's status from that of Angola was also expressed in the Portuguese constitution of 1971.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Portugal_2005.pdf |title=Portugal's Constitution of 1976 with Amendments through 2005 |access-date=7 April 2019 |archive-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407092042/https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Portugal_2005.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Yet, when Angola was declared an "[[overseas province]]" (Província Ultramarina) within the empire of Portugal in 1951, Cabinda was treated as an ordinary district of Angola. In 1972, the name of Angola was changed to "State of Angola".

Under Portuguese rule, Cabinda was an important agricultural and forestry center, and in 1967, it discovered huge [[offshore (hydrocarbons)|offshore]] oil fields. Oil, timber, and [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]] had been its main exports until then. The town of Cabinda, the capital of the territory, was a Portuguese administrative and services center with a [[port]] and airfield. The beaches of Cabinda were popular with Portuguese Angolans.

=== After independence of Angola from Portugal ===
A 1974 [[Carnation Revolution|military coup in Lisbon]] abolished the authoritarian regime established by [[António de Oliveira Salazar]] that had prevailed in Portugal for decades. The new government decided immediately to grant all Portuguese colonies the independence for which nationalist guerilla movements had been striving. In Angola, the [[decolonization]] process took the form of a violent conflict between the different guerilla movements and their allies. In 1975, the [[Alvor Agreement|Treaty of Alvor]] between Portugal and [[National Liberation Front of Angola]] (FNLA), People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ([[MPLA]]) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ([[UNITA]]) reconfirmed Cabinda's status as part of Angola. The treaty was rejected by the [[Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda]] and other local political organizations which advocated for separate independence. Since then, Cabinda has been, on the one hand, a normal Angolan province, but on the other hand, there has been persistent political protest against this status; the "Kabinda Free State" says the [[exclave]] was a Portuguese [[protectorate]] until Angola invaded in 1974.<ref name=exc>{{cite web |url=http://www.cabinda.net/ |title=Mambu Ma Nzambi Kabinda |publisher=Federal government of Kabinda Free State |access-date=23 December 2010 |archive-date=31 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031122126/http://www.cabinda.net/ |url-status=live}}</ref> They also say they control 85% of Kabinda territory and invite proposals for [[joint ventures]].<ref name=exc /> A number of guerrilla actions have also occurred in Cabinda.<ref>United States State Department (8 April 2011), [https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/af/154330.htm "2010 Human Rights Report: Angola"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218084111/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/af/154330.htm |date=18 December 2019 }}</ref>

=== Secessionism ===
{{Main|Cabinda War}}

==== Ethnic grounds for self-determination ====
The arguments for self-determination are based on Cabindans' cultural and ethnic background. Prior to the [[Treaty of Simulambuco]], three kingdoms existed in what is now referred to as Cabinda: Cacongo, Ngoyo, and Loango. The Cabindans belong to the [[Bakongo]] ethnic group whose language is [[Kikongo]]. The Bakongo also comprise the majority of the population in [[Uíge Province|Uíge]] and [[Zaire Province|Zaire]] provinces of [[Angola]]. However, despite this shared ancestry, the Cabindans developed a very different culture and distinct variants of the Kikongo language.

==== Secessionist history ====
In the early 1960s, several movements advocating a separate status for Cabinda came into being. The [[Movement for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda]] (MLEC) was formed in 1960 under the leadership of [[Luis Ranque Franque]]. Resulting from the merger of various [[emigrant|émigré]] associations in [[Brazzaville]], the MLEC rapidly became the most prominent of the separatist movements. A further group was the [[Alliama]] (Alliance of the Mayombe), representing the [[Mayombe]], a small minority of the population. In an important development, these movements united in August 1963 to form a united front. They called themselves the FLEC, and the leadership role was taken by the MLEC's Ranque Franque.

In marked contrast with the FNLA, the FLEC's efforts to mobilize international support for its [[government in exile]] met with little success. In fact, the majority of [[African Union|Organization of African Unity]] (OAU) members, concerned that this could encourage separatism elsewhere on [[Africa|the continent]],{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} committed to the sanctity of state borders and firmly rejected recognition of the FLEC's government in exile.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

In January 1975, Angola's MPLA, FNLA and UNITA liberation movements signed the [[Alvor Agreement]] with Portugal, to establish the modalities of the transition to independence. FLEC was not invited.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

On 1 August 1975, at an OAU summit in [[Kampala]] which was discussing Angola in the midst of its turbulent [[decolonization]] process, Ranque Franque proclaimed the [[Independence War in Cabinda|independence]] of the "Republic of Cabinda".{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} [[Zaire|Zairian]] President [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] called for a referendum on the future of Cabinda.

FLEC formed a [[provisional government]], led by [[Heads of state of Cabinda|Henriques Tiago]]. Luiz Branque Franque was elected president.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}} Following the declaration of Angolan independence in November 1975, Cabinda was invaded by forces of the [[Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola]] (MPLA), with the support of [[Cuba]]n troops. The MPLA overthrew the provisional FLEC government and incorporated Cabinda into Angola.

For much of the 1970s and 1980s, FLEC operated a [[low intensity conflict|low intensity]] [[guerrilla war]], attacking Angolan government troops and economic targets, or creating havoc by kidnapping foreign employees working in the province's oil and construction businesses.

The National Union for the Liberation of Cabinda ({{langx|pt|União Nacional de Libertação de Cabinda}}; UNLC), a militant separatist group, emerged in the 1990s under the leadership of Lumingu Luis Gimby.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/flec.htm Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda—FLEC)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175439/https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/flec.htm |date=18 June 2018 }} Global Security</ref>

In April 1997, Cabinda joined the [[Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://worldholdings.co/terrigena/files/TerrigenaEuropeDocs.pdf |title=worldholdings.co.pdf |access-date=20 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420234919/http://worldholdings.co/terrigena/files/TerrigenaEuropeDocs.pdf |archive-date=20 April 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> a democratic and [[international organization]] whose members are [[indigenous peoples]], [[List of disputed or occupied territories|occupied nations]], minorities and independent states or territories. In 2010, Cabinda became a charter member of the Organization of Emerging African States (OEAS).{{cn|date=April 2022}}

==== Recent history ====
An [[ad-hoc]] [[United Nations]] [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights|commission]] for human rights in Cabinda reported in 2003 that many atrocities had been perpetrated by the MPLA. In 2004, according to [[Peter Takirambudde]], executive director of the [[Human Rights Watch]] mission for Africa, the Angolan army continued to commit [[Human rights in Angola|crimes against civilians]] in Cabinda.

Although the Angolan government says FLEC is no longer operative, this is disputed by the Republic of Cabinda and its Premier, Joel Batila.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-12 |title=Joel Batila, former secretary-general of the Cabinda independence movement, died |url=https://www.verangola.net/va/en/112020/Society/22734/Joel-Batila-former-secretary-general-of-the-Cabinda-independence-movement-died.htm |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=VerAngola |language=en}}</ref>

Earlier increases in the [[price of oil]] have made Cabinda's untapped onshore [[oil reserves]] a valuable commodity.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

===== Peace deal =====
In July 2006, after ceasefire negotiations in the Republic of Congo, [[António Bento Bembe]] – as a president of Cabindan Forum for Dialogue and Peace, and vice-president and executive secretary of FLEC – announced that the Cabindan separatist forces were ready to declare a ceasefire. Bembe is the leader of the "[[Cabindan Forum for Dialogue]]", an organization which represents most Cabindan groups{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}. The peace was recognized by the United States, France, Portugal, [[Russia]], Gabon, [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Republic of the Congo]], [[Japan]], [[South Korea]], the [[European Union]] and the African Union.

:"We're going to sign a cease-fire with the Angolans who in return have accepted the principle of granting special status to Cabinda", he announced, implying that while his group is resigned to be a part of Angola, they have gotten a promise of some form of autonomy.<ref>[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/KKEE-6RKMY3?OpenDocument (Reuters): Cabinda separatists say ready to sign ceasefire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209051828/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/KKEE-6RKMY3?OpenDocument |date=9 February 2009 }} Retrieved 2 November 2007.</ref>

From Paris, FLEC-FAC contended Bembe has no authority or mandate to negotiate with the Angolans, and that the only acceptable solution is total independence.<ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/200607140720.html Angola: Cabinda Separatists Divided Over Peace Talks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309165520/http://allafrica.com/stories/200607140720.html |date=9 March 2012 }} allafrica.com – 14 July 2006 accessed 21 December 2023.</ref>

===== Togo football team bus attack =====
{{Main|Togo national football team attack}}

On 8 January 2010, the bus carrying the [[Togo national football team]] traveling through Cabinda en route to the [[2010 Africa Cup of Nations]] tournament was attacked by gunmen, even though it had an escort of Angolan forces. The ensuing gunfight resulted in the deaths of the assistant coach, team spokesman and bus driver, and caused injuries to several others as well.

An offshoot of the FLEC claimed responsibility. [[Rodrigues Mingas]], secretary general of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Military Position (FLEC-PM), said his fighters had meant to attack security guards as the convoy passed through Cabinda. "This attack was not aimed at the [[Togo]]lese players but at the Angolan forces at the head of the convoy", Mingas told [[France&nbsp;24]] television. "So it was pure chance that the gunfire hit the players. We don't have anything to do with the Togolese and we present our condolences to the African families and the Togo government. We are fighting for the total liberation of Cabinda."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/11/two-arrested-togo-football-attack |work=The Guardian |location=London |title=Togo footballers were attacked by mistake, Angolan rebels say |first=James |last=Sturcke |date=11 January 2010 |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-date=14 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014213829/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/11/two-arrested-togo-football-attack |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{See also|Energy in Angola|Petroleum politics|Corruption in Angola}} Consisting largely of [[tropical forest]], Cabinda produces [[hardwoods]], coffee, cocoa, crude rubber, and palm oil. The product for which it is best known, however, is its [[oil]]. Conservative estimates say that Cabinda accounts for close to 60% of Angola's oil production, estimated at approximately {{convert|900000|oilbbl/d}}, and it is estimated that oil exports from the province are worth the equivalent of US$100,000 per annum for every Cabindan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Porto |first=João Gomes |title=Cabinda: Notes on a soon-to-be-forgotten war |url=https://www.academia.edu/578263 |journal=Iss.org.za |access-date=27 July 2021 |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023005637/https://www.academia.edu/578263 |url-status=live}}</ref> Yet Cabinda remains one of the poorest provinces in Angola. An agreement in 1996 between the national and provincial governments stipulated that 10% of Cabinda's taxes on oil revenues would be given back to the province, but Cabindans often feel that these revenues do not benefit the population as a whole, largely because of corruption. The private sector, particularly the [[oil industry]], has both affected and been affected by the secessionist conflict. During the early days of Cabinda's struggle, the [[oil companies]] were perceived as sympathetic to, if not supportive of, Cabinda's self-determination cause. The strategy used by the separatists to gain international attention, was most evident in 1999 and 2000. During 1999, FLEC-R kidnapped four foreign workers (two Portuguese and two French citizens), but released them after several months, having failed to attract the attention of the international community. [[FLEC-FAC]] also increased its activities during 2000 with the more widely publicized kidnapping of three Portuguese workers employed by a construction company, while FLEC-R kidnapped another five Portuguese civilians. These hostages were not freed until June 2001, following diplomatic intervention by the governments of [[Gabon]] and the [[Republic of the Congo]].

== Municipalities ==
The province of Cabinda consists of four [[municipalities of Angola|municipalities]] ({{langx|pt|municípios}}); listed below with their areas (in km<sup>2</sup>) and populations at the 2014 Census and according to the latest official estimates:<ref>Instituto Nacional de Estatistica, 2019.</ref>

{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Name  || Area <br />(in km<sup>2</sup>)|| Population<br />Census<br /> 16 May 2014 || Population<br />Estimate<br /> 1 July 2019
|-
| [[Belize, Angola|Belize]] ||align="right" | 1,360||align="right" | 19,561||align="right" | 22,514
|-
| [[Buco-Zau]] ||align="right" | 1,979||align="right" | 32,792||align="right" | 37,741
|-
| [[Cabinda (city)|Cabinda]] ||align="right" | 2,273||align="right" | 624,646||align="right" | 718,915
|-
| [[Cacongo (municipality)|Cacongo]] ||align="right" | 1,679||align="right" | 39,076||align="right" | 44,974
|-
| '''''Provincial Totals''''' ||align="right" | 7,290||align="right" | 716,076||align="right" | 824,143
|}

The city of Cabinda contains 87% of the provincial population. The other three municipalities lie to the north of the city.

== Communes ==
The province of Cabinda contains the following [[communes of Angola|communes]] ({{langx|pt|comunas}}); sorted by their respective municipalities:

* Cabinda Municipality: – [[Cabinda (city)|Cabinda]], [[Malembo]], [[Tando Zinze|Tanto-Zinze]]
* Cacondo Municipality: – [[Cacongo (municipality)|Cacongo]], [[Dinge, Angola|Dinge]], [[Massabi]]
* Buco-Zau Municipality: – [[Buco-Zau]], [[Inhuca]], [[Necuto]]
* Belize Municipality: – [[Belize, Angola|Belize]], [[Luali, Angola|Luali]], [[Miconge]] (Miconje)

== Geology ==
Two giant [[oil field]]s, the ''Malonga North'' and ''Malonga West'' were discovered in 1967 and 1970, respectively, both [[Pre-salt layer|pre-salt]] or pre-[[Aptian]] producers.<ref name="Dale 1992" />{{rp|198–199}}

Located in water depths of 50 to 75&nbsp;m, oil was discovered in [[Barremian]] deposits in 1971, then the [[Cenomanian]] section in 1979.

Four offshore oil fields, the ''Wamba'', ''Takula'', ''Numbi'' and ''Vuko'', are located in the greater Takula area, producing from the [[Upper Cretaceous]], [[Cenomanian]] Vermelha [[sandstone]] deposited in the coastal environment.<ref name="Dale 1992">Dale, C.T., Lopes, J.R., and Abilio, S., 1992, Takula Oil Field and the Greater Takula Area, Cabinda, Angola, In Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade, 1978–1988, AAPG Memoir 54, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, {{ISBN|0891813330}}</ref>{{rp|197}}

Cretaceous and Paleocene vertebrates, including fossil turtles as ''Cabindachelys''<ref>Myers, T. S., Polcyn M. J., Mateus O., Vineyard D. P., Gonçalves A. O., & Jacobs L. L. (2017).  A new durophagous stem cheloniid turtle from the lower Paleocene of Cabinda, Angola. Papers in Palaeontology. 2017, 1–16</ref> have been collected from Lândana.

== List of governors of Cabinda ==

{| class="wikitable sortable
|+ Governors of Cabinda<ref>{{cite web |title=Histórico dos Governadores |url=http://www.cabinda.gov.ao/Institucionais/Historico.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044209/http://www.cabinda.gov.ao/Institucionais/Historico.aspx |archive-date=6 March 2019 |access-date=3 March 2019 |publisher=cabinda.gov.ao |language=pt |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
! Name !! Years in office
|-
| Evaristo Domingos Kimba|| 1975–1978
|-
| Luis Doukui Paulo de Castro|| 1979–1980
|-
| Manuel Francisco Tuta a.k.a. ''Batalha de Angola''||1980–1982
|-
| Armando Fandame Ndembo|| 1982–1984
|-
| Jorge Barros Chimpuati|| 1984–1991
|-
| [[Augusto da Silva Tomás]]|| 1991–1995
|-
| José Amaro Tati || 1995–2002
|-
| [[José Aníbal Lopes Rocha]] || 2002–2009
|-
| [[Mawete João Baptista]] || 2009–2012
|-
| [[Aldina Matilde Barros da Lomba]] Katembo || 2012–2017
|-
| [[Eugénio César Laborinho]] || 2017–2019
|-
| Marcos Alexandre Nhunga || 2019–2022
|-
| Mara Regina da Silva Baptista Domingos Quiosa || 2022–present
|}
{{small|Up to 1991, the official name was Provincial Commissioner}}

== Notable people ==
* [[Eduardo Camavinga]] (born 2002), French football player

== See also ==
* [[Early Congolese history]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.cabinda.gov.ao/ Official website of province governor]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090327023615/http://www.mat.gv.ao/portalmat/default.aspx?s=44 Information on this province at the Angolan ministry for territorial administration]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120611001311/http://www.info-angola.ao/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=11&Itemid=1231 Information on this province at ''Info Angola'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030129162503/http://www.cabinda.net/ Official "Republic of Cabinda" website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030129195250/http://www.cabinda.org/ Official Website of Republic of Cabinda in Exile] F.L.E.C (English)
* [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/angola/ao_appen.html US government statistics from 1988]
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Kabinda |volume=15 |page=623 |short=1}}
* [http://www.legalbrief.co.za/article.php?story=20070820151711831 Exploitation of people of Cabinda alleged]
* [http://ao.geoview.info/cabinda,2243266 Province geographical info at geoview.info]

{{Provinces of Angola}}
{{Cabinda Province}}
{{Portuguese overseas empire}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Cabinda Province| ]]
[[Category:1975 establishments in Angola]]
[[Category:Angola–Democratic Republic of the Congo border]]
[[Category:Angola–Republic of the Congo border]]
[[Category:Disputed territories in Africa]]
[[Category:Enclaves and exclaves]]
[[Category:Former Portuguese colonies]]
[[Category:Portuguese colonisation in Africa]]
[[Category:Provinces of Angola]]
[[Category:Separatism in Angola]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1975]]