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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{History of Angola}}
{{Culture of Angola}}

[[Angola]] was first settled by [[San people|San]] hunter-gatherer societies before the northern domains came under the rule of [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] states such as [[Kingdom of Kongo|Kongo]] and [[Ndongo]]. In the 15th century, [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese colonists]] began trading, and a settlement was established at [[Luanda]] during the 16th century. Portugal annexed territories in the region which were [[Colonial history of Angola|ruled as a colony]] from 1655, and Angola was incorporated as an [[Administrative divisions of Portugal|overseas province of Portugal]] in 1951. After the [[Angolan War of Independence]], which ended in 1974 with [[Carnation Revolution|an army mutiny and leftist coup]] in [[Lisbon]], Angola achieved independence in 1975 through the [[Alvor Agreement]]. After independence, Angola entered a long period of [[Angolan Civil War|civil war]] that lasted until 2002.

== Prehistory ==
{{see also|Precolonial history of Angola|Colonial history of Angola|Angolan War of Independence}}
The area of present-day [[Angola]] was inhabited during the [[Paleolithic]] and [[Neolithic]] eras, as attested by remains found in Luanda, Congo, and the [[Namibe desert]]. At the beginning of recorded history other cultures and people also arrived.

The first ones to settle were the [[San people]]. This changed at the beginning of the sixth century AD, when the [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]], already in possession of metal-working technology, ceramics and agriculture began migrating from the north. When they reached what is now Angola they encountered the San and other groups. The establishment of the Bantu took many centuries and gave rise to a variety of groupings that took on different ethnic characteristics.

== Kingdom of Kongo ==
The first large political entity in the area, known to history as the [[Kingdom of Kongo]], appeared in the thirteenth century and stretched from [[Gabon]] in the north to the [[river Kwanza]] in the south, and from the Atlantic in the west to the [[river Cuango]] in the east.

The wealth of the Kongo came mainly from agriculture. Power was in the hands of the Mani, aristocrats who occupied key positions in the kingdom and who answered only to the all-powerful King of the Kongo. [[Mbanza (territory)|Mbanza]] was the name given to a territorial unit administered and ruled by a Mani; [[Mbanza Congo]], the capital, had a population of over fifty thousand in the sixteenth century.

[[File:Padrão de Santo Agostinho MRAC HO.1932.752.1 n1.jpg|thumb|left|upright|160px|A copy of the ''[[padrão]]'' erected by [[Diogo Cão]]'s ships at [[Cabo de Santa Maria (Angola)|Cabo de Santa Maria]] in 1482 ]]
The Kingdom of Kongo was divided into six provinces and included some dependent kingdoms, such as [[Ndongo]] to the south. Trade was the main activity, based on highly productive agriculture and increasing exploitation of mineral wealth. In 1482, [[Portuguese caravel]]s commanded by [[Diogo Cão]] arrived in the Congo{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}} and he explored the extreme north-western coast of what today is Angola in 1484.{{sfnp|Baynes|1878}} Other expeditions followed, and close relations were soon established between the two states. The Portuguese brought firearms and many other technological advances, as well as a new religion ([[Christianity]]); in return, the King of the Congo offered plenty of slaves, ivory, and minerals.

The King of the Kongo soon converted to Christianity and adopted a similar political structure to the Europeans. He became a well-known figure in Europe, to the point of receiving missives from the [[Pope]].

== Kingdom of Ndongo ==
[[Image:Queen Nzinga 1657.png|thumb|[[Queen Nzinga]] in peace negotiations with the Portuguese governor in [[Luanda]], 1657]]
To the south of the Kingdom of the Kongo, around the river Kwanza, there were various important states. The most important of these was the [[Kingdom of Ndongo]] or Dongo, ruled by the ''ngolas'' (chief or king). At the time of the arrival of the Portuguese, Ngola Kiluange was in power. By maintaining a policy of alliances with neighbouring states, he managed to hold out against the foreigners for several decades but in the late 1620s was eventually beheaded in [[Luanda]]. Years later, the Ndongo rose to prominence again when Jinga Mbandi ([[Queen Jinga]]) took power in 1631. A wily politician, she kept the Portuguese in check with carefully prepared agreements. After undertaking various journeys she succeeded in 1635 in forming a grand coalition with the states of [[Matamba]] and Ndongo, Kongo, [[Kassanje]], [[Dembos]] and [[Kissamas]]. At the head of this formidable alliance, she forced the Portuguese to retreat.

Meanwhile, Portugal had lost its King and the [[Portuguese succession crisis of 1580|Spanish took control of the Portuguese monarchy]]. By this time, focus on Portugal's overseas territories had taken secondary importance. The [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]] took advantage of this situation and occupied Luanda in 1641. Jinga entered into an alliance with the Dutch, thereby strengthening her coalition and confining the Portuguese to [[Massangano]], which they fortified strongly, sallying forth on occasion to capture slaves in a later war. Slaves from Angola were essential to the development of the [[Colonial Brazil|Portuguese colony of Brazil]], but the traffic had been interrupted by these events.

Portugal having [[Portuguese Restoration War|regained its independence]], a large force from Brazil under the command of [[Salvador Correia de Sá]] retook Luanda in 1648, leading to the return of the Portuguese in large numbers. Jinga's coalition then fell apart; the absence of their Dutch allies with their firearms and the strong position of Correia de Sá delivered a deadly blow to the morale of the native forces. After Jinga died in 1663, the King of Congo committed all his forces in an attempt to capture the island of Luanda, occupied by Correia de Sá, but they were defeated and lost their independence. The Kingdom of Ndongo submitted to the Portuguese Crown in 1671.

== Portuguese Angola ==
The [[Portuguese West Africa|Portuguese colony of Angola]] was founded in 1575 with the arrival of [[Paulo Dias de Novais]] with a hundred Portuguese families and 400 soldiers. Its center at [[Luanda]] was granted the status of city in 1605.

Trade was mostly with the Portuguese colony of Brazil; Brazilian ships were the most numerous in the ports of Luanda and Benguela. By this time, Angola, a Portuguese colony, was in fact like a colony of Brazil, paradoxically another Portuguese colony. A strong Brazilian influence was also exercised by the [[Jesuits]] in religion and education. War gradually gave way to the philosophy of trade.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} Slave-trading routes and the conquests that made them possible were the driving force for activities between the different areas; independent states slave markets were now focused on the demands of American slavery.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} In the high plains (the Planalto), the most important states were those of [[Bié (province)|Bié]] and [[Bailundo]], the latter being noted for its production of foodstuffs and rubber. The interior remained largely free of Portuguese control as late as the 19th century.{{sfnp|Baynes|1878}}

[[File:Portugal na África. A emboscada dos Cuanhamas na clareira de uma floresta, perto do rio Cunene (Angola).jpg|thumb|In the [[Battle of the Cunene]], Portuguese forces were defeated by [[Ovambo people|Ovambo]] warriors on 25 September 1904]]
The slave trade was not abolished until 1836, and in 1844 Angola's ports were opened to foreign shipping with the Portuguese unable to enforce the laws, especially dependent on English naval security. This facilitated the continuation of slave smuggling to the United States and Brazil. By 1850, Luanda was one of the largest Portuguese cities in the [[Portuguese Empire]] outside [[Mainland Portugal]] exporting (together with [[Benguela]]) palm and peanut oil, wax, copal, timber, ivory, cotton, coffee, and cocoa, among many other products – almost all the produce of a continued forced labour system.

The [[Berlin Conference]] compelled Portugal to move towards the immediate occupation of all the territories it laid claim to but had been unable to effectively conquer. The territory of [[Cabinda (province)]], to the north of the river Zaire, was also ceded to Portugal on the legal basis of the [[Treaty of Simulambuko]] Protectorate, concluded between the [[Portuguese Crown]] and the princes of Cabinda in 1885. In the 19th century they slowly and hesitantly began to establish themselves in the interior. Angola as a [[Portuguese West Africa|Portuguese colony]] encompassing the present territory was not established before the end of the 19th century, and "effective occupation", as required by the [[Berlin Conference (1884)]] was achieved only by the 1920s.

Colonial economic strategy was based on [[agriculture]] and the export of [[raw material]]s. Trade in [[rubber]] and [[ivory]], together with the taxes imposed on the population of the Empire (including the mainland), brought vast income to [[Lisbon]].

[[File:Matrícula angolana em 1949.jpg|thumb|Car in Angola, in 1949.]]
[[File:Ford Taunus 1972.jpg|thumb|[[Ford Taunus]] in Angola, in 1972]]
Portuguese policy in Angola was modified by certain reforms introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} The fall of the Portuguese monarchy and a favourable international climate led to reforms in administration, agriculture, and education. In 1951, with the advent of the [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|New State]] regime (''Estado Novo'') extended to the colony, Angola became a province of Portugal (Ultramarine Province), called the ''Província Ultramarina de Angola'' ([[Overseas Province of Angola]]).

However, Portuguese rule remained characterized by deep-seated racism, mass forced labour, and an almost complete failure to modernize the country.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} By 1960, after 400 years of colonial rule, there was not a single university in the entire territory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uan.ao/|title=UAN|website=Universidade Agostinho Neto|language=pt-PT|access-date=2019-11-05}}</ref> To counter this lack of education facilities, overtly political organizations first appeared in the 1950s, and began to make organized demands for human and civil rights, initiating diplomatic campaigns throughout the world in their fight for independence. The Portuguese regime, meanwhile, refused to accede to the nationalists' demands for independence, thereby provoking the armed conflict that started in 1961 when guerrillas attacked colonial assets in cross-border operations in northeastern Angola.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} The war came to be known as the [[Portuguese Colonial War|Colonial War]].<ref>See [[Christine Messiant]], ''L’Angola colonial, histoire et société: Les prémisses du mouvement nationaliste'', Basle: Schlettwein, 2006.</ref>

In this struggle, the principal protagonists were the [[MPLA]] (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola), founded in 1956, the FNLA ([[National Front for the Liberation of Angola]]), which appeared in 1961, and UNITA ([[National Union for the Total Independence of Angola]]), founded in 1966. After many years of conflict, the nation gained its independence on 11 November 1975, after the [[Carnation Revolution|1974 coup d'état]] in [[Lisbon]], Portugal. Portugal's new leaders began a process of democratic change at home and acceptance of the independence of its former colonies.

==Independence and civil war==
{{main|Angolan Civil War|Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration}}
A [[Carnation Revolution|1974 coup d'état]] in Portugal established a military government led by President [[António de Spínola]]. The Spínola government agreed to give all of Portugal's colonies independence, and handed power in Angola over to a coalition of the three largest nationalist movements, the MPLA, UNITA, and the FNLA, through the [[Alvor Agreement]]. The coalition quickly broke down, however, and the country descended into civil war. The MPLA gained control of the capital Luanda and much of the rest of the country. With the support of the United States, [[Zaïre]] and South Africa intervened militarily in favour of the FNLA and UNITA with the intention of taking Luanda before the declaration of independence. In response, [[Cuban intervention in Angola|Cuba intervened]] in favor of the MPLA. In the meantime the South Africans and UNITA had come as close as 200&nbsp;km to the south of the capital, the FNLA and Zairian forces as far as Kifangondo, 30&nbsp;km to the east.

With Cuban support, the MPLA held Luanda and declared independence as the [[Angolan People's Republic]] on 11 November 1975, the day the Portuguese left the country. [[Agostinho Neto]] became the first president. FNLA and UNITA proclaimed their own short-lived republics (the Angolan Democratic Republic and the Angolan Social Democratic Republic) on 24 November 1975, for the zones they controlled with [[Holden Roberto]] and [[Jonas Savimbi]] as [[Heads of state of the Democratic People's Republic of Angola|co-presidents]] of the [[Angolan People's Democratic Republic]] in Huambo. This joint FNLA-UNITA government was dissolved on 11 February 1976 after a MPLA offensive. By the end of January 1976 the MPLA army (FAPLA) and the Cubans had all but crushed FNLA, Zairians and UNITA, and the South African forces withdrew.<ref name="countrystudies">{{Cite book |last=Collelo |first=Thomas |url=http://countrystudies.us/angola/39.htm |title=Angola: A Country Study |publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress |year=1991 |location=Washington, DC |language=en |chapter=Independence and the Rise of the MPLA Government |via=countrystudies.us}}</ref>

On 27 May 1977, a coup attempt, including some former members of the MPLA government such as [[Nito Alves]], led to retaliation by the government and Cuban forces, resulting in the execution of thousands, if not tens of thousands.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pawson |first=Lara |title=In the Name of the People: Angola's Forgotten Massacre |date=2014 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-78076-905-9 |location=London |language=en |author-link=Lara Pawson}}</ref> Alves was tortured and killed. The movement is known as [[Fraccionismo]].
[[File:Soviet and East Bloc military advisors in Angola 1983.jpg|thumb|Soviet and East Bloc military advisors train MPLA troops in Angola, 1983]]
The proxy war continued. The MPLA government, recognized internationally (although not by the United States), requested that Cuban forces remain in the country. Led by Jonas Savimbi, UNITA received clandestine support from the U.S. and other nations and took up military resistance in the southeast of the country while the MPLA government was supported by the [[USSR]] and [[Eastern Bloc]] countries. South Africa continued to pursue [[South-West Africa People's Organisation]] (SWAPO) forces in Southern Angola, soon established bases and increased support of UNITA, which gained control of more and more territory. In an effort to deliver a final blow to UNITA and to drive South Africa out of the country, in 1987 the [[People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola]] (FAPLA), with Soviet support, launched a campaign fraught with failures and defeats. Again, the Cubans intervened, stopping UNITA and South African advances, leading to the [[Battle of Cuito Cuanavale]] from 13 January to 23 March, the largest battle in African history since World War II.

The MPLA and the U.S. had been in negotiations for a peaceful solution since June 1987. The U.S. agreed to include Cuba in direct talks. Cuba joined the negotiations 28 January 1988; South Africa joined 9 March. Angola, Cuba and South Africa signed the [[Tripartite Accord (Angola)|Tripartite Accord]] on 22 December 1988, in which the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola was linked to the retreat of South African soldiers from Angola and Namibia.

The [[Bicesse Accord]] in 1991 spelled out an electoral process for a democratic Angola under the supervision of the [[United Nations]]. MPLA won the first round with 49% of the votes, against 40% for UNITA. UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi rejected the results and returned to war. From 30 October to 1 November 1992 the [[Halloween massacre (Angola)|Halloween Massacre]] occurred in which thousands of UNITA and FNLA supporters in Luanda were killed by MPLA troops. Estimates for the death toll nationwide reach 25,000 to 30,000.<ref name="angolamilitaryhistory">{{Cite book |last=Weigert |first=Stephen L. |title=Angola: A Modern Military History, 1961–2002 |date=2011 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York, NY}}</ref><ref name="historicaldictionary">{{Cite book |last=Martin |first=W. James |title=Historical Dictionary of Angola |date=2004 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |location=Lanham, MD |page=67 |language=en}}</ref> A second peace accord, the [[Lusaka Protocol]], was brokered in [[Lusaka]], [[Zambia]] and signed on 20 November 1994.

The peace accord between the government and UNITA provided for the integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government and armed forces. However, in 1995, localized fighting resumed. A national unity government was installed in April 1997, but serious fighting resumed in late 1998 when Savimbi renewed the war for a second time, claiming that the MPLA was not fulfilling its obligations. The [[UN Security Council]] voted on 28 August 1997, to impose sanctions on UNITA. The Angolan military launched a massive offensive in 1999 that destroyed UNITA's conventional capacity and recaptured all major cities previously held by Savimbi's forces. Savimbi then declared that UNITA would return to guerrilla tactics, and much of the country remained in turmoil.

The extended civil war rendered hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Up to 1 million lives may have been lost in fighting over the past quarter century. It only ended when Savimbi was killed in 2002.

==Post-independence==
{{Main|2000s in Angola|Angolagate|Second Congo War}}
A Russian freighter delivered 500 tons of Ukrainian 7.62&nbsp;mm ammunition to Simportex, a division of the Angolan government, with the help of a shipping agent in London on 21 September 2000. The ship's captain declared his cargo "fragile" to minimize inspection.<ref name="cargo">{{Cite web |year=2001 |title=The Oil Diagnostic in Angola: An Update |url=https://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/angola/index-05.htm |access-date=2007-09-20 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref> The next day, the MPLA began attacking UNITA, winning victories in several battles from 22 to 25 September. The government gained control over military bases and diamond mines<ref>{{Cite web |title=List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor |url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711191200/https://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/ |archive-date=2017-07-11 |access-date=2017-07-10 |website=United States Department of Labor  |language=en}}</ref> in [[Lunda Norte]] and [[Lunda Sul]], hurting Savimbi's ability to pay his troops.<ref name="safricainvasion">{{Cite book |last1=Stearns |first1=Peter N. |title=The Encyclopedia of World History: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged |last2=Langer |first2=William Leonard |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=2001 |location=Boston |page=1065}}</ref>

Angola agreed to trade oil to Slovakia in return for arms, buying six [[Sukhoi Su-17]] [[attack aircraft]] on 3 April 2000. The Spanish government in the [[Canary Islands]] prevented a Ukrainian freighter from delivering 636 tons of military equipment to Angola on 24 February 2001. The captain of the ship had inaccurately reported his cargo, falsely claiming the ship carried automobile parts. The Angolan government admitted Simportex had purchased arms from [[Rosoboronexport|Rosvooruzhenie]], the Russian state-owned arms company, and acknowledged the captain might have violated Spanish law by misreporting his cargo, a common practice in arms smuggling to Angola.<ref name="cargo" />

Government troops captured and destroyed UNITA's Epongoloko base in Benguela province and Mufumbo base in Cuanza Sul in October 2001.<ref name="octoberbases">{{harvp|Martin|2004|page=166}}</ref> The Slovak government sold fighter jets to the Angolan government in 2001 in violation of the [[European Union]] Code of Conduct on Arms Exports.<ref name="slovaksale">{{Cite news |date=10 February 2004 |title=NATO/EU: Reform Slovakia's Arms Trade |language=en |publisher=Human Rights Watch |url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/02/10/slovak7279.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216134946/https://www.hrw.org/legacy/english/docs/2004/02/10/slovak7279.htm |archive-date=2008-12-16}}</ref>

Government troops killed Savimbi on 22 February 2002, in Moxico province.<ref name="savdeath">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/rethinkingeconom00cynt |title=Rethinking the Economics of War: The Intersection of Need, Creed, and Greed |date=2005 |publisher=Woodrow Wilson Center Press |editor-last=Arnson |editor-first=Cynthia J. |location=Washington, DC |page=[https://archive.org/details/rethinkingeconom00cynt/page/120 120] |language=en |editor-last2=Zartman |editor-first2=I. William |url-access=registration}}</ref> UNITA Vice President [[António Dembo]] took over, but died from diabetes twelve days later on 3 March, and Secretary-General [[Paulo Lukamba Gato]] became UNITA's leader.<ref name="interview">{{Cite interview |last=Gato |first=Paulo Lukamba |interviewer=Charles Zorgbibe |title=Angola in Peace |url=http://www.african-geopolitics.org/show.aspx?ArticleId=3583 |access-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927174722/http://www.african-geopolitics.org/show.aspx?ArticleId=3583 |archive-date=2007-09-27 |publisher=African Geopolitics |date=2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref> After Savimbi's death, the government came to a crossroads over how to proceed. After initially indicating the counter-insurgency might continue, the government announced it would halt all [[military operation]]s on 13 March. Military commanders for UNITA and the MPLA met in [[Cassamba]] and agreed to a cease-fire. However, Carlos Morgado, UNITA's spokesman in Portugal, said that the UNITA's Portugal wing had been under the impression General Kamorteiro, the UNITA general who agreed to the ceasefire, had been captured more than a week earlier. Morgado did say that he had not heard from Angola since Savimbi's death. The military commanders signed a Memorandum of Understanding as an addendum to the [[Lusaka Protocol]] in [[Luena, Moxico Province|Luena]] on 4 April, Dos Santos and Lukamba Gato observing.<ref name="endofwar">{{Cite book |title=Grasping the Nettle: Analyzing Cases of Intractable Conflict |date=2005 |publisher=United States Institute of Peace |editor-last=Crocker |editor-first=Chester A. |location=Washington, DC |pages=224 |editor-last2=Hampson |editor-first2=Fen Osler |editor-last3=Aall |editor-first3=Pamela R.}}</ref><ref name="morgado">{{Cite news |date=16 March 2002 |title=Angolan Military Meets Unita Rebels |language=en |work=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1875723.stm |access-date=2007-09-28}}</ref>

The [[United Nations Security Council]] passed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1404|Resolution 1404]] on 18 April, extending the monitoring mechanism of sanctions by six months. [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1412|Resolutions 1412]] and [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1432|1432]], passed on 17 May and 15 August respectively, suspended the UN travel ban on UNITA officials for 90 days each, finally abolishing the ban through [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1439|Resolution 1439]] on 18 October. UNAVEM III, extended an additional two months by Resolution 1439, ended on 19 December.<ref name="unres">{{Cite web |title=Security Council Resolutions Concerning the Situation in Angola Pursuant to Resolution 864 (1993) |url=https://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/Angola/AngolaResEng.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810172623/http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/committees/Angola/AngolaResEng.htm |archive-date=2007-08-10 |access-date=2007-09-28 |publisher=United Nations |language=en}}</ref>

In August 2002, UNITA declared itself a political party and officially demobilised its armed forces.<ref name="polonly">{{Cite web |year=2005 |title=Polity IV Country Report 2005: Angola |url=http://members.aol.com/CSPmgm/Angola2005.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926093711/http://members.aol.com/CSPmgm/Angola2005.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-26 |publisher=Center for Systematic Peace |page=3 |language=en}}</ref> That same month, the United Nations Security Council replaced the United Nations Office in Angola with the United Nations Mission in Angola, a larger, non-military, political presence.<ref name="legacy">{{Cite book |title=Ending Africa's Wars: Progressing to Peace |publisher=Ashgate |year=2006 |editor-last=Furley |editor-first=Oliver |location=Aldershot, Hampshire |page=147 |editor-last2=May |editor-first2=Roy}}</ref>

The civil war produced four million internally displaced persons (IDPs), one third of Angola's population. The government spent $187 million settling IDPs between 4 April 2002 and 2004, after which the [[World Bank]] gave $33 million to continue the settling process. Militant forces laid approximately 15 million [[landmine]]s by 2002.<ref name="legacy" /> The [[HALO Trust]] charity began demining in 1994, destroying 30,000 by July 2007. There are 1,100 Angolans and seven foreign workers who are working for HALO Trust in Angola, with operations expected to finish sometime between 2011 and 2014.<ref name="halo">{{Cite news |last=Bobb |first=Scott |date=24 July 2007 |title=Work Intensifies to Clear Angola's Landmines |language=en |work=Voice of America News |url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-24-voa17.cfm |url-status=dead |access-date=2007-09-28 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071114094945/http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-24-voa17.cfm |archive-date=2007-11-14}}</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] estimates UNITA and the government employed more than 86,000 and 3,000 [[child soldier]]s respectively, some forcibly impressed, during the war. Human rights analysts found 5,000 to 8,000 underage girls married to UNITA militants. Some girls were ordered to go and forage for food to provide for the troops. If the girls did not bring back enough food as judged by their commander, then the girls would not eat. After victories, UNITA commanders would be rewarded with women who were often then sexually abused. The government and UN agencies identified 190 child soldiers in the Angolan army and relocated seventy of them by November 2002, but the government continued to knowingly employ other underage soldiers.<ref name="childsoldiers">{{Cite report |chapter-url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/angola0403/Angola0403-03.htm |title=Forgotten Fighters: Child Soldiers in Angola |date=2003 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |volume=15, No. 10 (A) |language=en |chapter=IV. Use of Children in the War Since 1998}}</ref>

[[Fernando Vendrell]] produced and [[Zézé Gamboa]] directed ''[[The Hero (2004 film)|The Hero]]'', a film about the life of average Angolans after the civil war, in 2004. The film follows the lives of three individuals; Vitório, a [[war veteran]] crippled by a landmine who returns to Luanda, Manu, a young boy searching for his soldier father, and Joana, a teacher who mentors the boy and begins a love affair with Vitório. ''The Hero'' won the 2005 [[Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]] World Dramatic Cinema Jury Grand Prize. A joint Angolan, Portuguese, and French production, Gamboa filmed ''The Hero'' entirely in Angola.<ref name="award">{{Cite web |last=Unknown |year=2005 |title=The Hero |url=http://www.newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0173 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111040440/http://www.newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0173 |archive-date=2008-01-11 |access-date=2007-09-07 |publisher=California Newsreel |language=en}}</ref>

[[José Eduardo dos Santos]] stepped down as President of Angola after 38 years in 2017, being peacefully succeeded by [[João Lourenço]], Santos' chosen successor.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cascais |first=Antonio |date=2017-09-26 |title=Who Is Angola's New President Joao Lourenco? |language=en |work=Deutsche Welle |url=https://www.dw.com/en/who-is-angolas-new-president-joao-lourenco/a-40218458 |access-date=2021-03-03}}</ref> However, President João Lourenço started a campaign against corruption of the dos Santos era.<ref>{{cite web |title=Angola: Is Lourenço using his anti-corruption fight to settle scores? |url=https://www.theafricareport.com/87503/angola-is-lourenco-using-anti-corruption-fight-to-settle-scores/ |website=The Africa Report.com |date=12 May 2021}}</ref> In November 2017, [[Isabel dos Santos]], the billionaire daughter of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, was fired from her position as head of the country's state oil company [[Sonangol Group|Sonangol]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Isabel Dos Santos sacked from Angola state oil firm |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42003016 |work=BBC News |date=15 November 2017}}</ref>  In August 2020, [[José Filomeno dos Santos]], son of Angola's former president, was sentenced for five years in jail for fraud and corruption.<ref>{{cite news |title=José Filomeno dos Santos: Son of Angola's ex-leader jailed for five years |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53774288 |work=BBC News |date=14 August 2020}}</ref>

In July 2022, ex-president José Eduardo dos Santos died in Spain.<ref>{{cite news |title=José Eduardo dos Santos: State funeral for Angola ex-president |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-62705492 |work=BBC News |date=28 August 2022}}</ref>

In August 2022, the ruling party, MPLA, won another outright majority and President Joao Lourenco won a second five-year term in the [[2022 Angolan general election|election]]. However, the election was the tightest in Angola's history.<ref>{{cite news |title=Angola's MPLA ruling party wins elections and presidency |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/29/angola-ruling-party-wins-vote-and-president-a-second-term |work=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[History of Africa]]
*[[History of Southern Africa]]
*[[List of presidents of Angola]]
*[[Politics of Angola]]
*[[Portuguese West Africa]]
*[[Slavery in Angola]]
* Cities:
** Benguela [[Benguela#History|history]] and [[Timeline of Benguela|timeline]]
** Luanda [[Luanda#History|history]] and [[Timeline of Luanda|timeline]]
* [[Arquivo Histórico Nacional (Angola)]] (national archives)

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle=Angola |volume=2  |page=45 }}
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Angola |volume=2 |pages=38–40 }}

'''Attribution:'''
*Some of the material in this article comes from the [[CIA World Factbook]] 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

==Further reading==
* Gerald Bender, ''Angola Under the Portuguese'', London: Heinemann, 1978
* [[David Birmingham]], ''The Portuguese Conquest of Angola'', London: Oxford University Press, 1965.
* David Birmingham, ''Trade and Conquest in Angola'', London: Oxford University Press, 1966.
* Armando Castro, ''O sistema colonial português em África (Meados do século XX)'', Lisbon: Caminho, 1978
* [[Patrick Chabal]] and others, ''A History of Postcolonial Lusophone Africa'', London: Hurst, 2002 (article on Angola by David Birmingham)
* [[Basil Davidson]], ''Portuguese-speaking Africa''. In: [[Michael Crowder]] (Hg.): ''The Cambridge History of Africa''. Vol. 8. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1984 S. 755–806.
* Jonuel Gonçalves, ''A economia ao longo da história de Angola'', Luanda: Mayamba Editora, 2011 {{ISBN|978-989-8528-11-7}}
* Fernando Andresen Guimarães, ''The Origins of the Angolan Civil War'', London + New York: Macmillan Press + St. Martin's Press, 1998
* [[Cécile Fromont]], ''The Art of Conversion: Christian Visual Culture in the Kingdom of Kongo''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2014.
* Beatrix Heintze, ''Studien zur Geschichte Angolas im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert'', Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, 1996
* Lawrence W. Henderson, ''Angola: Five Centuries of Conflict'', Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1979
*W. Martin James & Susan Herlin Broadhead, ''Historical dictionary of Angola'', Lanham/MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004, {{ISBN|978-0-8108-4940-2}}
* John Marcum, ''The Angolan Revolution'', vol.I, ''The anatomy of an explosion (1950–1962)'', Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, MIT Press, 1969; vol. II, ''Exile Politics and Guerrilla Warfare (1962–1976)'', Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, MIT Press, 1978
* [[Christine Messiant]], ''L’Angola colonial, histoire et société: Les prémisses du mouvement nationaliste'', Basle: Schlettwein, 2006.
* René Pélissier, ''Les Guerres Grises: Résistance et revoltes en Angola (1845–1941)'', Orgeval: published by the author, 1977
* René Pélissier, ''La colonie du Minotaure: Nationalismes et revoltes en Angola (1926–1961)'', Orgeval: published by the author,1978
* René Pélissier, ''Les campagnes coloniales du Portugal'', Paris: Pygmalion, 2004
* Graziano Saccardo, ''Congo e Angola con la storia dell'antica missione dei Cappuccini'', 3 vols., Venice, 1982–3

==External links==
*[http://www.rulers.org/rula2.html#angola Rulers.org — Angola] list of rulers for Angola
*[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Angola.html WorldStatesmen]
* The [http://africanactivist.msu.edu/ African Activist Archive Project] website has material on colonialism and the struggle for independence in Angola and support in the U.S. for that struggle produced by many U.S. organizations including documents, photographs, buttons, posters, T-shirts, audio and video.

{{Angola topics}}
{{History of Africa}}

[[Category:History of Angola| ]]
[[Category:History of Central Africa|*]]
[[Category:History of Africa by country|Angola]]
[[Category:History of Southern Africa by country]]