The first Portuguese explorers reached Angola in the 15th century. Opposition to the Portuguese presence was relatively muted until the 1950s – when it did emerge, however, the divisions between the liberation movements laid the foundations for the civil war, which has consumed Angola for most of the past four decades. Although decolonization was put into effect in November 1975, cold-war politics contributed to this becoming Africa’s longest civil war, with an estimated cost of 500,000 lives.
Both sides exploited their control of parts of Angola’s vast natural resources
– oil, in the case of the government, and diamond mines, in the case of UNITA – to finance their campaigns. The government side, wearied by the years of fighting, drifted under the leadership of ailing president Dos Santos into inertia and corruption. The biggest losers, inevitably, were the people of Angola, most of whom were reduced to subsistence agriculture or a marginal urban existence.
A ceasefire was finally achieved in 2002, paving the way for a final political settlement and the people and government of Angola celebrated their first year of continuous peace for more than a quarter of a century, in April 2003. Although there is still some sporadic fighting, notably between government forces and separatist groups in the oil-rich Cabinda enclave, most of the country has now embarked upon the monumental task of reconstruction.
However, unless on essential business, it is still advised not to travel to Angola and visitors should contact their local government travel advice department. It is advised that visitors travel under the auspices of a sponsoring organization, especially those journeying beyond Luanda. Even those solely visiting Luanda should be aware that Luanda suffers from a high level of street crime. A large proportion of the civil population is armed. Foreign travelers are still advised not to visit the Uige Province (due to an outbreak of the highly contagious Marburg virus), North and South Lunda Provinces (there has been police activity to expel illegal diamond miners) and the interior of the Cabinda Province (there has been an active separatist movement).
GeographyAngola is bordered by the Democratic Republic of Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, Namibia to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Mountains rise from the coast, leveling to a plateau which makes up most of the country. The country is increasingly arid towards the south; the far south is on the edge of the Namib Desert. The northern plateau is thickly vegetated. Cabinda is a small enclave to the north of Angola proper, surrounded by the territories of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Congo. The discovery of large oil deposits off the coast of the enclave has led to it becoming the center of Angola’s foreign business interests. The oil industry is based primarily at Malongo.
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