century and except for a short occupation from 1641 to 1648 by the Dutch, it was under Portugal's control until they left the country late in the 20th cent.
Although they failed to discover the gold and other
Precious Metals they were seeking, the Portuguese found in Angola an excellent source of slaves for their colony in Brazil. The modern development of Angola began only after World War II. In 1951 the colony was designated an overseas province, and Portugal initiated plans to develop industries and hydroelectric power. Although the Portuguese professed the aim of a multiracial society of equals in Angola, most Africans still suffered repression. Inspired by nationalist movements elsewhere, the native Angolans rose in revolt in 1961.
In April 1974, the Portuguese government was overthrown in a military uprising. In May that year the new government proclaimed a truce with the guerrillas in an effort to promote peace talks. Later in the year
Portugal seemed intent on granting Angola independence and finally the country became independent in 1975.
A new peace treaty was signed in November 1994 but little was gained. In August 1997, a new government of national unity was formed, including several UNITA deputies. But the year 1998 again saw renewed fighting and Angola's ruling MPLA put the country's coalition government on hold, saying that UNITA had failed to meet its peace-treaty obligations. It suspended all UNITA representatives from parliament and declared that it would no longer deal with UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, instead recognizing a splinter group, UNITA Renovada.
In 1999, the United Nations voted to pull out all remaining troops stationed in the country, while continuing humanitarian relief work with over a million refugees. UNITA was able to finance its activities, including an estimated 30,000 troops stationed in neighboring Zambia and Congo (Kinshasa), with some $500 million a year in
Diamond revenues from mines it controlled in the country's northeast. Fighting continued, with Angola's army inflicting several defeats on UNITA beginning in late 1999, weakening UNITA's still sizable forces. International restrictions (2001) on sales of diamonds not certified as coming from legitimate sources also hurt UNITA, and the death of Savimbi in battle in 2002 was a severe blow to the rebels, who subsequently signed a cease-fire agreement. As many as one million people have died in the fighting since 1975, and the country's infrastructure has yet to recover from the effects of the warfare.
