Who Colonized Angola and Why?

Portugal colonized Angola, beginning in the late 15th century and formalizing control over centuries.

Timeline

• 1482: Diogo Cão reaches Congo River mouth; establishes contact with Kongo Kingdom.
• 1575: Paulo Dias de Novais founds São Paulo de Loanda (Luanda)—first permanent Portuguese settlement.
• 16th–19th c.: Coastal forts, slave trade, gradual interior expansion.
• 1885: Berlin Conference recognizes Portuguese claims.
• 1920s: Effective occupation of interior completed.
• 1975: Independence after 13-year armed struggle (MPLA, FNLA, UNITA).

Motivations

1. Slave trade: Angola became the largest single source of enslaved Africans for Brazil (5M+ shipped). Luanda was the busiest slaving port.
2. Resource extraction: Ivory, wax, rubber, later diamonds (1912), oil (1955).
3. Strategic geography: South Atlantic naval station; gateway to Central Africa.
4. Catholic mission: Padroado system—evangelization as state policy.
5. Settler colonialism: White Portuguese farmers (fazendeiros) seized fertile plateau land.

Angola's post-independence civil war (1975–2002) and current oil-dependent economy are direct legacies of this colonial structure.