by
Cameron R.

NATIONAL FLAG OF ANGOLA:

LOCATION:

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ANGOLA

                The European country that colonized the country of Angola was Portugal. At first they were  friendly to the Angolans. The Portuguese traded goods and weapons for the resources the Angolans had. The Angolans even invited some of the Portuguese leaders to their capital, and then held them there against their will to get the best trade they could. This caused some friction between the countries.

               The colonization of Angola did not help the indigenous people. It did not help them because when the Portuguese tried to take the country and the people there resisted them. There were groups of Angolans who fought the Portuguese, but these different groups also fought with each other.

            This country became independent again when the rival groups in Angola started a fierce civil war. The year was 1975. The civil war lasted many years. This caused the Portuguese to abandon the country. Also, Portugal had just overthrown its own Fascist government.

            When this country became independent it was still in the middle of a civil war. The groups were that were fighting were UNITA and MCLA. MCLA was supportive of the government, but UNITA was somewhat anti-government. After the civil war the country had problems rebuilding, but because of the resources the country had they soon recovered. Today they have no problems and are growing steadily.

            I think the country might be different today if it had never been colonized. I think the country might be different because UNITA and MCLA were formed mainly to resist the Portuguese who were invading. If they had not been formed in such tight groups to stop the Portuguese, they may not have ended up fighting. The country might have had a lot of large trading companies if the civil war had not been started.  

Works Cited

Flag and map courtesy of Microsoft Clipart Gallery.

Info Please. www.infoplease.com

Lonely Planet. www.lonelyplanet.com

Sheehan, Sean. Cultures of the World Angola