Portuguese Angolans

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Portuguese Angolan
Luso-Angolano
Brazilians, Portuguese Africans

Portuguese Angolans (Portuguese: luso-angolano) are citizens of Angola who are either descended from Portuguese people or Portuguese emigrants permanently living in Angola. The number of Portuguese Angolans precipitously dropped during and immediately after the Angolan War of Independence, but several hundreds of thousands have either returned or emigrated to live in Angola. As of 2022, they make up approximately 0.6% of Angola's population.

History

Portuguese Angolan writer Pepetela
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
18451,832—    
19009,198+2.98%
192020,200+4.01%
194044,083+3.98%
195078,826+5.98%
1960172,529+8.15%
1961162,387−5.88%
1970290,000+6.66%
1974335,000+3.67%
197640,000−65.45%
2014200,000[3]+4.33%
[2]

In 1482, Portuguese caravels commanded by Diogo Cão arrived in the Kingdom of Kongo. 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 Portuguese colony of Angola was founded in 1575 with the arrival of

mulato, later generally called mestiço) population. Angola was declared a formal Portuguese province
in the 19th century, but only in the early 20th century did the mainland government allow large-scale white emigration and settlement to Angola and its other provinces.

In 1960, Angola had up to 172,000 Portuguese settlers,[2] who significantly contributed to its economy. The majority of whom came from rural agrarian backgrounds in Portugal, who saw engaging in commerce in Angola as one of the few means of upward social mobility available to them.[4]

As the

retornados and were not always welcomed, while others moved to neighboring Namibia (then a South African territory), South Africa or Brazil,[7] or United States. It is estimated that around 250,000 left the country in 1975 and by 1976 only 30,000 to 40,000 remained in Angola.[8]

Among the departed Portuguese civilians, many were only able to take with them a single suitcase, while some were able to dispatch their household goods and even cars by ship. The majority left everything behind.[9] They boarded planes at Luanda's Craveiro Lopes Airport at the rate of 500 a day[clarification needed], but there were not enough flights to cover demand.[10] On arrival in Portugal, those who had been able to draw their savings in Angola could not exchange more than 5,000 Angolan escudos (about US$200) into Portuguese escudos.[citation needed] Back in Angola, the new government gave all remaining Portuguese settlers a few months period to choose between Angolan citizenship or to leave the country. A significant minority of them opted for Angola and some of them actively took part in the Angolan Civil War, generally on the side of the MPLA.

After Angola abandoned in 1991 the socialist regime adopted at independence in 1975, many Portuguese Angolans returned to Angola. Due to Angola's economic boom, which started in the 1990s, an increasing number of Portuguese without previous attachment to Angola have migrated to Angola for economic reasons, most importantly the recent national economic boom.[11] As of 2008, Angola was the preferred destination for Portuguese migrants in Africa.[11] Portuguese nationals numbered an estimated 120,000 in 2011, reaching about 200,000 in 2013.[1]

Notable people

João Teixeira Pinto
Iko Carreira

Notable Angolan people of Portuguese descent include:

Language and religion

Their native language is Portuguese, which today is the

Kikongo – but their number has diminished dramatically after independence, and hardly anybody now uses an African language as second languages. The vast majority of Portuguese Angolans are Christians, mostly Catholics, although many of them do not practice their religion. A very small number of them are Jews, whose ancestors escaped the Inquisition
.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "José Eduardo dos Santos diz que trabalhadores portugueses são bem-vindos em Angola". Observatório da Emigração. Retrieved 22 July 2013. …presença de cerca de 200 mil trabalhadores portugueses no país…
  2. ^
    ISBN 9780520032217
    .
  3. ^ "Observatório da Emigração".
  4. ISBN 9780520032217
    .
  5. ^ Contrary to the settlers which often had lived in Angola for two or even three generations, the Portuguese arriving during the last phase of colonial occupation did not become identified with Angola.
  6. ^ Gerald J.Bender & P. Stanley Yoder, "Whites in Angola on the Eve of Independence", Africa Today', 21 (4) 1974, pp. 23 - 37
  7. ^ Portuguese Immigration (History) Archived 2012-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ISBN 9780520032217
    .
  9. ^ Kutemba (19 October 2008). "Angola: Sobre a alegria e tristeza de ser um retornado". Global Voices. International. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  10. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original
    on April 30, 2009. Retrieved 2017-07-24.
  11. ^ a b [1], Radio Televisão Portuguesa, September 13, 2008

External links

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