Portuguese Angola
Province of Angola Província de Angola | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1575–1975 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Anthem: "Hymno Patriótico" (1808–34) Patriotic Anthem "Hino da Carta" (1834–1910) Hymn of the Charter "A Portuguesa" (1910–75) The Portuguese | |||||||||||||||||||
Portuguese West Africa in 1905–1975 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Colony of the Portuguese Empire (1575–1951) Overseas province of Portugal (1951–1972) State of the Portuguese Empire (1972–1975) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Luanda | ||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Portuguese (official) Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo, Chokwe | ||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism Protestantism Traditional religions | ||||||||||||||||||
| Head of State | |||||||||||||||||||
• 1575–78 | King Sebastian I of Portugal | ||||||||||||||||||
• 1974–75 | President Francisco da Costa Gomes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Governor General | |||||||||||||||||||
• 1575–1589 | Paulo Dias de Novais | ||||||||||||||||||
• 1975 | Leonel Alexandre Gomes Cardoso | ||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Imperialism | ||||||||||||||||||
• Establishment of Luanda | 1575 | ||||||||||||||||||
• Independence of Angola | 11 November 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||||
• 1975 estimate | 7,033,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Portuguese real (1575–1911) Portuguese escudo (1911–14) Angolan escudo (1914–28; 1958–77) Angolan angolar (1926–58) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | AO | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Angola | ||||||||||||||||||
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| History of Angola | ||||||||||||||||
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| Post-war Angola | ||||||||||||||||
| See also | ||||||||||||||||
| Years in Angola | ||||||||||||||||
In southwestern Africa, Portuguese Angola was a historical colony of the Portuguese Empire (1575–1951), the overseas province Portuguese West Africa of Estado Novo Portugal (1951–1972), and the State of Angola of the Portuguese Empire (1972–1975). It became the independent People's Republic of Angola in 1975.
In the 16th and 17th century Portugal ruled along the coast and engaged in military conflicts with the Kingdom of Kongo, but in the 18th century Portugal gradually managed to colonise the interior highlands. Other polities in the region included the Kingdom of Ndongo, Kingdom of Lunda, and Mbunda Kingdom. Full control of the entire territory was not achieved until the beginning of the 20th century, when agreements with other European powers during the Scramble for Africa fixed the colony's interior borders.