On 11 November, 1975, Angola declared independence from Portugal after almost 500 years of Portuguese colonial rule. The proclamation by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) came after 15 years of armed conflict with Portuguese forces. After independence, other groups also vied for power over the country: the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) — the latter being the result of a split by the FNLA itself. Conflict broke out between the three, with the socialist MPLA being backed primarily by the Soviet Union and Cuba and UNITA and FNLA with military support from China, and later the United States and apartheid South Africa. The colonial war was deeply unpopular in Portugal, and was the main contributor to the carnation revolution of 1974-5 which overthrew the right-wing Estado Novo dictatorship. Learn more about the revolution in episodes 41-42 of our podcast: https://workingclasshistory.com/2020/08/13/e41-42-the-portuguese-revolution/
Angola independence - WCH | Stories
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