N'dalatando, formerly Vila Salazar, is a town, with a population of 161,584 (2014), and a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the municipality of Cazengo, province of Cuanza Norte,

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. It is also the seat of the Cazengo

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and the provincial capital.

History

The city is very close to Kabasa which was the historic center of

Ndongo The Kingdom of Ndongo, formerly known as Angola or Dongo, was an early-modern African state located in what is now Angola. The Kingdom of Ndongo is first recorded in the sixteenth century. It was one of multiple vassal states to Kongo, though ...

, the core kingdom that evolved into the Portuguese colony of Angola.John K. Tho ett anton. ''A History of West Central Africa to 1850''. Chapter 2 N'dalatando was named Salazar by the Portuguese colonial authorities in 1936, honoring the Portuguese dictator Salazar. This was later modified to Vila Salazar. On 28 May 1956, the town was elevated to the status of city (''cidade'' in Portuguese). After gaining independence on 11 November 1975, the Angolan government gave it back the name N'dalatando, effective 18 July 1976. The history of the place is traced back to the 1840s.

Geography

The city is limited in the north by the river Luinha, and in the east, south and west by the

Lucala River The Lucala River is a river in Angola, a right tributary of Angola's largest river, the Cuanza River. The Lucala has its source in Uíge Province, runs through Malanje Province, where it feeds the Kalandula Falls, and finally empties into the C ...

Transportation

It is served by a station on the northern railway of

Luanda Railway The Luanda Railway (sometimes called Angola Railway) is a single-track Cape gauge railway line from the Angolan capital of Luanda to Malanje. A branch line departs the railway at Zenza do Itombe for Dondo. The line is operated by the state o ...

. The national road No. 230 links N'dalatando to

Luanda Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...

in the West and

Malanje Malanje is the capital city of Malanje Province in Angola, with a population of 455,000 (2014 census), and a municipality, with a population of 506,847 (2014 census). Projected to be the thirteenth fastest growing city on the African continent be ...

in the East.

Culture

The city is home to Angola's là-bas sole botanic garden. The garden was founded as part of a Portuguese agricultural research station and contains some impressive specimens of bamboos, rubber trees, podocarps and fruit trees. The garden also contains a large plantation of tlingera elatior forbs (porcelain roses) for local trade.

References

Populated places in Cuanza Norte Province Communes in Cuanza Norte Province Provincial capitals in Angola {{Angola-geo-stub