Portuguese Angolan ( pt, luso-angolano) is a person of Portuguese descent born or permanently living in

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

. The number of Portuguese Angolans dropped during the

Angolan War of Independence The Angolan War of Independence (; 1961–1974), called in Angola the ("Armed Struggle of National Liberation"), began as an uprising against forced cultivation of cotton, and it became a multi-faction struggle for the control of Portugal ...

, but several hundreds of thousands have again returned to live and work in Angola in the 21st century.

History

In 1482, Portuguese caravels commanded by

Diogo Cão Diogo Cão (; -1486), anglicised as Diogo Cam and also known as Diego Cam, was a Portuguese explorer and one of the most notable navigators of the Age of Discovery. He made two voyages sailing along the west coast of Africa in the 1480s, explori ...

arrived in the

Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo ( kg, Kongo dya Ntotila or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' pt, Reino do Congo) was a kingdom located in central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the ...

. 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

Paulo Dias de Novais Paulo Dias de Novais (c. 1510 – 9 May 1589), a fidalgo of the Royal Household, was a Portuguese colonizer of Africa in the 16th century and the first Captain-Governor of Portuguese Angola. He was the grandson of the explorer Bartolomeu Dias. D ...

with a hundred families of colonists and four hundred soldiers. Luanda was granted the status of city in 1605. Many Portuguese settlers married native Africans resulting in a mixed-race (''

mulato (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese ...

'', later generally called ''mestiço'') population. Angola was declared a formal

Portuguese province The term "provinces" ( pt, províncias) has been used throughout history to identify regions of continental Portugal. Current legal subdivisions of Portugal do not coincide with the provinces, but several provinces, in their 19th- and 20th-cen ...

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, 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 Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given society ...

available to them. As the

Angolan war of independence The Angolan War of Independence (; 1961–1974), called in Angola the ("Armed Struggle of National Liberation"), began as an uprising against forced cultivation of cotton, and it became a multi-faction struggle for the control of Portugal ...

began in 1961, triggering off a late colonial development of Angola, there was an influx of Portuguese military personnel, as well as civil servants and other people. As a consequence, the number of Portuguese living in Angola went up to about 350,000. This number would have been higher, had a significant part of the settlers not left for other countries, especially

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. While most Portuguese then living in Angola sided with Portugal's efforts to suppress the anti-colonial revolt, a minority sympathized with the nationalist movements, and a few even joined them in their fight. The Angolan author

Pepetela Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos (born 1941) is a major Angolan writer of fiction. He writes under the name Pepetela. A Portuguese Angolan, Pepetela was born in Benguela, Portuguese Angola, and fought as a member of the MPLA in the long ...

is among these. When the Salazar regime in Portugal was abolished by a military coup in Portugal, in 1974, and independence was granted to the colonies by the new government, whites overwhelmingly left Angola after independence in 1975. Most of them went to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, where they were called ''retornados'' and were not always welcomed, while others moved to neighboring Namibia (then a

n territory), South Africa or Brazil, 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. Among the departed Portuguese civilians, many were able to take with them only a single suitcase, while some were able to dispatch their household goods and even cars by ship. The majority left everything behind. They boarded planes at Luanda's Craveiro Lopes Airport at the rate of 500 a day, but there were not enough flights to cover demand. 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 USD 200) into Portuguese escudos. 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 The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

, generally on the side of the

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social dem ...

. 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.
''Radio Televisão Portuguesa'', September 13, 2008 As of 2008, Angola was the preferred destination for Portuguese migrants in Africa. Portuguese nationals numbered an estimated 120,000 in 2011, reaching about 200,000 in 2013.

Notable people

Notable Angolan people of Portuguese descent include: * António Jacinto, poet and politician, Minister of Culture *

, writer, politician *

Lúcio Lara Lúcio Rodrigo Leite Barreto de Lara (April 9, 1929 – February 27, 2016), also known by the pseudonym Tchiweka, was a physicist-mathematician, politician, professor, anti-colonial ideologist and one of the founding members (and president) of t ...

, General Secretary of the MPLA * José Maria Pimentel, writer and illustrator * Hélder Costa *

Paulo Figueiredo Paulo José Lopes de Figueiredo (; born 28 November 1972) is an Angolan retired footballer who played as a central midfielder. He spent the bulk of his 17-year professional career with Santa Clara, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 97 matches ...

, footballer *

Rony Lopes Marcos Paulo Mesquita "Rony" Lopes (born 28 December 1995) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or Winger (association football), right winger for Primeira Liga club S.C. Braga. Earl ...

* Rúben Gouveia, footballer *

José Águas José Pinto de Carvalho Santos Águas (; 9 November 1930 – 10 December 2000) was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He enjoyed a lengthy professional spell with Benfica, never scoring less than 18 goals in 12 of his 13 first di ...

, footballer * José Luís Vidigal, footballer *

Wilson Constantino Novo Estrela Wilson Constantino Novo Estrela (born 13 March 1969), known simply as Wilson, is an Angolan former footballer who played as a central defender. He also possessed Portuguese nationality, due to the many years spent in the country. Club career ...

, footballer * Pedro Lima, actor and olympic swimmer *

Ricardo Teixeira Ricardo Terra Teixeira (; born June 20, 1947) is the former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). He was in the office from January 16, 1989 to March 12, 2012. In July 2012 a Swiss prosecutor's report revealed that, during his ...

, racing driver *

José Eduardo Agualusa José Eduardo Agualusa Alves da Cunha (born December 13, 1960) is an Angolan journalist and writer of Portuguese and Brazilian descent. He studied agronomy and silviculture in Lisbon, Portugal. Currently he resides in the Island of Mozambiqu ...

, journalist and writer * Luandino Vieira, writer *

João Teixeira Pinto João Teixeira da Rocha Pinto (22 March 1876 – 25 November 1917) was a Portuguese military officer who served throughout his career in the administration of Portuguese colonies of Africa. João Pinto bore the nickname ''The Devil's Chief'' ( ...

, Portuguese military officer * Ana Paula Ribeiro Tavares writer, historian * Tomaz Morais, rugby union coach * Xesko, artist, writer, swimmer * Ernesto Lara Filho, revolutionary writer and agronomist * Iko Carreira, Defense Minister of Angola * Alda Lara, poet * Luaty Beirão, rapper and activist *

Victorino Cunha Victorino Eugénio da Silva e Cunha, (born April 18, 1945 in Mogofores, Portugal) is a former basketball player and basketball coach. While being born in Portugal, he moved to Angola at the age of 3. Cunha, who coached the Angola National team t ...

, basketball coach *

Amélia Veiga Amélia Veiga, also known as Amélia Maria Ramos Veiga Silva (born 1931) is a Portuguese-born Angolan poet and teacher. Amélia Veiga was born 1 December, 1931 "Amélia Veiga (Amélia Maria Ramos Veiga Silva) (Angola) b. 1 December 1931 at Silve ...

, poet and teacher *

Ruy Duarte de Carvalho Ruy Alberto Duarte Gomes de Carvalho (22 April 1941 – 12 August 2010) was an Angolan author and filmmaker, whose work, which over more than three decades spanned poetry, metafiction, and anthropology, focused on the Kuvale people of the Geograp ...

, author and filmmaker *

Luís Magalhães Luís Manuel Magalhães (; born 1958) is a Portuguese-Angolan basketball coach. He is a former head coach of the Angola national basketball team. He succeeded Portuguese-Angolan native Alberto Carvalho in 2009, and coached Angola at the FIBA Af ...

, basketball coach * Mário Palma, basketball coach *

Armando Gama Armando António Capelo Diniz da Gama (1 April 1954 – 17 January 2022) was a Portuguese singer-songwriter and baritone opera singer, whose physical trademark for decades was his shoulder-length jet black hair. Life and career Gama grew up in ...

, singer-songwriter * Ana Sofia Nóbrega, swimmer * Nádia Cruz, swimmer * Elsa Freire, swimmer * João Paulo de Silva, sport shooter * André Matias, rower * Salvador Gordo, swimmer

Language and religion

Their native language is Portuguese, which today is the

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

and

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

of Angola. Their communities existing in Luanda, Benguela and Moçâmedes spoke until the early 20th-century Portuguese mixed with numerous elements from African languages, especially Kimbundu and Umbundu. In the course of the 20th century, due to the waves of new settlers arriving from Portugal, their language became practically identical with European Portuguese. Some Portuguese Angolans have a lesser or greater mastery of one of the

Bantu languages The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages. The t ...

– notably

Kimbundu Kimbundu, a Bantu language which has sometimes been called Mbundu or 'North Mbundu' (see Umbundu), is the second-most-widely-spoken Bantu language in Angola. Its speakers are concentrated in the north-west of the country, notably in the Lu ...

Umbundu Umbundu, or South Mbundu (autonym umb, úmbúndú), one of many Bantu languages, is the most widely-spoken autochthonous language of Angola. Its speakers are known as ''Ovimbundu'' and are an ethnic group constituting a third of Angola's popula ...

, and

Kikongo Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Angola. It is a tonal language. It was spoken by many of those who were taken from th ...

– 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 Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

, mostly

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, although many of them do not practice their religion. A very small number of them are

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, whose ancestors escaped the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

References

External links