The Treaty of Simulambuco was signed in 1885 by representatives of the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

government and officials in the N'Goyo Kingdom. The agreement was drafted and signed in response to the Treaty of Berlin, which was an agreement between the colonizing European powers about how to divide up

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The long-established Portuguese, not wanting to miss out on the Scramble for Africa involving territories near its own old possessions, began to colonize deeper than the numerous trading ports it had controlled on the African coast since the early 16th century. In contrast to the violent struggles between the Portuguese and some native peoples in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, the colonization of Cabinda was peaceful. Portugal first claimed sovereignty over Cabinda in the February 1885 Treaty of Simulambuco, which gave Cabinda the status of a protectorate of the

Portuguese Crown This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the nea ...

under the request of “the princes and governors of Cabinda”. Article 1 of the treaty, states, “the princes and chiefs and their successors declare, voluntarily, their recognition of Portuguese sovereignty, placing under the protectorate of this nation all the territories by them governed”. Article 2, which is often used in separatist arguments, goes even further: “Portugal is obliged to maintain the integrity of the territories placed under its protection.” The treaty was signed between the emissaries of the Portuguese Crown and the princes and notables of Cabinda, giving rise to three territories within the Portuguese protectorate of Cabinda: Cacongo, Loango and Ngoio. Cabinda was incorporated into the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

separately from its larger southern neighbour

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

even though, at the time, the two were separated merely by the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

and a strip of land of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2005, Cabindans celebrated the 120th anniversary of the treaty, to the annoyance of Angolan officials, who view the treaty as running counter to their claim that the territory is an exclave. This dispute over the treaty has led to an ongoing separatist conflict.Shantz, J. (2006). Cabinda: Africa s Forgotten War. ''UnderCurrents: Journal of Critical Environmental Studies''. 15 (Spring), 23-24.

Sources

1885 treaties Portuguese colonisation in Africa Simulambuco Simulambuco 1885 in Africa 1885 in Portugal 19th century in Angola Treaties with indigenous peoples {{Portugal-hist-stub

See also

Sources