| ANGOLA July 11th- August 17, 2004 |
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| McMaster International Inaugural Newsletter (Fall'04): Shermeen's article on Angola (scroll down to page 8) |
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| Brief Facts about Angola: |
| Located: on the Atlantic Coast of southern Africa, Angola is bordered by Namibia to the south and Zambia and Zaire to the east and north. Population: 12 million (2000 estimate) Capital City: Luanda Languages: Portuguese (official), and over 60 other Bantu-group languages, including Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo, Tchokwe, Ovambo Religions: Traditional beliefs (47%) Roman Catholic (38%), Protestant (15%, of which 8.4% Evangelical) |
| Political History (Briefly): Angola was settled by the Portuguese in the fifteenth century and remained a Portuguese colony until its independence in 1975. From 1975 to 1991 civil war between the Soviet & Cuban-backed MPLA government and the South Africa and USA-backed UNITA movement, which controlled much of rural Angola, disrupted every aspect of life. A cease-fire peace agreement-the Lusaka Protocol-was signed on November 20, 1994 between the government and the UNITA rebels. However, unrest continued until February 2002. A peace agreement was signed in April 2002. |