Page "History of Angola" Paragraph 0

Angola is a country in southwestern Africa.

Its name derives from the Kimbundu word for king, ' N ' gola '.

It was first settled by Bushmen hunter-gatherer societies before the northern domains came under the rule of Bantu states such as Kongo and Ndongo.

From the 15th century Portuguese colonists began trading and a settlement was established at Luanda in the 16th century.

Portugal annexed territories in the region which were ruled as a colony from 1655, and Angola was incorporated as an overseas province of Portugal in 1951.

After the Angolan War of Independence ( 1961 – 1974 ) which ended with an army mutiny and leftist coup in Lisbon, Angola's independence from Portugal was achieved on November 11, 1975 through the Alvor Agreement.

After independence, the country entered a period of civil war that ended in 2002.