1575-1648 History of Central Africa 1815-1880






History of Angola, 1648-1815



In 1648, an expedition from Portuguese Brazil expelled the Dutch from Luanda and Benguela. The fact that this expedition was undertaken before the last Dutch outpost in Brazil itself fell to the Portuguese (1654) highlights how important the supply of African slaves was to Brazil's plantation economy. Portugal's outposts on the Angolan coast were in effect Brazilian possessions.
The Dutch interlude had resulted in one significant change : Portuguese Brazil lost it's dominating position in world sugar production. Refeugees from Dutch Brazil, many of them Jewish plantation owners fearing the Inquisition, settled down on the Dutch, French and English islands in the Caribbean and brought with them the knowhow how to run a sugar plantation.
The Brazilian sugar industry declined. Brazil, however, continued to import slaves until 1850, many of them from Angola, and African slaves were a prized commodity elsewhere.
The Portuguese slowly penetrated inland, in search of silver mines, which proved not to exist.
Portugal stayed out of most European wars of the 18th century, relying on it's old alliance with England. This policy resulted in a long-lasting period of peace Portugal's possessions enjoyed. Yet, the colony of Angola made limited economic progress, partially to the small number of white settlers in the colony.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Library of Congress, Country Studies : Angola
Virtual Tour through Angola's History : Early Colonial Period, from Angola.org
History : from the origins to independence, from Netangola
History of Luanda, from Angola.org; History of Benguela, from Angola.org
Angola and Congo, from Catholic Encyclopedia
Chronology of Portuguese Possessions in Africa, 1415-1800, by Marco Ramerini, scroll down to Angola; 23 individual 'feitorias' (factories) or forts listed
The Peoples of the Kongo, from Royal Museum for Central Africa
People in Angola, by ZZAM
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on November 6th 2004

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