AFRICA IN THE COLD WAR: WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNAL AND
EXTERNAL FACTORS ON AFRICA DURING THE TIME
Angola
Terminology:
Sphere of influence – A country, or countries, dominated by the presence of one of the superpowers to
the exclusion of others.
Proxy wars – Provision of support by USA and USSR to opposing sides in a country but not directly
involved in the conflict (i.e. Korea, Vietnam, Angola)
FNLA – National Front for Liberation
MPLA – People’s Liberation Movement of Angola
FAPLA – People’s armed forces of Liberation of Angola
UNITA – National Union for the Total Independence of Angola
SWAPO – South West African people’s Organisation
SADF – South African Defence Force
HOW AFRICA WAS DRAWN INTO THE COLD WAR
- When Africa states became independent from colonial rule in the 1950’s and the 1960’s - was
the height of the Cold War
- US & Soviet Union found it critical to expand their spheres of influence
- Wanted to gain allies to fight or provide bases for the placement of nuclear warheads.
- The African continent, especially the southern and central portions, proved to be fertile grounds
for these kind of interventions
- Tried to gain allies among new African states by supplying aid + weapons
- Colonial powers had started declining in power due to the costs associated with WWII
- Many colonies struggled for independence & the US, USSR, and China attempted to fill the
power vacuums with money and arms.
- Intervention by Cold War rivals - negative impact on Africa
- Often meant disputes couldn’t be resolved peacefully because of superpower support for
opposing sides
COMPETING SPHERES OF INFLUENCE: TRADE, CONFLICT AND AID
- Superpowers competed for spheres of influence in Africa - areas which could dominate/control
- Did this by: providing arms or aid sometimes to gov in power or rebel groups fighting against
govt in power or opposing sides of civil war.
- Main aim of US foreign policy = counteract Soviet influence
, - Africa was important to the US as a source of minerals - industrial diamonds, uranium,
manganese, cobalt + chromium.
- Capitalist mining + trading companies that had been set up under colonial rule - threatened by
communist views of many liberation groups + looked to the US to protect their interests.
- USSR motivated by Cold War concerns in its provision of aid to Africa
- E.g. supplied aid to anti-Western govt in Mozambique + Angola + weapons to Somalia + Ethiopia
- Aid was often accompanied by Cuban rather than Soviet, troops + technicians
- During early 1970’s China provided more aid to Africa than Soviet Union + actions of Chinese
technicians and workers, who worked alongside local workers and shared their living conditions,
earned them respect
- Largest Chinese aid project in Africa = Tan-Zam railway
® 1800km long
® links Zambian copper belt to port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania
® aim was to allow Zambia to export copper without having to use SA ports
® 20000 Chinese worked alongside 36000 South African workers on this project
® completed in 1975
- Some African govt accepted aid from both superpowers - avoided committing themselves to
supporting their policies
- One benefit - superpowers competed with each other to provide aid
- Overall impact of Cold War on Africa = Negative
- 2 African countries - severely affected by Cold War politics were the Congo + Angola
ANGOLA: COLONIALISM AND INDEPENDENCE
- Colonised by Portugal from 1575, when Luanda was established ® last European power to
maintain colonies in Africa
- This brought them into conflict with the Ndongo Kingdom. The Portuguese called the colony
Angola after the Ndongo word for ruler ‘ngola’.
- Colony was consolidated at the 1884—1885 Berlin Conference.
- Rubber, food crops and cattle were farmed, & ivory was acquired through hunting. Mines and
railways were established. Portugal gained a lot of wealth.
- After WWII, African states became independent
- Angolans started to call for independence, but the fascist Portuguese gov, under the leadership
of Anténio Salazar, ignored their demands & strengthened control
- The 1950s were largely characterized by state repression of suspected nationalists using
arbitrary imprisonment and physical abuse
- Led to outbreak of war between Portuguese troops + national liberation groups in its 3 African
colonies (Angola, Mozambique + Guinea-Bissau)
- Angola - liberation struggle began with uprisings in Luanda + northern Angola (1961)
- Underlying causes:
® anger over the loss of land
® harsh treatment of Angolans by Portuguese settlers + traders
, - By 1970s colonial wars were costing almost half the Portuguese budget + involving increasing
number of troops
THE ANGOLAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE:
- March 1961
- The Angolan War of Independence was a liberation war fought against the
Portuguese colonisers.
- Broke out when revolts on coffee plantations against forced labour and inhumane working
conditions left thousands dead. The boycott that was brutally suppressed by the Portuguese
authorities.
- Unrest then started in Luanda and spread throughout the country.
- The independence war against the Portuguese continued throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s
- Many Portuguese resented being conscripted into this war, and it caused tension in Portugal
- In 1974 there was an army mutiny in Portugal called the Carnation Revolution
® army officers in Portugal, who were determined to end these pointless wars overthrew
Portugal’s fascist regime.
Resources:
- Angola’s resource wealth became a means of funding the ongoing war between the MPLA and
UNITA, with both parties extensively exploiting the country’s oil and diamond reserves.
- During the years of civil war, UNITA was able to capture several major diamond mines (by
capturing the areas of Lunda Sul and Lunda Norte Provinces) which served as a primary resource
for financing arms and fuel and funding the liberation movement’s guerrilla campaigns against
the MPLA.
- With the approaching independence in 1975, each of the 3 major contenders began to secure
Cold War patrons.
EXTERNAL FACTORS ON AFRICA DURING THE TIME
Angola
Terminology:
Sphere of influence – A country, or countries, dominated by the presence of one of the superpowers to
the exclusion of others.
Proxy wars – Provision of support by USA and USSR to opposing sides in a country but not directly
involved in the conflict (i.e. Korea, Vietnam, Angola)
FNLA – National Front for Liberation
MPLA – People’s Liberation Movement of Angola
FAPLA – People’s armed forces of Liberation of Angola
UNITA – National Union for the Total Independence of Angola
SWAPO – South West African people’s Organisation
SADF – South African Defence Force
HOW AFRICA WAS DRAWN INTO THE COLD WAR
- When Africa states became independent from colonial rule in the 1950’s and the 1960’s - was
the height of the Cold War
- US & Soviet Union found it critical to expand their spheres of influence
- Wanted to gain allies to fight or provide bases for the placement of nuclear warheads.
- The African continent, especially the southern and central portions, proved to be fertile grounds
for these kind of interventions
- Tried to gain allies among new African states by supplying aid + weapons
- Colonial powers had started declining in power due to the costs associated with WWII
- Many colonies struggled for independence & the US, USSR, and China attempted to fill the
power vacuums with money and arms.
- Intervention by Cold War rivals - negative impact on Africa
- Often meant disputes couldn’t be resolved peacefully because of superpower support for
opposing sides
COMPETING SPHERES OF INFLUENCE: TRADE, CONFLICT AND AID
- Superpowers competed for spheres of influence in Africa - areas which could dominate/control
- Did this by: providing arms or aid sometimes to gov in power or rebel groups fighting against
govt in power or opposing sides of civil war.
- Main aim of US foreign policy = counteract Soviet influence
, - Africa was important to the US as a source of minerals - industrial diamonds, uranium,
manganese, cobalt + chromium.
- Capitalist mining + trading companies that had been set up under colonial rule - threatened by
communist views of many liberation groups + looked to the US to protect their interests.
- USSR motivated by Cold War concerns in its provision of aid to Africa
- E.g. supplied aid to anti-Western govt in Mozambique + Angola + weapons to Somalia + Ethiopia
- Aid was often accompanied by Cuban rather than Soviet, troops + technicians
- During early 1970’s China provided more aid to Africa than Soviet Union + actions of Chinese
technicians and workers, who worked alongside local workers and shared their living conditions,
earned them respect
- Largest Chinese aid project in Africa = Tan-Zam railway
® 1800km long
® links Zambian copper belt to port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania
® aim was to allow Zambia to export copper without having to use SA ports
® 20000 Chinese worked alongside 36000 South African workers on this project
® completed in 1975
- Some African govt accepted aid from both superpowers - avoided committing themselves to
supporting their policies
- One benefit - superpowers competed with each other to provide aid
- Overall impact of Cold War on Africa = Negative
- 2 African countries - severely affected by Cold War politics were the Congo + Angola
ANGOLA: COLONIALISM AND INDEPENDENCE
- Colonised by Portugal from 1575, when Luanda was established ® last European power to
maintain colonies in Africa
- This brought them into conflict with the Ndongo Kingdom. The Portuguese called the colony
Angola after the Ndongo word for ruler ‘ngola’.
- Colony was consolidated at the 1884—1885 Berlin Conference.
- Rubber, food crops and cattle were farmed, & ivory was acquired through hunting. Mines and
railways were established. Portugal gained a lot of wealth.
- After WWII, African states became independent
- Angolans started to call for independence, but the fascist Portuguese gov, under the leadership
of Anténio Salazar, ignored their demands & strengthened control
- The 1950s were largely characterized by state repression of suspected nationalists using
arbitrary imprisonment and physical abuse
- Led to outbreak of war between Portuguese troops + national liberation groups in its 3 African
colonies (Angola, Mozambique + Guinea-Bissau)
- Angola - liberation struggle began with uprisings in Luanda + northern Angola (1961)
- Underlying causes:
® anger over the loss of land
® harsh treatment of Angolans by Portuguese settlers + traders
, - By 1970s colonial wars were costing almost half the Portuguese budget + involving increasing
number of troops
THE ANGOLAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE:
- March 1961
- The Angolan War of Independence was a liberation war fought against the
Portuguese colonisers.
- Broke out when revolts on coffee plantations against forced labour and inhumane working
conditions left thousands dead. The boycott that was brutally suppressed by the Portuguese
authorities.
- Unrest then started in Luanda and spread throughout the country.
- The independence war against the Portuguese continued throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s
- Many Portuguese resented being conscripted into this war, and it caused tension in Portugal
- In 1974 there was an army mutiny in Portugal called the Carnation Revolution
® army officers in Portugal, who were determined to end these pointless wars overthrew
Portugal’s fascist regime.
Resources:
- Angola’s resource wealth became a means of funding the ongoing war between the MPLA and
UNITA, with both parties extensively exploiting the country’s oil and diamond reserves.
- During the years of civil war, UNITA was able to capture several major diamond mines (by
capturing the areas of Lunda Sul and Lunda Norte Provinces) which served as a primary resource
for financing arms and fuel and funding the liberation movement’s guerrilla campaigns against
the MPLA.
- With the approaching independence in 1975, each of the 3 major contenders began to secure
Cold War patrons.
