THE Overseas War became better known as the pro-independence conflict between the Portuguese colonies Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique and the metropolis Portugal. After the creation of the United Nations (UN), in 1945, the colonies started to claim the political and economic independence of their countries.
From the 1960s onwards, several movements in favor of independence of the Portuguese African colonies. Three armed groups were created in Angola that would fight to free the country from colonial exploration. Each group held different political positions among themselves, but they all had in common the struggle for Angola's independence and differences over which of the three groups would assume power.
The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) was one of these groups. The group's political proposal was Marxist in orientation and armed struggle was the only means of abolishing Angola's colonial ties. The second group was the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita): led by Jonas Savimbi, the group had an anti-communist political proposal. In 1972, the third group called the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) emerged: with Holden Roberto as the main leader, this group had the financial support of the USA.
In 1965, Guinea-Bissau also began the process of fighting Portuguese colonial policy. Then came the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), led by Amílcar Cabral. In Mozambique, in 1962, the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) began the struggle for the country's independence.
The independence movements of the Portuguese African colonies gained strength from the end of the Salazar dictatorship in Portugal (1932-1968), which maintained a strong colonial policy. With the Carnation Revolution (overthrow of the Salazar dictatorship), Portuguese colonial policy took other directions and Guinea-Bissau gained its independence in 1974. Mozambique became independent in 1975.
Political disputes between the three different movements for the colonial liberation of Angola ended up causing a civil war in the country. Portugal, in 1974, under a new government, granted the decolonization of Angola, a fact that only occurred in 1975. The former Portuguese colonial empire was nearing its end.
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By Leandro Carvalho
Master in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
OAK, Leandro. "Overseas War and the Decolonization of Africa"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/guerra-ultramar.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
