1940s in Angola

Angola-related events during the 1940's The 1940s in Angola saw the emergence of the first separatist agitation in the province of Cabinda. Economy Economy of Angola By 1940 the white population in Angola had risen to forty thousand, 2% of the population. Most of these émigrés, illiterate and landless, took the best farming land, regardless of availability, without compensating existing landowners. Colonial authorities expelled and enslaved natives, forcing them to harvest maize, coffee, and beans. Natives could "volunteer" to work on the plantations or face conscription, working for $1.50 per month.Walker John Frederick 2004 A Certain Curve of Horn: The Hundred-Year Quest for the Giant Sable Antelope https://archive.org/details/certaincurveofho0000walk registration 100–101 António de Oliveira Salazar's system of slavery prompted 500,000 Angolans to flee, creating a labor shortage, which in turn created the need for more slaves for the colonial economy. Marcello Caetano, Salazar's Minister of Colonies, recognized the inherent flaws in the system, which he described as using natives "like pieces of equipment without any concern for their yearning, interests, or desires". in 1947, Parliament held a closed session to discuss the deteriorating situation. Henrique Galvão, Angolan deputy to the National Assembly, read his "Report on Native Problems in the Portuguese Colonies". Galvão condemned the "shameful outrages" he had uncovered, the enslavement of "women, of children, of the sick, [and] of decrepit old men." He concluded that in Angola, "only the dead are really exempt from forced labor." As much as 30% of all Angolan slaves died. The government's control over the natives eliminated the slave-owner's incentive to keep his slaves alive because, unlike in other slave-master societies, the state replaced deceased slaves without directly charging the slave owner. Salazar ignored Galvão's report and had him arrested in 1952. By the 1950s Angolan Communists actively campaigned against the Salazar government's control over Angola. Politics Cabindans rallied for independence from Portugal in 1946. The Portuguese colonial authorities responded by deporting separatists to Baía dos Tigres where they held and tortured them.Mullen J. Atticus Ryan Christopher A. Mullen 1997 Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization, Yearbook 1997 57 In 1948, Viriato da Cruz and others formed the Movement of Young Intellectuals, an organization that promoted Angolan culture. Nationalists sent a letter to the United Nations calling for Angola to be given protectorate status under UN supervision.Wright George 1997 The Destruction of a Nation: United States Policy Towards Angola Since 1945 https://archive.org/details/destructionofnat0000wrig registration 2, 8–11, and 57Oyebade Adebayo O 2006 Culture And Customs of Angola XI1977 Africa Year Book and Who's who 238Tvedten Inge 1997 Angola: Struggle for Peace and Reconstruction https://archive.org/details/angolastrugglefo00tved registration 29–36 Colonial authorities established the Mission of Angola in 1941 and the Center of Overseas Geography and Anais, an annual publication, in 1946.Gann Lewis Henry Peter Duignan 1973 Colonialism in Africa, 1870-1960 28 Agostinho Neto, the future President of Angola, traveled to Portugal in 1947, studying medicine at the University of Coimbra.Sellström Tor https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:nai:diva-242 Sweden and national liberation in Southern Africa. Vol. 1, Formation of a popular opinion (1950-1970) Nordiska Afrikainstitutet 1999 91-7106-430-3 Uppsala 378 Colonial governors List of colonial governors in 1941 List of colonial governors in 1947 Manoel da Cunha e Costa Marquês Mano, High Commissioner of Angola (1939–1941) Abel de Abreu Souto-Maior, High Commissioner of Angola (1941–1942) Vasco Lopes Alves, High Commissioner of Angola (1943–1947) Fernando Falcão Pacheco Mena, High Commissioner of Angola (1947) References See also Portuguese West Africa Angola Category:Decades in Angola Category:Portuguese Angola