Angola

[ang-goh-luh]

noun

a republic in SW Africa: formerly an overseas province of Portugal; gained independence Nov. 11, 1975. 481,226 sq. mi. (1,246,375 sq. km). Capital: Luanda.

Formerly Portuguese West Africa.

Related formsAn·go·lan, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for portuguese west africa

Portuguese West Africa

noun

a former name (until 1975) of Angola

Angola

noun

a republic in SW Africa, on the Atlantic: includes the enclave of Cabinda, north of the River Congo; a Portuguese possession from 1575 until its independence in 1975; multiparty constitution adopted in 1991; factional violence. It consists of a narrow coastal plain with a large fertile plateau in the east. Currency: kwanza. Religion: Christian majority. Capital: Luanda. Pop: 18 565 269 (2013 est). Area: 1 246 693 sq km (481 351 sq miles)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

portuguese west africa in Culture

Angola

[(ang-goh-luh)]

Republic in southwestern Africa on the Atlantic, bordered to the north and northeast by Democratic Republic of Congo, to the east by Zambia, and to the south by Namibia. Its capital and largest city is Luanda.

Note

After achieving independence from Portugal in 1976, Angola was the scene of a civil war between its Marxist government, supported by the Soviet Union and Cuban troops, and a rebel organization known as UNITA, which was aided by the United States and South Africa. In 1988, the United States engineered a settlement that led to the withdrawal of Cuban troops and to South African acceptance of black majority rule in neighboring Namibia.