The Portuguese Colonial War (Portuguese: Guerra Colonial), also known as the Overseas War in Portugal (Portuguese: Guerra do Ultramar) or in the former colonies as the War of liberation (Portuguese: Guerra de Libertação), was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974. It was a decisive ideological struggle and armed conflict of the cold war in African (Portuguese Africa and surrounding nations) and European (mainland Portugal) scenarios. Unlike other European nations, the Portuguese regime did not leave its African colonies, or the overseas provinces (províncias ultramarinas), during the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1960s, various armed independence movements, most prominently led by communist-led parties who cooperated under the CONCP umbrella and pro US groups, became active in these areas, most notably in Angola, Mozambique, and Portuguese Guinea. During the war, several atrocities were committed by all forces involved in the conflict.
Throughout the war period Portugal had to deal with increasing dissent, arms embargoes and other punitive sanctions imposed by most of the international community. The combined guerrilla forces of the MPLA, the UNITA, and the FNLA, in Angola, PAIGC in Guinea-Bissau, and FRELIMO in Mozambique, succeeded in their rebellion not because of their overall success in battle, but because of elements of the Portuguese Armed Forces that staged a coup at Lisbon in 1974.[4][5] The Portuguese Armed Forces' Movimento das Forças Armadas overthrew the Lisbon government in protest of ongoing wars that seemed to have no political end in sight, as well as a rebellion against the new Military Laws that were to be presented next year (Decree Law: Decretos-Leis n.os 353, de 13 de Julho de 1973, e 409, de 20 de Agosto).[6][7][8][9][10] The revolutionary Portuguese government removed the remaining elements of its colonial forces and agreed to a quick handover of power for the nationalistic African guerrillas.
The end of the war after the Carnation Revolution military coup of April 1974 in Lisbon resulted in the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Portuguese citizens[11] plus the military personnel of European, African and mixed ethnicity from the newly-independent African territories to Portugal. Over 1 million people left these former colonies, predominately Angola and Mozambique, the largest overseas provinces by then.[12][13][14] This migration is regarded as one of the largest peaceful migrations in the world's History.[15] Devastating civil wars followed in Angola and Mozambique, which lasted several decades and claimed millions of lives and refugees.[16] The former colonies faced severe problems after independence. Economic and social recession, Marxist totalitarianism, corruption, poverty, inequality and failed central planning eroded the initial revolutionary fervour.[17][18] A level of social order and economic development comparable to what had existed under Portuguese rule became the goal of the independent territories.[19]
Portugal had been the first European power to establish a colony in Africa when it captured Ceuta in 1415; it became one of the last to leave. The former Portuguese territories in Africa became sovereign states, with Agostinho Neto in Angola, Samora Machel in Mozambique and Luís Cabral in Guinea-Bissau as the heads of state.
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Xeni Jardin
Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:33:22 GM
Seeing the . Portuguese. empire getting bounced around by the French and British army during the 1860's was extremely amusing, albeit I'm not quite seeing what particular events they're mapping. ... India, independent in 1948 but already with a seat in the League of nations pre-. war. , was a role model for the would-be independent. In 1956, a . colonial. plan by Britain and France (and Israel) in Egypt to capture the Suez channel was prevented by USSR and US, and made the two ...
