Praia is the capital and largest city of the island nation Cape Verde, an archipelago approximately 400 miles west of Dakar, Senegal. The city has a population of 127,899 people and it is the home of over 90% of the nation’s population. Praia lies on … Read MorePraia, Cape Verde (1615- )
Lusaka is the largest city in the Republic of Zambia with a population of 1.8 million. It serves as Zambia’s capital and the country’s commercial center. The city is located in the agricultural region of central Zambia and is connected through train and road to … Read MoreLusaka, Zambia (1913- )
Bissau is the capital of the nation of Guinea-Bissau. It is located on the Geba River estuary on the Atlantic Ocean, on a peninsula that used to be an island. In 2007 its population was estimated at approximately 407,000 people. Bissau is also the largest … Read MoreBissau, Guinea-Bissau (1687- )
Emboscada is a small city located in the Cordillera region of Paraguay. In 2002 the city had a population of 13,500 people. The overwhelming majority of them have African ancestry due to the presence of slaves and free blacks in the area during the Spanish … Read MoreEmboscada, Paraguay (1740- )
Luanda was founded by Portuguese explorer Paolo Dias de Novaes as St. Paul of Luanda in 1576. It became the capital of a Portuguese colony in 1586 and became the capital of independent Angola when the former Portuguese colony gained its independence in 1975. Luanda … Read MoreLuanda, Angola (1576- )
In the following account University of Pittsburgh historian George Reid Andrews provides an introduction to the history of the population of African ancestry in Uruguay. When we think of the great nations of the African diaspora—Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, the United States—the South American republic of … Read MoreAfro-Uruguay: A Brief History
Libreville is the largest city and capital of Gabon, a small country on the western coast of Africa. In 2005 its population was 578,156. It is a tropical city that has a port on the Komo River. The city is the trading center for the … Read MoreLibreville, Gabon (1848- )
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, Angolan insurgent fighter and longtime leader of The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), was born in Munhango, Angola on August 3, 1934 to Helena Mbundu Savimbi and Loth Savimbi. Savimbi’s father was a railway stationmaster and part-time Protestant … Read MoreJonas Malheiro Savimbi (1934-2002)
When Great Zimbabwe began its economic and military decline in the late 1400s, some of the city’s elites migrated 200 miles north to the Zambezi River and established the short-lived Shona state of Monomotapa (Mutapa). The state emerged around 1500 under Nyatsimba Mutota, the first … Read MoreMonomutapa (ca. 1450-1917)
The Angolan Civil War, beginning at the time of the country’s independence from Portugal in 1975, was a 27-year struggle involving the deaths of over 500,000 soldiers and civilians. Initiated at the height of the Cold War, pro- and anti-communist forces in Angola set the … Read MoreAngolan Civil War (1975-2002)
