The Angolan War of Independence was fought by Angolan nationalist movements against Portuguese colonial rule. It began with attacks on police and prisons in the capital, Luanda, and an uprising in the north, which was met by brutal reprisals by Portuguese forces and settlers. Three movements emerged: the Marxist MPLA, the FNLA based in Zaire and UNITA in the south, each with different bases of support and foreign backers. Portugal sent large numbers of soldiers and used counter-insurgency tactics, but could not end the guerrilla war. After the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon in 1974, Portugal agreed to decolonisation. Angola became independent in 1975, and a civil war between the movements followed.
Before and after
- 1961Establishment of Emas National Park
- from 1961 to 1972Rise of Tupamaros
- 4 January 1961Death of Erwin Schrödinger
- 17 January 1961Death of Patrice Lumumba
- from 4 February 1961 to 25 April 1974Angolan War of Independence
- from 4 February 1961 to 25 April 1974Portuguese Colonial War
- from 11 February 1961 to 1 January 1963Rise of Secret Army Organization
- 12 February 1961Launch of Venera 1
- 14 February 1961Discovery of lawrencium
More in Wars, politics & history
- from January 1978 to February 1979Iranian Revolution
- from 25 December 1979 to 15 February 1989Soviet-Afghan War
- from 20 March 2003 to 15 December 2011Iraq War
- from 18 December 2010 to 1 December 2012Arab Spring
- from 15 March 2011 to 8 December 2024Syrian Civil War
- 28 February 20262026 Iran War
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.