Luanda

Luanda formerly spelled Loanda
Luanda's waterfront
Location of Luanda in Angola
Coordinates: {{#invoke:Coordinates|coord}}{{#coordinates:8|50|18|S|13|14|4|E|type:city
	name= }}
Country	Angola
Province	Luanda Province
Founded	1575
Population (2007)
- Total	4,799,432

Luanda (formerly spelled Loanda) is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and administrative center and has a population of approximately 4.8 million (2007).

Luanda is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop, is the location of most of Angola's educational institutions, including the private Catholic University of Angola and the public University of Agostinho Neto, is the home of the colonial Governor's Palace, and the Estádio da Cidadela (the "Citadel Stadium"), Angola's main stadium, with a total seating capacity of 60,000.

As Angola rebuilds after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002, Luanda was, in 2009, undergoing an extensive reconstruction, that will alter the cityscape significantly.

Geography

The name Luanda derives from a native word luanda, which means "tax". Shellfish caught there were sent as tribute to the king of Congo. Luanda was known among the native Africans population as Loanda, meaning "flat land."

Prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, the island of what today is part of the capital city Luanda, had no mountains and comprised only of sand that shifted with the tides and the flow of the nearby Kwanza river.

Luanda's climate is hot and humid but surprisingly dry, owing to the cool Benguela Current, which prevents moisture from easily condensing into rain. The average maximum daytime temperature in January of 82.4°F (28°C), dropping to an average maximum of around 73.4°F (23°C) in July. Frequent fog prevents temperatures from falling at night even during the completely dry months from June to October. The short rainy season in March and April depends on a northerly counter current bringing moisture to the city. Luanda has an annual rainfall of 323 millimeters (12.7 in), but the variability is among the highest in the world.

The Bay of Luanda had recurring pollution by sewerage spillage from the city. Dredging during the Bay of Luanda waterfront project during 2008 to reclaim land by extending the shoreline helped clean up the polluted seabed.

Luanda is divided into two parts, the Baixa de Luanda (lower Luanda, the old city) and the Cidade Alta (upper city or the new part). The Baixa de Luanda is situated next to the port, and has narrow streets and old colonial buildings.

History

The area of current day Angola was inhabited in prehistoric times, as attested by remains found in Luanda, Congo and the Namibe desert. The first to settle were the Bushmen, great hunters, similar to Pygmies in stature and with light brown skin.

At the beginning of the sixth century C.E., the Bantu migrated from the north, probably from somewhere near the present day Republic of Cameroon. When they reached what is now Angola they encountered the Bushmen and other groups considerably less advanced than themselves, who they easily dominated.

The first large political entity in the area, known to history as the Kingdom of Kongo, appeared in the 13th century and stretched from Gabon in the north to the river Kwanza in the south, and from the Atlantic in the west to the river Cuango in the east.

In 1482, Portuguese caravels commanded by Diogo Cão arrived in the Congo. Other expeditions followed, and close relations were soon established between the two states. The Portuguese brought firearms and many other technological advances, as well as a new religion (Christianity). In return, the King of the Congo could offer plenty of slaves, ivory, and minerals.

Portuguese rule

Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais (1510–1589) founded Luanda in 1575 as "São Paulo de Loanda", with 100 families of settlers and 400 soldiers. In 1618 the Portuguese built the fortress called Fortaleza São Pedro da Barra, and in 1634 they built another fortress: Fortaleza de São Miguel. Luanda was Portuguese Angola's administrative centre from 1627, with one exception: the Dutch ruled Luanda from 1640 to 1648 as Fort Aardenburgh.

The city served as the centre of a large slave trade to Brazil from c.1550 to 1836. The slave trade was conducted mostly with the Portuguese colony of Brazil; Brazilian ships were the most numerous in the ports of Luanda and Benguela. By this time, Angola, a Portuguese colony, was in fact like a colony of Brazil, paradoxically another Portuguese colony. A strong degree of Brazilian influence was noted in Luanda until the Independence of Brazil in 1822.

In the 19th century, still under Portuguese rule, Luanda experienced a major economic revolution. The slave trade was abolished in 1836, and in 1844 Angola's ports were opened to foreign shipping. By 1850, Luanda was one of the greatest and most developed Portuguese cities in the vast Portuguese Empire outside Mainland Portugal, full of trading companies, exporting (together with Benguela) palm and peanut oil, wax, copal, timber, ivory, cotton, coffee, and cocoa, among many other products. Maize, tobacco, dried meat and cassava flour also began to be produced locally. The Angolan bourgeoisie was born by this time.

In 1889 Governor Brito Capelo opened the gates of an aqueduct which supplied the city with water, a formerly scarce resource, laying the foundation for major growth.

Like most of Portuguese Angola, the cosmopolitan city of Luanda was not affected by the Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974); economic growth and development in the entire region reached record highs during this period. In 1972 a report called Luanda the "Paris of Africa".

Independence

By the time of Angolan independence in 1975, Luanda was a modern city and the majority of the city's population was of Portuguese origin. After the Carnation Revolution, left-leaning military coup in Portugal, in April 1974, with the advent of independence and the start of the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002), most of the Portuguese left as refugees, principally for Portugal, with many travelling overland to South Africa.

There was an immediate crisis, because the local African population lacked the skills and knowledge needed to run the city and maintain its infrastructure. The large numbers of skilled technicians among the force of Cuban soldiers sent in to support the MPLA government in the Angolan Civil War were able to make a valuable contribution to restoring and maintaining basic services in the city.

However, slums called musseques stretched for miles beyond Luanda's former city limits, as a result of the decades-long civil war, and because of the rise of deep social inequalities due to large-scale migration of civil war refugees from other Angolan regions. For decades, Luanda's facilities were not adequately expanded to handle this massive increase in the city's population.

After 2002, with the end of the civil war and high economic growth rates fuelled by the wealth provided by the increasing oil and diamond production, major reconstruction started.

Government

Angola has a multiparty presidential republic in which the president, who is both chief of state and head of government, is elected by universal ballot for a five-year term and is eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term. There is a prime minister. The president appoints a Council of Ministers. The unicameral National Assembly, or Assembleia Nacional, comprises 220 members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms.

Angola is divided into 18 provinces (províncias) and 163 municipalities. Luanda is the capital city and one of three municipalities of Luanda Province, which has an area of 2,257 km² and a population of 1,823,282 in 2006.

Governors of the 18 provinces are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the president. The Constitutional Law of 1992 establishes the broad outlines of government structure and delineates the rights and duties of citizens. The legal system is based on Portuguese and customary law but is weak and fragmented, and courts operate in only 12 of more than 140 municipalities.

Economy

Angola has a high growth rate, averaging more than 15 percent each year from 2004 to 2007, driven by its oil sector, which contributes about 85 percent of GDP. A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well.

Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for most of the people, but half of the country's food must still be imported.

Angola's per capita GDP was estimated at $9100 in 2008.

Financial and business services sector Tourism Manufacturing includes processed foods, beverages, textiles, cement and other building materials, plastic products, metalware, cigarettes, and shoes. Petroleum (found in nearby off-shore deposits) is refined in the city, although this facility was repeatedly damaged during the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002).

Transport: Road, rail, air, sea The city is a hub for Germany’s and Europe’s high-speed passenger rail network. Autobahns radiate from Cologne's ring road. Cologne's international airport is Cologne Bonn Airport, also called Konrad Adenauer Airport. The Rhine harbor is one of the larger inland ports in Germany. Public transport within the city includes buses, a subway system, and the Rheinseilbahn aerial tramway crossing the Rhine. Cologne has pavement-edge cycle lanes linked by cycle priority crossings.

The city also has a thriving building industry, an effect of the nationwide economic boom experienced since 2002, when political stability returned with the end of the civil war. Economic growth is largely supported by oil extraction activities, although massive diversification is taking place, so in turn, future generations will be dependent off oil exports. Large investment (Domestic and International), along with strong economic growth, has dramatically increased construction of all economic sectors in the city of Luanda.

Luanda has an excellent natural harbour; the chief exports are coffee, cotton, sugar, diamonds, iron, and salt.

Luanda is the starting point of the Luanda railway that goes due east to Malanje, but does not reach Congo-Kinshasa. The civil war left the railway non-functional, but a Chinese firm has taken up a contract to rebuild many Angolan railways, including the Luanda Railway which has already been completed.

The main airport of Luanda is Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, which acts as the largest in the country. Currently, Luanda has a major International Airport under construction is the southern part of the city, which is expected to be opened in 2011.

The port of Luanda is currently serves as the largest port of Angola, and connects Angola to the rest of the world. Major expansion of this port is also taking place, with the completion of a new complex just last year, the port is expanding rapidly.

Luanda's roads are currently in a poor state of repair, but are currently undergoing a massive reconstruction process by the government in order to relieve traffic congestion in the city. Major road repairs can be found taking place in nearly every neighborhood, including a major 6-lane highway connected Luanda to Viana, which is nearing partial completion in October. Many of the citizens of Luanda rely on privately owned combi taxis for transport, although recently the city has invested more into a public bus system.

Major Reconstruction

Angola, which is forecast to be one the world's fastest growing economies , has been undergoing a massive national reconstruction. The central government allocates funds to all regions of the country, but the capital region receives the bulk of these funds. Since the end of the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002), stability has been widespread in the country, and major reconstruction has been ongoing since 2002.

Major reconstruction in Luanda has been in nearly all aspects of society. Major road rehabilitation, including road widening, application of asphalt, and re-routing efforts are all currently being done throughout Luanda. The Brazilian construction firm Odebrechet, are currently constructing two six-lane highways. One highway that will provide speedy access to Cacuaco, Viana, Samba, and the Kilamba Kiaxi district of Luanda to the new airport of Luanda. The other highway will connect the city center of Luanda to Viana, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2008.

Major social housing is also being constructed, to house those who currently reside in slums, which dominate the landscape of Luanda. A large Chinese firm has been given a contract to construct the majority of replacement housing in Luanda. The Angolan minister of health recently stated poverty in Angola will be overcome by an increase in jobs, and the housing of every citizen.

Demographics

Population of Luanda, 1750-2007.

The population of Luanda has exploded in recent years, due in large part to war-time migration to the city, which is safe compared to the rest of the country. However, Luanda has recently seen an increase in violent crime, particularly in the shanty towns that surround the colonial urban core. The inhabitants of Luanda are primarily members of African ethnic groups, including the Ovimbundu, Kimbundu and Bakongo tribes. There is a small population of European origin.

The official and the most widely used language is Portuguese, although many Bantu-related indigenous languages are also used.

Religion Colleges and universities

Notable Residents

• Hugo Ferreira, lead singer of the band Tantric, was born and lived very briefly in Luanda.

Looking to the future

The main thing with NWE is the mission to somehow integrate purpose and values. Wikipedia typically ends articles haphazardly.

Does the city face no challenges or offer up anything else as a legacy?"

Does the city need reconstruction?

Is it a model city?

Will it run out of water?

Does it have a crucial role to play in the nation?

Gallery

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References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• FallingRain Map - elevation = 6m

Further reading

• Cutter, Charles H. Africa 2006. Harpers Ferry, WV: Stryker-Post Publications, 2006. ISBN 1887985727
• Ferreira, Roquinaldo Amaral. 2003. Transforming Atlantic slaving: trade, warfare and territorial control in Angola, 1650-1800. Thesis (Ph. D.)—University of California, Los Angeles, 2003. OCLC 54804770
• Gailey, Harry A., Jr. History of Africa: From 1800 to 1945. Malabar, FL: Robert Krieger Publishing, 1989. ISBN 0894642952
• Gailey, Harry A., Jr. History of Africa: From Earliest Times to 1800. Malabar, FL: Robert Krieger Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1575241188
• Moorman, Marissa Jean. 2008. Intonations: a social history of music and nation in Luanda, Angola, from 1945 to recent times. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. ISBN 9780821418239
• Munslow, Barry. 2005. "Luanda". Encyclopedia of African History. 852-854. OCLC 143619466

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Luanda

• World Fact Book 2009 Angola Retrieved February 20, 2009.
• Statoids Angola Retrieved February 20, 2009.
• www.luandamap.com - Street map of Luanda and other maps of Angola
• www.angolinks.com - Overview of angolan Internet pages
• www.cidadeluanda.com - Luanda, city map, History, Photos

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