Angola Civil War

(noun)

The Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in the Southern African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975.

Related Terms

Examples of Angola Civil War in the following topics:

  • Shuttle Diplomacy

    • Although the conflict would continue until the successful invasion of South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese in 1975, Kissinger's diplomacy did help the U.S. end its military involvement in the war.
    • Under Kissinger's guidance, the United States government supported Pakistan in the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
    • The National Salvation Junta, the new government, quickly granted Portugal's colonies, including Angola and Mozambique, independence.
    • Cuban troops in Angola supported the left-wing Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in its fight against right-wing UNITA and FNLA rebels during the resulting Angolan Civil War (1975–2002).
    • He also helped orchestrate the CIA-supported invasion of Angola by South African troops.

  • The Russian Civil War

  • The Chinese Civil War

  • The Guatemalan Civil War

  • The Syrian Civil War

  • Portugal and West Africa

    • Portuguese colonization of some parts of Africa would have a very negative impact on the existing civilizations.
    • By 1583, they had destroyed the Afro-Muslim Zendj civilization of East Africa that competed with them for the African trade.
    • Portugal intervened militarily in these conflicts, creating the basis for their colony of Angola.
    • Portugal intervened in a local war hoping to get abundant mineral riches, imposing a protectorate.

  • The Defense Buildup and the "Evil Empire"

    • While Ronald Reagan worked to restrict the influence of the federal government in people’s lives, he simultaneously pursued interventionist policies abroad as part of a global Cold War strategy.
    • As part of the policies that became known as the Reagan Doctrine, the United States also offered financial and logistics support to the anti-communist opposition in central Europe and took an increasingly hard line against socialist and communist governments in Afghanistan, Angola, and Nicaragua.
    • Reagan escalated the Cold War during his presidency, accelerating a reversal from the policy of détente which began in 1979 following the Soviet war in Afghanistan.
    • President Reagan's Covert Action program has been given credit for assisting in ending the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, though the US funded armaments introduced then would later pose a threat to US troops in the 2000s war in Afghanistan.
    • Reagan believed that this defense shield would make nuclear war impossible, but disbelief that the technology could ever work led opponents to dub SDI "Star Wars," arguing that the technological objective was unattainable.

  • The Civil War Amendments

    • The Civil War Amendments protected equality for emancipated slaves by banning slavery, defining citizenship, and ensuring voting rights.
    • Known collectively as the Civil War Amendments, they were designed to ensure the equality for recently emancipated slaves.
    • This contrasted with the pre-Civil War compromise that counted enslaved people as three-fifth in representation enumeration.
    • It banned any person who had engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the U.S. from holding civil or military office.
    • These methods were employed around the country to undermine the Civil War Amendments and set the stage for Jim Crow conditions and for the Civil Rights movement.

  • The Indian Response

    • The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, began as a civil war within the Creek (Muscogee) Nation.
    • Although the Creek War began as a civil war, U.S. forces became involved when they attacked a Creek party in present-day Alabama, at the Battle of Burnt Corn.
    • Before the Creek Civil War began, the Red Sticks, generally younger men, had attempted to keep their revival activities secret from older chiefs.
    • This decision ignited civil war in the Creek Nation.
    • Analyze the relationship between the Creek Civil War and the War of 1812

  • NATO and the Militarization and Interventions Abroad

    • It was characterized by a strategy of "peace through strength" followed by a warming of relations with the Soviet Union, and resulted in an end to the Cold War when Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power.
    • As part of the policies that became known as the Reagan Doctrine, the United States also offered financial and logistics support to the anti-communist opposition in central Europe and took an increasingly hard line against socialist and communist governments in Afghanistan, Angola, and Nicaragua.
    • When the Iran–Iraq War broke out following the Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979, the United States initially remained neutral in the conflict.
    • However, as the war intensified, the Reagan administration would covertly intervene to maintain a balance of power, supporting both nations at various times.
    • The agency sent billions of dollars in military aid to the guerrillas, in what came to be known as "Charlie Wilson's War".