Country: Angola

Group: Kimbundu

Date: Sept 28 2022

Name: Ash Pessaran (lead), Alicia Hernandez, Anusha Natarajan, Amanda Nelson, Amaya Tanhueco, Heather Varsalona

Content Warnings: Murder, Slavery

Approximate Time Period:1671-1960

The Kimbundu people of Angola primarily live in the northwest area of Angola (Wikipedia, n.d.). Approximately 2,000,000 Angolans speak, making them the 2nd largest ethnolinguistic group in Angola (Britannica, n.d.). The Kimbundu people trace their ancestry back to the Ndongo Kingdom which was established around the year 1400. Angola derives its name from one chief of this kingdom, Ngola.  The Kimbundu are a sub ethnicity of the Mbundu people and are sometimes referred to as “North Mbundu” (NALRC, n.d.).

There is evidence that the Kimbundu people were subjected to forced labor. The Kimbundu people are descendants of the Ndongo Kingdom. In 1671, when the Portuguese took over Angola, they killed the king (EISA, 2005). After killing the king, they enslaved many of his followers and built a fort in the capital (Collelo, 1991). After the Portuguese conquered the Ndongo Kingdom, they increased their involvement in the slave trade (UNESCO, n.d.). This slave trade continued into the 1830s until it was banned in Angola (Britannica, n.d.). However, the Portuguese continued forced labor practices well into the 1960s, regularly conscripting Angolans through violence and intimidation into work regiments for agricultural production, extraction of ivory, rubber and minerals as well as other colonial projects (Ignatius, 1972; Africa Museum, 2015; South African History Online, 2016). The Portuguese left Angola in 1975. There are currently no documented cases of forced labor against the Kimbundu/Ndongo people, and they are able to peacefully coexist with the rest of the Angolan population.

We rate the data quality a 3 out of 3 because there are large variety of credible data supports proper documentation of this discrimination.  

Sources

  1. African Democracy Encyclopaedia Project (2005). Angola: Kongo, Mbundu and Lunda Kingdoms (1614-1700). EISA Angola: Kongo, Mbundu and Lunda kingdoms (1614-1700). (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.eisa.org/wep/angoverview3.htm
  2. African Museum. (2015). The Kongo Kingdom: Long-standing Diplomatic and Trade Connections with Europe. Retrieved 18 September 2022 from https://www.africamuseum.be/en/discover/history_articles/kongo-kingdom
  1. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). History of Angola. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Angola/History
  2. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Mbundu. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mbundu
  3. Ignatius, D. (1972, March 14). Gulf in Angola | News | The Harvard Crimson. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1972/3/14/gulf-in-angola-pthere-is-in/.
  4. Pedagogical unit. Njinga Mbandi pedagogical unit 1 | Women. (n.d.). Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://en.unesco.org/womeninafrica/njinga-mbandi/pedagogical-unit/1
  5. South African History Online. (18 May 2016). Kingdom of Kongo 1390 – 1914. Retrieved 18 September 2022 from https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/kingdom-kongo-1390-1914.
  6. Thomas Collelo, ed. Angola: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1991.  Retrieved September 28, 2022, from http://countrystudies.us/angola/7.htm
  7. U.S. Department of State. (n.d.). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://history.state.gov/countries/angola#:~:text=Portugal%20granted%20Angola%20independence%20on,over%20the%20newly%20liberated%20state.
  8. Vansina, J. (1970, January 1). Portuguese vs Kimbundu: Language use in the colony of Angola (1575 – c. 1845). Bulletin des s. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=240942485
  9. Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, December 27). Kimbundu. Wikipedia. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimbundu