Decolonisation and Cold War in Africa Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, figures, organizations, and events relating to the Angolan Civil War, Cold War interventions in Africa, and African decolonisation.

Proxy war

A conflict started or supported by countries not directly involved in fighting to pursue their aims without going to war themselves.

Strategic Seaways of Africa

The three African maritime routes—the Suez Canal, the Horn of Africa, and the Cape of Good Hope—that made the continent a target for foreign interference.

Indirect rule

A colonial administrative technique of identifying chiefs in demarcated tribes and giving them authority, which introduced ethnic identity and fostered social and regional rivalries.

Zhou Enlai

The Chinese Prime Minister who visited Africa in 1963 to offer support against colonialism and establish links with nine African states.

Tan-Zam Railway

A major infrastructure project constructed between 1970 and 1975, financed by China, to transport copper from Zambian mines to the Tanzanian coast.

Horn of Africa

A region in East Africa consisting of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, and Sudan that experienced foreign interference during the Cold War.

Agostinho Neto

A physician and communist born in Bengo province who became president of the MPLA in 1962 and served as the first president of independent Angola in 1975.

Jonas Savimbi

The founder and leader of UNITA who broke away from Holden Roberto in 1964 over tribalism and nepotism, leading UNITA until his death in a 2002 military operation.

Mesticos

Educated Angolans of both Portuguese and African ancestry who were aware of decolonisation movements taking place elsewhere.

Assimilados

Africans in Angola who adopted Portuguese customs and achieved a legal standard of living.

Antonio Salazar

The Portuguese dictator who refused to negotiate with Angolan nationalist leaders, ordering their arrest or exile.

MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola)

An anti-colonial group formed in 1956 under Agostinho Neto that drew support from the Kimbundu ethnic group, controlled the Cabinda oil wells, and received support from the USSR.

FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola)

An anti-colonial movement led by Holden Roberto that drew support from the Bakongo people of the north-west and received assistance from the United States CIA.

UNITA (National Union for Total Independence of Angola)

An anti-communist movement led by Jonas Savimbi that drew support from the Ovimbundu in southern Angola and received backing from the USA and South Africa.

Bicesse Accord

A 1991 agreement following a ceasefire that outlined an electoral process for a democratic Angola under United Nations supervision.

Lusaka Protocol

A failed peace protocol in Angola prior to the 2002 death of Jonas Savimbi and the final ceasefire agreement between UNITA and the MPLA.

The Year of Africa

The designation given by the Western world to the year 1960, which was marked by great optimism for African decolonisation.

Patrice Lumumba

The Congolese leader who struggled against Cold War forces during decolonisation, enduring successive crises with tragic consequences.

Mobutu Sese Seko

The successor to Patrice Lumumba in the Congo whose reign became synonymous with corruption and economic decline before he was overthrown by Laurent Kabila.

African Socialism

The socio-economic system implemented in Tanzania under a one-party state aimed at fostering national development, which ultimately failed.