Luanda

Luanda is the capital and main city of Angola. It is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and is the main port and economic center of the country. It is also the capital of the homonymous province.

It was founded on January 25, 1576 by the Portuguese nobleman and explorer Paulo Dias de Novais, under the name of São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda (Saint Paul of the Assumption of Loanda). It currently has a population of approximately 5 million inhabitants, which makes it the third most populous Portuguese-speaking city in the world, only behind São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, both in Brazil, and the 19th agglomeration. most populous on the continent.

Industries present in the city include the transformation of agricultural products, the production of beverages, textiles, cement and other construction materials, plastics, metallurgy, cigarettes and shoes. Oil extracted in the surrounding area is refined in the city, although the refinery has been repeatedly damaged during the civil war that ravaged the country between 1975 and 2002. Luanda has an excellent natural port, the main exports being coffee, cotton, sugar, diamonds, iron and salt.

The inhabitants of Luanda are, for the most part, members of the Ovimbundu and Bakongo ethnic groups. There is also a sizeable minority of European origin, consisting mainly of Portuguese, and a growing Chinese community. The official and most widely spoken language is Portuguese, and several languages of the Bantu group are also spoken, mainly Kimbundu.

Toponymy

The place name Luanda derives from the Bantu languages, more specifically from lu-ndandu, where the prefix lu is one of the primitive forms of the plural and common in the names of coastal areas with river deltas or regions with an elongated shape (examples: Luena, Lucala, Lobito) and, in this case, it refers to a sandbank surrounded by the sea. Ndandu means value or object of commerce and alludes to the exploitation of small shells collected on the island of Luanda and which constituted the current currency in the former Kingdom of the Congo and in a large part of the west African coast, known as zimbo or njimbo.

As the Mbundu peoples pronounced the place names according to their way of speaking in the different regions, they eliminated some letter when this did not affect the meaning of the word, so Lu-ndandu became Lu-andu. Later, in the Portuguese colonial period, the term became feminine when referring to an island, resulting in Luanda.

Another of the versions for the origin of the name refers to the fact that it derives from "Axiluandas" (men of the sea), name given by the Portuguese to the inhabitants of the island, because when they arrived and asked what they were doing, they answered "uwanda", a vocabulary that in Kikongo, designated working with fishing nets.

History

Portuguese proficiency

Map of Luanda from the beginning of the centuryXVIII.

View of Luanda in 1883.

Boats abandoned in 1975.

Luanda was founded by the Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais on January 25, 1575, under the name of Saint Paul of Luanda (São Paulo da Assumpção de Loanda in Portuguese) with a hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers. In 1618, the Portuguese built the Fortress of San Pedro da Barra (São Pedro da Barra), and later two more were built, that of San Miguel (São Miguel) in 1634 and the Fort of San Francisco do Penedo (Forte de São Francisco do Penedo) in 1765-1766. Of the three fortresses, the San Miguel Fortress is still in good condition, while the other two are in poor condition.

The city has been the administrative center of Angola since 1627, except between August 25, 1641 and August 15, 1648, when it was occupied, with the support of Ana de Sousa, by the Netherlands, who renamed it as Fort Aardenburgh. between c. Around 1550 and 1850 it was an important center of the slave trade with Brazil. The slave trade was carried out mainly with Brazil, also under Portuguese rule, and most of the ships present in the port of Luanda were of this nationality. This trade was also practiced by local merchants and warriors who took advantage of this practice. During this period the Portuguese did not attempt a large-scale conquest of the territory; only a few settlements were established in the hinterland near Luanda, some along the Kwanza River.

In 1889, the foundations for further growth of the city were laid when Governor Brito Capelo inaugurated an aqueduct that would provide the necessary water for the city, which until then had been a scarce commodity. After this the city suffered a great demographic growth until 1975, and even in 1972 it was known as the Paris of Africa due to the growth it had experienced. Currently the aqueduct is still in operation and carries water from the north to the city of Luanda.

Before the Angolan War of Independence broke out in 1975, Luanda was a modern city with a population mostly of Portuguese and mixed origin, specifically of the Bakonga ethnic group.

Independence

After achieving independence from Portugal, and after the withdrawal of colonial troops, the European population left the city due to the increase in citizen insecurity due to ethnic clashes between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) (of communist ideology and without any tribal affiliation, supported by Cuba), the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) with Bakonga affiliation and support of Zaire, the United States and China and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) (representative of the southern Omyama and supported by South Africa).

This forced emigration caused the infrastructure to decline due to a lack of qualified labor, as well as people with higher education, both necessary for the operation of the city and its maintenance. Currently, Brazilian and Portuguese construction companies (Odebrecht, Soares da Costa) rehabilitate the city and its infrastructure, often with materials of dubious quality. It is feared that many funds are being diverted due to corruption.^{[citation needed]}

21st century

After 2002, with the end of the civil war and high rates of economic growth fueled by the wealth provided by increased oil and diamond production, a major rebuilding began. On the other hand, Chinese, Brazilian and Portuguese companies have embarked on the development of New Luanda, whose maximum asset is the petrodollar, building apartment buildings and private areas for the upper-middle class of origin mixed race and black Luanda has also become one of the most expensive cities in the world.

The central government supposedly allocates funds to all regions of the country, but the capital region receives most of these funds. Since the end of the Angolan Civil War, stability has been widespread in the country and since 2002 major reconstruction has taken place in those parts of the country that were damaged during the civil war.

Luanda has been of great concern because its population had multiplied and far exceeded the capacity of the city, especially since much of its infrastructure (water, electricity, roads, etc...) had become obsolete and degraded.

Luanda has been undergoing major road reconstruction in the XXI century and new roads are planned to improve connections with Cacuaco, Viana, Samba and the new airport.

Substantial social housing is also being built to house those residing in slums, which dominate the Luanda landscape. A large Chinese company has been awarded a contract to build most of the replacement housing in Luanda. The Angolan health minister recently stated that poverty in Angola will be overcome by an increase in employment and housing for all citizens.

Geography

Satellite photo of the city and its port.

The city of Luanda coincides geographically with the municipality of the same name. The central area of the city is divided into two parts, Baixa de Luanda (the old city) and Cidade Alta i> (also known as "nova cidade"). The Baixa de Luanda area is the one located near the port and has narrow streets and buildings from the colonial period. The coastline is formed by the Bay of Luanda, formed in turn with the protection of the continental coastline through the Ilha de Luanda and the Isla de Mussulo, to the south of the main urban nucleus.

There are no large rivers that flow into the city's coastline, but several small streams form a system of rainwater basins. The closest rivers are the Cuanza River, the largest in Angola and which forms the natural boundary to the south between the provinces of Luanda and Bengo, and the Bengo River which forms the northern boundary between those same provinces.

Climate

Luanda has a mild semi-arid climate (BSh in the Köppen climate classification). The climate is hot and humid, but surprisingly with little or no precipitation, due to the cold Benguela current, which prevents moisture from easily condensing into rain. Frequent fog prevents temperatures from dropping at night, even during the completely dry months of June through October. Luanda has annual rainfall of 323 millimeters, but the variability is among the highest in the world, with a variation of the coefficient above 40 percent. Records observed since 1858 range from 55 millimeters in 1958 to 851 millimeters in 1916. The short rainy season in March and April depends on a northern countercurrent bringing moisture to the city: it has been clearly shown that a weakness in the Benguela current can increase rainfall by about six times compared to years when the current it is very strong.^{[citation needed]}

Average climate parameters of Luanda
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	33.9	34.1	37.2	36.1	36.1	35.0	28.9	28.3	31.0	31.2	36.1	33.6	37.2
Average temperature (°C)	29.5	30.5	30.7	30.2	28.8	25.7	23.9	24.0	25.4	26.8	28.4	28.6	27.7
Average temperature (°C)	26.7	28.5	28.6	28.2	27.0	23.9	22.1	22.1	23.5	25.2	26.7	26.9	25.8
Temp. medium (°C)	23.9	24.7	24.6	24.3	23.3	20.3	18.7	18.8	20.2	22.0	23.3	23.5	22.3
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	18.0	16.1	20.0	17.8	17.8	12.8	11.0	12.2	15.0	17.8	17.2	17.8	11.0
Total precipitation (mm)	25.4	35.6	76.2	116.8	12.7	1.3	0.0	1.3	2.5	5.1	27.9	20.3	325.1
Precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	4	5	9	11	2	0	0	1	3	5	8	5	53
Hours of sun	217	198	217	180	217	210	155	155	150	155	180	186	2220
Relative humidity (%)	77.5	75.5	77.0	79.5	79.5	78.5	79.5	81.0	80.0	79.0	78.0	77.0	78.5
Source No. 1: Global Bioclimatic Classification System
Source No. 2: BBC Weather

Districts

The current city of Luanda is divided into 13 districts:

There remains the possibility that the current municipalities of Viana and Cacuaco lose the category of municipality, being able to become part of Luanda.

Demographics

Population growth of the city.

Estimates made by the Angolan government place the population of the city at 5,172,900 inhabitants in 2011, although local authorities estimate that the real population is above 7,000,000. On the other hand, those 7 million, it is estimated that 80% live with 400 dollars a month in a city that has been described as one of the most expensive in the world; in fact, in 2011, the city was ranked as the most expensive in the world, ahead of Tokyo, and the second in 2012, just behind precisely the Japanese capital.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the population of Luanda increased vertiginously, from around 400,000 to more than four million inhabitants, as a consequence of the Angolan Civil War that led to internal migration in the country from the rural areas from the south and east to the capital. The result of this large uncontrolled population increase was a series of serious problems such as the shortage of housing, basic sanitation and employment, as well as an increase in the crime rate and a large congestion in city traffic.

The ethnic composition of the inhabitants of Luanda is made up of a Bantu majority, the original ethnicity of the region being the Mbundu of the north or Ambundu, who speak Kimbundu, particularly those of the (Axi)Luanda (Lwanda) group of whose name derives from the city. This ethnic group was joined during the colonial period of the XX century by fairly large groups of Ovimbundus and Bakongos, especially in the last colonial decades and during the Portuguese Colonial War, this immigration was reinforced recently due to the Angolan civil war. Luanda is also home to minorities from all the major ethnic groups in the country, from the Chôkwe to the Ovambo. Due to all this variety of ethnic groups and the uncontrolled growth of the population, a class society with numerous social inequalities has been forming in the city.

The inhabitants of Luanda are mainly members of African ethnic groups, mainly Ambundu, Ovimbundu and Bakongo. The official and most widely used language is Portuguese, although several Bantu languages are also used, mainly Kimbundu, Umbundu and Kikongo. There is a sizeable minority population of European origin, especially Portuguese (about 260,000), as well as Brazilians and other Latin Americans. In recent decades, a significant Chinese community (200,000) has formed, as has a much smaller Vietnamese community. There are also a large number of immigrants from other African countries, including a small expatriate South African community. A small number of people from Luanda are of mixed race: European/Portuguese and native African. In recent years, mainly since the mid-2000s, immigration from Portugal has increased due to Portugal's recession and poor economic situation.

Economy

Building Cuca.

View of the Avenue dos Combatants where you can see the dense traffic that supports the city.

Luanda is the main financial, commercial and economic center of Angola. What best illustrates this position of the city is the presence of the headquarters of the country's main companies such as Angola Telecom, Unitel, Endiama, Sonangol, TAAG Angola Airlines and Odebrecht Angola, among others. One of the consequences of this agglomeration of companies is that a very small group of Rich people live side by side with a majority of poor people. As a result, Luanda came to be considered the most expensive city in the world for a foreign worker in 2017, although it has since dropped significantly in that ranking.

Due to the great demographic growth experienced by the city, the price of land has skyrocketed and informal settlements have extended the city to unite it with nearby towns such as Viana. Only 20% of the city has a water sanitation service and only 30% of homes have running water.

In Luanda there are food processing plants, paper, wood, textile, metal, cement factories and other construction materials, plastics, cigarettes and shoes.

It also has oil refineries, although these facilities date from the 1960s and have not been converted. Angolan oil is exported crude and imported refined.

The port of Luanda allows exports of coffee, cotton, sugar, diamonds, iron and salt. However, it faces drawbacks such as saturation, lack of personnel and infrastructure, corruption, and container thefts.

Transportation

View of the Quatro de Fevereiro Airport with the city at the bottom.

Although the city's roads are in a poor state of repair, they are undergoing a massive reconstruction process carried out by the government in order to alleviate traffic congestion. Major road repairs are taking place in almost every neighborhood, including a major 6-lane highway that will connect to Viana.

Public transportation

Public transportation is provided by the Luanda commuter rail services, by the public company TCUL and by a large fleet of privately owned collective taxis that are usually minibuses painted the traditional white-blue called Candongueiros. There is also a private bus company that runs routes to work in the city.

Luanda is also the starting point of the railway line that leads to Malanje, in the east of the country. During the civil war, the railway was seriously damaged and out of operation, but it was later rehabilitated and is now operational.

Air transportation

As far as air transport is concerned, the city has the services of the country's main airport, the Quatro de Fevereiro airport, located very close to it. In 2008, a project began for the construction of a new airport in the southeast area of the city, located a few kilometers from Viana, which was expected to open to the public in 2011. However, due to the economic crisis, the government The Angolan company was unable to continue paying the payments owed to the Chinese company in charge of the construction, so it suspended the works in 2010.

Sea transport

The port of Luanda is the largest in Angola and connects the city with the rest of the world, it is currently undergoing an expansion that allows its merchandise traffic to increase significantly.

Sports

The most popular sport in Luanda is roller hockey. In fact, in 2013 the city will host, together with Moçamedes, the first world championship of this sport in Africa. Yacht racing is another peculiarity of Luanda since some of its yacht clubs date back to 1883 and it is one of the oldest in Africa, but since the founding of the Luanda Autodromo in 1972, car racing is the one that is gaining popularity. in the city. Luanda hosts the Angolan Olympic Committee, as well as several Angolan sports federations.

Twinned cities

Luanda has twinning agreements with the following cities: