Angola is the largest (including Cabinda and Landana to the north of the Congo estuary, 1.2 million sq. km.) but not the most populous (3.7 million inhabitants, fewer than 3 per sq. km.) of the Portuguese colonies. Behind the narrow coastal strip along the Atlantic—mostly low-lying and inhospitable and surmounted by a mountainous rim—lies a vast plateau, which is better suited to European settlement and therefore to agricultural practices and livestock farming. The altitude (averaging about 1,000 meters) moderates the extremes of the tropical climate, particularly its aridity, which increases toward the south. The population includes, alongside the Bantu who form the majority, about 45,000 whites and 30,000 mulattos. Catholics number over 500,000, the rest being pagans.
Agricultural production is varied; among its exports are coffee, corn, sugar, cotton, and tobacco. Livestock farming is mainly oriented toward cattle. Even higher values in exports are achieved by diamonds, whose collection center is Malange, in the Cuanza basin.
Communications have been boosted because Angola represents the outlet for Katanga, which is reached by a railway (134 km.) from Lobito, crossing the entire colony from west to east.
The most important centers are Luanda (61,000 inhabitants), where the government is seated (a high commissioner assisted by an advisory council), and Lobito (14,000 inhabitants), on the coast.
**
---
### ANGOLA. - II. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY
Under the name "Angola and Congo," it was once customary to include what is now known as Angola, whose evangelization dates back to 1590. Within the territory of the colony there also existed: the Apostolic Prefecture of Cubango in Angola (since 1921), formerly Cimbebasia (since 1879), and the *missiones sui iuris* of Cunene (since 1881), of the Lower Congo (1888), and of Lunda (since 1901).
Angola, until around the beginning of the 15th century, was part of the indigenous kingdom of the Congo, from which it later became independent; its capital was Dongo. Evangelization began in that century, and by its end there were 20,000 Christians. It continued in the following 16th century, though sporadically and intermittently, and was also affected by the frequent rebellions against Portugal. In the 17th century, Angola formed a single mission with that of the Congo, directed by Italian Capuchins. At the end of that century, in addition to the Capuchins, the Jesuits were working in Angola, directing a seminary in Luanda, as were the Carmelites, under the jurisdiction of the bishop (with seat in Luanda) and the parish priests within a radius of five miles and beyond, by virtue of the faculties of the Propaganda Fide.
A century later, the missions declined due to the suppression of religious orders in Portugal and then because of the French Revolution, so that by the mid-19th century the bishop of Luanda had only five priests, and the interior was entirely abandoned: the Italian Capuchins had withdrawn between 1830 and 1840. Because the colony, being Portuguese, was subject to the patronage of that nation, it was difficult to introduce missionaries of the Holy Spirit (French), who, supported by the Propaganda, aspired to take over those missions. In 1873, they resolved to establish themselves in Landana, outside Portuguese territory. Later, these difficulties were resolved in this regard, as the Congregation of the Holy Spirit had opened a house in Santarem (1867) for the recruitment of Portuguese vocations. However, other difficulties arose due to the competition from Protestants, who flocked there after Stanley’s journey (1878). As the apostolate expanded, the four missions of Cunene, the Lower Congo, Cubango in Angola, and Luanda developed, autonomous indeed but included—except for a few small areas—within the jurisdiction of the diocese of Angola, by which the apostolic prefects of the individual missions were recognized as vicars general for their respective territories.
During the period 1910–24, they suffered the repercussions of the religious struggle following the establishment of the republic in Portugal. Recently, the missions have flourished. Throughout the colony, in 1940, there were 167 priests (32 diocesan Portuguese priests, 124 from the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, 11 Portuguese Benedictines), 125 brothers, and 150 sisters (61 from the Congregation of St. Joseph of Cluny, 8 Missionary Franciscan Sisters of Mary, 20 Dorotheans, 17 from the Most Holy Savior, 3 Benedictines of Tutzing, all European, plus 41 indigenous). The total Catholic population, of European and indigenous origin, was 530,000 souls.
With the Missionary Agreement of May 7, 1940, between the Holy See and Portugal, the entire ecclesiastical organization was changed: the old missionary jurisdictions were abolished, and the colony of Angola was divided into three dioceses—Luanda, Nova Lisboa, and Silva Porto—all erected on September 4 of the same year as the Agreement (1940); a fourth, São Tomé, was erected later. The Agreement also provided for a reorganization of the missions in the colony, with the creation of new missionary jurisdictions, which, due to current circumstances, has not yet been implemented.
**