Historical Dictionary of Angola (Historical Dictionaries of Africa)

Angola, slowly recovering from a twenty-seven year civil war, is becoming a regional super-power in southern Africa. This rise can be attributed to oil, diamonds, a battle-tested armed forces and a political system that is dominated by one party – the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola – MPLA). Problems remain to be solved. The vast wealth is in the control of the elite while the vast majority of the people live on less than two dollars per day. Corruption is rife, the health and education system in shambles, landmines remain a festering problem and the opposition is intimidated and split into various factions. President Eduardo dos Santos, who has ruled Angola for almost thirty-eight years, has opted not to run for re-election in the August 2017 elections. Instead his hand-picked successor João Lourenço was elected president. Interestingly, dos Santos has not surrendered his presidency of the party. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Angola contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Angola. Angola, slowly recovering from a 27-year civil war, is becoming a regional superpower in southern Africa. This rise can be attributed to oil, diamonds, battle-tested armed forces, and a political system dominated by one party--the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (the Popular Movement for the Liberation fo Angola, MPLA). Problems remain to be solved. The country's vast wealth is in the control of the elite, while the vast majority of the people live on less than two dollars per day. Corruption is rife, the health and education system is in shambles, landmines remain a festering problem, and the opposition is intimidated and split into various factions. President Eduardo dos Santos, who has ruled Angola for alomst 38 years, opted not to run for reelection in August 2017. Instead, his hand-picked successor, João Lourenço, was elected president. Interestingly, dos Santos has not surrendered his presidency of the party. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Angola contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. It has more than 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities and aspects of the country's politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Angola--back cover "This historical dictionary features a detailed chronology of the significant events of Angola over the past several centuries; an extensive list of acronyms and abbreviations in both English and Portuguese; maps; and an introductory essay explaining the richness of the land, its early history, and the current political, social, and economic conditions of its people. More than 500 entries profile the significant people, places, and events of Angola, as well as the political institutions and the economic and social achievements important to understanding the country's history. Three appendixes provide changes to Angolan place names, a listing of the members of Angola's government as of September 2003, and an overview of the country's oil production. A comprehensive bibliography concludes and complements this dictionary with a selection of older works but an emphasis on those published after 1990, along with various Internet sources, private materials, newspapers, and journals."--BOOK JACKET.