In 1884, Portugal attended the Berlin Conference (in Berlin) and officially claimed Angola.

This conference was hosted with the intention of clearly dividing and regulating the rampant colonisation and imperialism in Africa. Fourteen European countries and the US attended the conference and neatly divided the land. This was how Portugal managed to legalise their exploitation of the land and its people.

They did this to expand their empires economically and politically by exploiting Africa's raw (natural) materials, which would in turn prove their country's strength against other current political superpowers (ChatGPT, n.d.).

Portugal had been intensely trying to conquer Angola because of its abundant natural resources, the most attractive being gold, ivory, and manual labor. All of which would've ideally strengthened Portugal.

Governor João da Silva led the Portuguese forces to battle the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo, the biggest coalition force against Portugal at the time. Obviously, the Portuguese won the battle due to more advanced firepower and military strategies.

Consequently, Portugal was able to root themselves deeper and deeper into Angola (starting from the northern territories they had now seized), which a much weaker Kingdom of Kongo couldn't stop anymore. The Battle also allowed for Portugal to take much bigger strides towards controlling Angola administratively by building their own forts, trading posts, and other government buildings to facilitate their exploitation of Angola (ChatGPT, n.d.).

a. The Portuguese established a system similar to the "Encomienda" system they used in Latin America at that time. This meant that slaves worked on "public work projects" such as plantations or mines withe extremely harsh conditions and punishments.

b. The Portuguese never failed to use brutal violence to combat any coalition forces or uncooperative locals, as seen through the Battle of Ambuíla, for example.

c. Cultural assimilation was, and would continue to be, a very popular imperialist tactic. The Portuguese were infamous for converting those they colonised to Catholicism, Angola was no exception, and its people were also forced to learn and practice western customs.

d. Portugal also drained Angola of all its natural resources, ensuring the could no longer be profitable after Angola's independence. Furthermore, the slave trade in Angola hugely benefited Portugal (ChatGPT, n.d.).

Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita synthesised Catholic and Kongolese beliefs to form an audience to preach for African people to come together in resistance against western powers. The emphasis of African spirituality was one of the movement's main appeals and led many locals to support it by literally fighting the Portuguese. The Kimpa Vita movement resulted in many armed conflicts and forced the Portuguese to reply with even more force. Even so, the uprising persevered and illustrates the importance of fighting for one's beliefs, customs, and identity (ChatGPT, n.d.).

This revolution was actually a (mostly) bloodless military coup which instated a new democracy and freed all of Portugal's colonies, including Angola. The new president negotiated with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola and other similar organisations to liberate the country.

Angola fully gained its independence on November 11, 1975. Although seemingly positive, this event actually led to a very complex and violent civil war in Angola in the years to come (ChatGPT, n.d.).