Massangano (Angola)

Massangano
Massangano
Coordinates	9 ° 38 ′  S , 14 ° 15 ′  E Coordinates: 9 ° 38 ′  S , 14 ° 15 ′  E
Basic data
Country	Angola
province	Cuanza Norte
Município	Cambambe
Comuna	Massangano
surface	1771 km²
Residents	24,000 (2013)
density	13.6  Ew. / km²
founding	1583

Massangano is a village in Angola . Its fortress from the 16th century is well known.

history

In 1580 Portuguese forces won the Battle of Massangano ( Batalha de Massangano ) over fighters of King Kiluange of the Ngola Empire . Under the leadership of Paulo Dias de Novais, the Portuguese expanded their conquest, but were repulsed. In 1583 the Portuguese Manuel Cerveira Pereira probably founded a fortress here together with Novais. The Portuguese finally prevailed against the Ngola Empire, but Novais died here in 1589.

In 1640 the Ngola queen N'jinga attacked the fort. In the unsuccessful attempt, Cambu and Fungi, two of the Queen's sisters, were taken prisoner in Portugal, and Fungi was eventually executed. In 1641, Luanda fell to the Dutch East India Company , and the Portuguese troops withdrew to Massangano, which now served as the capital of Portuguese Angola, until Luanda was retaken in 1648.

At the end of the 18th century, the Portuguese crown put down revolts in the Brazilian province of Minas Gerais . One of the leaders of the rebels, the engineer and politician José Álvares Maciel (1760-1804), was interned in Luanda, then taken to Massangano, where he was released to survive in the area on his own.

In 1923 the fortress was listed as a Monumento Nacional . An application for recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site has been submitted since 1996 .

administration

Massangano is one of the four municipalities (Comunas) of the district ( Município ) of Cambambe , in the province of Cuanza Norte . The municipality has an area of ​​1771 km² and about 24,000 inhabitants (as of February 2013). In addition to the main town of Massangano, there are 32 other villages in the municipality.

Economy, infrastructure, community

The most important branch of the community is fishing, while agriculture is also of great importance. Particularly noteworthy is the cultivation of bananas.

Massangano is only connected to the district's paved country road via a dirt road. In the rainy season, the community is largely cut off from the outside world, which makes marketing the bananas impossible at times.

The community does not have a hospital, so the residents can only receive appropriate health care over long transport routes to the district capital Dondo. As a rule, births take place at home.

Massangano has a school, but it is not equipped with teaching staff and therefore does not work (as of 2013).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ www.monumentos.pt (under Cronologia ), accessed on January 8, 2014
2. ↑ Candidate entry at UNESCO , accessed on January 8, 2014
3. ^ Article of February 20, 2013 in the newspaper O País , accessed on January 8, 2014
4. ↑ ditto