List of African countries colonized by Portuguese is a highlight of countries in Africa which had once been directly subservient to Portuguese brutish rule as Portuguese colony before need then arose for freedom to finally take its stance and allowed sovereignty own its land.
Portugal was once colonial master to many African countries which today still imbibe and practice most of her culture, language, and standards of life as a recourse to their cultural civilizations.
From the coastline excursions in Africa and the gradual establishment of trade routes in Asia and in the Indian Ocean and the related emergence of the Estado da India (the Portuguese empire east of the Cape of Good Hope), actual colonization in Africa was a belated and convoluted process, which started and ended with violent conflicts, the so-called pacification campaigns of the 1890s, and the liberation wars of the 1960s and 1970s.
However, coercive labor and tax exactions, racial discrimination, authoritarian politics, and economic exploitation were the fundamental pillars of Portuguese colonialism in Africa. Let us therefore look at some of the list of African countries colonized by Portuguese that were victims to the unfortunate exploitation and dehumanization wreaked them.
List of African Countries Colonized by Portuguese.
The Portuguese-speaking African countries consist of six African countries, and these are:
1. Angola
First on the list of African countries colonized by Portuguese is Angola. It is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Lusophone country in both total area and population, and is the seventh-largest country in Africa.
The capital and most populated city is Luanda.
2. Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is also second on the list of African countries colonized by Portuguese. It is a country in West Africa which was once part of the kingdom of Kaabu, as well as part of the Mali Empire. Immediately after the country’s independence was declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country’s name to prevent confusion with Guinea (formerly French Guinea).
3. Mozambique
Another one of such African countries which is on the list of African countries colonized by Portuguese is Mozambique. The republic of Mozambique is a country located in Southeastern Africa that is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest.
The only official language of Mozambique is Portuguese, which is spoken mostly as a second language by about half the population.
4. Cape Verde
The Republic of Cabo Verde is an archipelago and island country in the central Atlantic Ocean. It is also one of the list of African countries colonized by Portuguese.
The Cape Verde archipelago was uninhabited until the 15th century, when Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized the islands, thus establishing the first European settlement in the tropics. Because the Cape Verde islands were located in a convenient location to play a role in the Atlantic slave trade, Cape Verde became economically prosperous during the 16th and 17th centuries, attracting merchants, privateers, and pirates.
5. São Tomé and Príncipe
This country is in the list of African countries colonized by Portuguese. The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. The islands were uninhabited until their discovery by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century. The people of São Tomé and Príncipe are predominantly of African and mestiço descent, with most practicing Roman Catholicism.
6. Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Originally a Portuguese colony before it was sold to Spain in 1778, it eventually became independent from Spain in 1968. Since then the country had gone serious political imbalance.
Equatorial Guinea was ruled by President for life Francisco Macías Nguema until he was overthrown in a coup in 1979 by his nephew Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo who has served as the country’s president since. One of the reasons why it is considered as one of the list of African countries colonized by Portuguese is because it, in 2014, subsequently became FORPALOP’s sixth member–making it a colonized state of Portugal even though it does not generally speak the language.
