Introduction
Municipality in Huila, Angola
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Municipality in Huíla, AngolaLubango
Sá da BandeiraMunicipalityLubangoLocation in AngolaCoordinates: 14°55′S 13°30′E / 14.917°S 13.500°E / -14.917; 13.500CountryAngolaProvinceHuílaArea • Total1,486 km2 (574 sq mi)Elevation1,720 m (5,640 ft)Population (2024 Census) • Total890,384 • Density599.2/km2 (1,552/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+1 (WAT)ClimateCwb
Lubango, formerly known as Sá da Bandeira, is a municipality in Angola, capital of the Huíla Province, with a population of 890,384 in 2024. The city center had a population of 805,272 in 2024 making it the second-most populous city in Angola after the capital city Luanda.
History
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Portuguese rule[edit]
Canyon in Lubango.
In 1882 approximately one thousand Portuguese settlers came from the island of Madeira to the area of current-day Lubango. These Portuguese farmers helped develop the region and founded the settlement. The city, originally established in 1885 to serve colonists from the Madeira Islands, lies at an elevation of 1,760 metres in a valley of the Huíla Plateau and was surrounded by a scenic park spreading up the mountain slopes.[citation needed]
By 1910 there were over 1,700 ethnic Portuguese living in the settlement, which was referred to as "Lubango". By 1923 the Moçâmedes Railway had connected the settlement to the town of Moçâmedes in the coast. The Portuguese government made it a city and renamed it "Sá da Bandeira", after Bernardo de Sá, 1st Marquess of Sá da Bandeira. Once the major centre of Portuguese settlement, it was built in a Portuguese style of architecture, with a cathedral, commerce hall, industrial hall, and a secondary school, and, like every Portuguese city or town in the mainland and the overseas territories, it would have the Portuguese town hall, the hospital and the typical CTT post office, besides banking (most prominently the Banco Nacional Ultramarino - BNU), insurance and other services as well. The city developed as a notable agricultural and transportation centre, with its own airport and railway station, as well as major maintenance and repair facilities for them.[citation needed]
Several Basters (children of African and Cape Colony Dutch descent) emigrated from Namibia to Angola and settled in Lubango, where they are known as the Ouivamo. Many of them were forced to return to Namibia between 1928 and 1930 by white South Africans.
In 1951, the Portuguese colony of Angola was officially rebranded the Overseas Province of Angola.
Post independence[edit]
After Angola's Independence from Portugal due to the events of the April 25, 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, the city was once again renamed Lubango. During the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), Lubango served as a major base of Cuban, SWAPO, and government troops. Its once-thriving economy plummeted.