Thirteenth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

On March 1, 1990, Namibia became the final colonized African nation to achieve independence after twenty-three years of armed struggle. Namibia was a buffer nation that provided distance between the independence movement in Angola and South Africa. In the eyes of South Africa, all of these southern nations were seen as a potential threat to the security of the apartheid state. In the context of the Cold War, much was at stake between the United States and the former Soviet Union. Angola’s independence was perceived as a threat to the west and South Africa. The Carnation Revolution in Portugal led to the loss of Portuguese colonies in Africa. In January 1975, an agreement at Alvor between Lisbon and the three liberation movements in Angola, Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, National Front for the Liberation of Angola and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola led to Angola’s independence. The agreement was doomed from the start because of the different domestic and international constituencies This paper explores Cuba’s role in the independence movement of Angola and Namibia. The thirteen-year presence of Cuba expeditionary forces was vital if not indispensable to the freedom of Angolans and Namibian. This does not minimize SWAPO’s (Southwest African People’s Organization) twenty-three year armed struggle which was vital. However, without Cuba’s contribution in the form of military struggle and the creation of exile camps on Cuba and Angola, SWAPO could not defeat South Africa militarily.