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| 1. Angola |
| 1961 |
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| Uprisings in Angola, beginning with a religious millenarian movement in Luanda and later spreading in the name of the MPLA, marked the beginning of armed struggle against the Portuguese, leading to independence in 1975. | 1 |
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| 1974, April |
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| A military coup in Portugal (See 1974, April 25) led to the end of its colonial wars and the independence of Mozambique, Angola, and other Portuguese territories in the following year. | 2 |
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| 1974–75 |
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| A power struggle occurred in Angola among three liberation armies: the MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola), supported by the USSR and Yugoslavia; Jonas Savimbi's UNITA (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola), supported by South Africa, Portugal, and the U.S. CIA; and the FNLA (Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola), likewise supported by the CIA, Zaire, and China. | 3 |
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| 1975, Oct. 23 |
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| South Africa invaded Angola in support of UNITA and the FNLA (See Oct. 23). | 4 |
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| Nov. 11 |
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| The MPLA, controlling the capital at Luanda, declared the independence of Angola, with Agostinho Neto as president. The MPLA brought in 13,000 Cuban troops to stop the South African advance and drive out the FNLA. | 5 |
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