Malanje is the capital city of Malanje Province in Angola, with a population of 455,000 (2014 census),[ Citypopulation.de Population of the major cities in Angola] and a municipality, with a population of 506,847 (2014 census). Projected to be the thirteenth fastest growing city on the African continent between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.17% growth.
History
Portuguese rule
Portuguese settlers founded Malanje in the 19th century. The construction of the railway from
Luanda to Malanje, in the fertile highlands, started in 1885. The area around Malanje included Portuguese West Africa's primary areas dedicated to the production of
cotton, the crop that drove its development since the beginning. The town developed in the mid-19th century as an important slave market created in 1852.
Situated at an elevation of ,
the town has a high-altitude tropical climate, ideal to several agricultural productions. The city developed as an important agricultural, manufacturing, trading and services centre. Its productions included
cotton,
textiles,
coffee,
fruit and
Maize. The Cangandala National Park was established by the Portuguese authorities in 1970, having previously been classified as an Integral Natural Reserve in 1963.
After independence from Portugal
The withdrawal of the Portuguese in conjunction with Angola's independence in 1975, and, later, the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), severely hampered the production of
cotton as well as that of
coffee and corn (maize). Malanje was partially destroyed during the civil war, but reconstruction efforts in the years following the end of the conflict have rebuilt the city and its surroundings.
Climate
Malanje has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen:
Aw; Trewartha:
Awbb).
Landmarks
Near the city is the Cangandala National Park, established by the Portuguese authorities on 25 June 1970, it was founded to protect the Giant Sable Antelope which were discovered in 1963. As far as religious buildings are concerned, there is the Evangelical Church at Quêssua and as for funerary constructions, the Tomb of the queen Ana de Sousa Nzinga Mbande and the tomb of José do Telhado, a local Robin Hood. José do Telhado was a Portuguese who was exiled to Portuguese Angola that in colonial days used to steal from rich whites and distribute to poor blacks. Worth visiting is the Forte de Cabatuquila in the city.
Transportation
Airport
Malanje Airport was built during the colonial era. Currently, there are no flights to the capital
Luanda.
Railway
The construction of the
Luanda Railway from
Luanda to Malanje, in the fertile highlands, started in 1885. After the end of the civil war in 2002, it was expected to be the terminus of a railway from the capital city and port of
Luanda once reconstruction was complete.
See also
