Benguela

Benguela ((S?o Felipe de Benguela, formerly spelt Benguella) is a port in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name, in 12? 33? S., 13? 25? E.

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Benguela was founded in 1617 by the Portuguese under Manoel Cerveira Pereira. It was long the centre of an important trade, especially in slaves to Brazil and Cuba. The anchorage lies about a mile from the town, in 4 to 6 fathoms (7 to 11 m). Besides the churches of S. Felipe and S. Antonio, the hospital, and the fortress, there are (as of 1911) only a few stone-built houses. A short way beyond Benguela is Ba?a Farta, where salt is manufactured and sulphur excavated.

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It is the port terminus of the railway that runs from Beira in Mozambique through the Copper Belt of Zambia and Zimbabwe. In 1983 it had a population of 155,000.

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Angola: Angola is a country in southwestern Africa bordering Namibia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province Cabinda has a border with Congo-Brazzaville. A former Portuguese colony, it has considerable natural resources, among w...

Luanda: Luanda (formerly called Loanda) is the largest city and capital of Angola. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, it is both Angola's chief seaport and administrative centre. It has a population of approximately 4,5 million (UN 2004 estimates), and is the capital city of Luanda Province. Luanda is located a...

Benguela Province: Benguela is a province of Angola. Its capital is Benguela and it has an area of 31,788 km² and a population of approximately 600,000. According to 1988 US government statistics, the population had 297,700 urban inhabitants and 308,800 rural inhabitants, with an estimated total provincial population ...