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Politics of Angola | Political pressure groups and leaders | Political pressure groups and leaders
Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC (Henrique N'zita Tiago; António Bento Bembe)
note: FLEC is waging a small-scale, highly factionalized, armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province |
Politics of Angola | International organization participation | International organization participation
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, AfDB, CEEAC, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, FAO, Group of 77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, International Criminal Court (signatory), ICFTU, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Development Association, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, Interpol, IOC, International Organization for Migration, ISO (correspondent), ITU, Non-Aligned Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, World Customs Organization, World Federation of Trade Unions, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Politics of Angola | See also | See also
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Politics of Angola | References | References |
Politics of Angola | Further reading | Further reading
ANGOLA LIVRO BRANCO SOBRE AS ELEIÇÕES DE 2008. http://www.kas.de/proj/home/pub/8/2/year-2009/dokument_id-17396/index.html
Bösl, Anton (2008). Angola's Parliamentary Elections in 2008. A Country on its Way to One-Party-Democracy, KAS Auslandsinformationen 10/2008. http://www.kas.de/wf/de/33.15186/
Amundsen, I. (2011) Angola Party Politics: Into the African Trend. Angola Brief vol. 1 no. 9 |
Politics of Angola | External links | External links
The Chr. Michelsen Institute The largest centre for development research in Scandinavia. In particular, see their collaborative Angola Programme.
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Politics of Angola | Table of Content | Short description, History, Executive branch, Legislative branch, Political parties and elections, Judicial branch, Administrative divisions, Political pressure groups and leaders, International organization participation, See also, References, Further reading, External links |
Economy of Angola | Short description | thumb|Change in per capita GDP of Angola, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars.
Angola has a semi-planned economy, in which central planning directs the economy with the participation of private enterprises. The economy of Angola remains heavily influenced by the effects of four decades of conflict in the last part of the 20th century, the war for independence from Portugal (1961–75) and the subsequent civil war (1975–2002). Poverty since 2002 is reduced over 50% and a third of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Since 2002, when the 27-year civil war ended, government policy prioritized the repair and improvement of infrastructure and strengthening of political and social institutions. During the first decade of the 21st century, Angola's economy was one of the fastest-growing in the world,Birgitte Refslund Sørensen and Marc Vincent. Caught Between Borders: Response Strategies of the Internally Displaced, 2001. Page 17. with reported annual average GDP growth of 11.1 percent from 2001 to 2010. High international oil prices and rising oil production contributed to strong economic growth, although with high inequality, at that time. 2022 trade surplus was $30 billion, compared to $48 billion in 2012.
Corruption is rife throughout the economyIsabel dos Santos made a fortune at the expense of the Angolan people, Luanda Leaks reveals. icij.org, published January 19, 2020 and the country remains heavily dependent on the oil sector, which in 2017 accounted for over 90 percent of exports by value and 64 percent of government revenue. With the end of the oil boom, from 2015 Angola entered into a period of economic contraction. |
Economy of Angola | History | History
The Angolan economy has been dominated by the production of raw materials and the use of cheap labor since European rule began in the sixteenth century. The Portuguese used Angola principally as a source for the thriving slave trade across the Atlantic; Luanda became the greatest slaving port in Africa. After the Portuguese Empire abolished the slave trade in Angola in 1858, it began using concessional agreements, granting exclusive rights to a private company to exploit land, people, and all other resources within a given territory. In Mozambique, this policy spawned a number of companies notorious for their exploitation of local labor. But in Angola, only Diamang showed even moderate success. At the same time, Portuguese began emigrating to Angola to establish farms and plantations (fazendas) to grow cash crops for export. Although these farms were only partially successful before World War II, they formed the basis for the later economic growth.
The principal exports of the post-slave economy in the 19th century were rubber, beeswax, and ivory. Prior to the First World War, exportation of coffee, palm kernels and oil, cattle, leather and hides, and salt fish joined the principal exports, with small quantities of gold and cotton also being produced. Grains, sugar, and rum were also produced for local consumption. The principal imports were foodstuffs, cotton goods, hardware, and British coal. Legislation against foreign traders was implemented in the 1890s. The territory's prosperity, however, continued to depend on plantations worked by labor "indentured" from the interior.
Before World War II, the Portuguese government was concerned primarily with keeping its colonies self-sufficient and therefore invested little capital in Angola's local economy. It built no roads until the mid-1920s, and the first railroad, the Benguela railway, was not completed until 1929. Between 1900 and 1940, only 35,000 Portuguese emigrants settled in Angola, and most worked in commerce in the cities, facilitating trade with Portugal. In the rural areas, Portuguese settlers often found it difficult to make a living because of fluctuating world prices for sugarcane and sisal and the difficulties in obtaining cheap labor to farm their crops. As a result, they often suspended their operations until the market prices rose and instead marketed the produce of Angolan farmers.
But in the wake of World War II, the rapid growth of industrialization worldwide and the parallel requirements for raw materials led Portugal to develop closer ties with its colonies and to begin actively developing the Angolan economy. In the 1930s, Portugal started to develop closer trade ties with its colonies, and by 1940 it absorbed 63 percent of Angolan exports and accounted for 47 percent of Angolan imports, up from 39 percent and 37 percent, respectively, a decade earlier. When the price of Angola's principal crops—coffee and sisal—jumped after the war, the Portuguese government began to reinvest some profits inside the country, initiating a series of projects to develop infrastructure. During the 1950s, Portugal built dams, hydroelectric power stations, and transportation systems. In addition, Portuguese citizens were encouraged to emigrate to Angola, where planned settlements (colonatos) were established for them in the rural areas. Finally, the Portuguese initiated mining operations for iron ore, manganese, and copper to complement industrial activities at home, and in 1955 the first successful oil wells were drilled in Angola. By 1960 the Angolan economy had been completely transformed, boasting a successful commercial agricultural sector, a promising mineral and petroleum production enterprise, and an incipient manufacturing industry.
Yet by 1976, these encouraging developments had been reversed. The economy was in complete disarray in the aftermath of the war of independence and the subsequent internal fighting of the liberation movements. According to the ruling MPLA-PT, in August 1976 more than 80 percent of the agricultural plantations had been abandoned by their Portuguese owners; only 284 out of 692 factories continued to operate; more than 30,000 medium-level and high-level managers, technicians, and skilled workers had left the country; and 2,500 enterprises had been closed (75 percent of which had been abandoned by their owners). Furthermore, only 8,000 vehicles remained out of 153,000 registered, dozens of bridges had been destroyed, the trading network was disrupted, administrative services did not exist, and files and studies were missing.
Angola's economic ills can also be traced to the legacy of Portuguese colonial development. Many of the white settlers had come to Angola after 1950 and were understandably quick to repatriate during the war of independence. During their stay, however, these settlers had appropriated Angolan lands, disrupting local peasant production of cash and subsistence crops. Moreover, Angola's industries depended on trade with Portugal—the colony's overwhelmingly dominant trade partner—for both markets and machinery. Only the petroleum and diamond industries boasted a wider clientele for investment and markets. Most important, the Portuguese had not trained Angolans to operate the larger industrial or agricultural enterprises, nor had they actively educated the population. Upon independence Angola thus found itself without markets or expertise to maintain even minimal economic growth.
As a result, the government intervened, nationalizing most businesses and farms abandoned by the Portuguese. It established state farms to continue producing coffee, sugar, and sisal, and it took over the operations of all factories to maintain production. These attempts usually failed, primarily because of the lack of experienced managers and the continuing disruptions in rural areas caused by the UNITA insurgency. Only the petroleum sector continued to operate successfully, and by 1980 this sector had helped the gross domestic product reach US$3.6 billion, its highest level up to 1988. In the face of serious economic problems and the continuing war throughout the countryside, in 1987 the government announced plans to liberalize economic policies and promote private investment and involvement in the economy. |
Economy of Angola | 1990s | 1990s
United Nations Angola Verification Mission III and MONUA spent US$1.5 billion overseeing implementation of the Lusaka Protocol, a 1994 peace accord that ultimately failed to end the civil war. The protocol prohibited UNITA from buying foreign arms, a provision the United Nations largely did not enforce, so both sides continued to build up their stockpile. UNITA purchased weapons in 1996 and 1997 from private sources in Albania and Bulgaria, and from Zaire, South Africa, Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Togo, and Burkina Faso. In October 1997 the UN imposed travel sanctions on UNITA leaders, but the UN waited until July 1998 to limit UNITA's exportation of diamonds and freeze UNITA bank accounts. While the U.S. government gave US$250 million to UNITA between 1986 and 1991, UNITA made US$1.72 billion between 1994 and 1999 exporting diamonds, primarily through Zaire to Europe. At the same time the Angolan government received large amounts of weapons from the governments of Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, and South Africa. While no arms shipment to the government violated the protocol, no country informed the U.N. Register on Conventional Weapons as required.Vines, Alex. Angola Unravels: The Rise and Fall of the Lusaka Peace Process, 1999. Human Rights Watch.
Despite the increase in civil warfare in late 1998, the economy grew by an estimated 4% in 1999. The government introduced new currency denominations in 1999, including a 1 and 5 kwanza note. |
Economy of Angola | 21st century | 21st century
thumb|250px|The Angolan government has been trying to prosecute Isabel dos Santos, a daughter of a former Angolan president, for corruption which may have led to Angola's recession
An economic reform effort was launched in 1998. Angola ranked 160 of 174 nations in the United Nations Human Development Index in 2000. In April 2000 Angola started an International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff-Monitored Program (SMP). The program formally lapsed in June 2001, but the IMF remains engaged. In this context the Government of Angola has succeeded in unifying exchange rates and has raised fuel, electricity, and water rates. The Commercial Code, telecommunications law, and Foreign Investment Code are being modernized. A privatization effort, prepared with World Bank assistance, has begun with the BCI bank. Nevertheless, a legacy of fiscal mismanagement and corruption persists. The civil war internally displaced 3.8 million people, 32% of the population, by 2001. The security brought about by the 2002 peace settlement has led to the resettlement of 4 million displaced persons, thus resulting in large-scale increases in agriculture production.
Angola produced over of diamonds in 2003, and production was expected to grow to per year by 2007. In 2004, China's Eximbank approved a $2 billion line of credit to Angola to rebuild infrastructure. The economy grew 18% in 2005 and growth was expected to reach 26% in 2006 and stay above 10% for the rest of the decade. By 2020, Angola had a national debt of $76 billion, of which $20 billion is to China.
The construction industry is taking advantage of the growing economy, with various housing projects stimulated by the government such as the Angola Investe program and the Casa Feliz or Meña projects. Not all public construction projects are functional. For example, Kilamba Kiaxi, where a whole new satellite town of Luanda, consisting of housing facilities for several hundreds of thousands of people, was completely uninhabited for over four years because of skyrocketing prices, but completely sold out after the government decreased the original price and created mortgage plans at around the election time and thus made it affordable for middle-class people. ChevronTexaco started pumping from Block 14 in January 2000, but production decreased to in 2007 due to poor-quality oil. Angola joined the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on January 1, 2007. Cabinda Gulf Oil Company found Malange-1, an oil reservoir in Block 14, on August 9, 2007. |
Economy of Angola | Overview | Overview
Despite its abundant natural resources, output per capita is among the world's lowest. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and 90% of exports. Growth is almost entirely driven by rising oil production which surpassed in late-2005 and which is expected to grow to by 2007. Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol Group, a conglomerate owned by the Angolan government. With revenues booming from oil exports, the government has started to implement ambitious development programs to build roads and other basic infrastructure for the nation.
In the last decade of the colonial period, Angola was a major African food exporter but now imports almost all its food. Severe wartime conditions, including extensive planting of landmines throughout the countryside, have brought agricultural activities to a near-standstill. Some efforts to recover have gone forward, however, notably in fisheries. Coffee production, though a fraction of its pre-1975 level, is sufficient for domestic needs and some exports. Expanding oil production is now almost half of GDP and 90% of exports, at . Diamonds provided much of the revenue for Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebellion through illicit trade. Other rich resources await development: gold, forest products, fisheries, iron ore, coffee, and fruits.
This is a chart of trend of nominal gross domestic product of Angola at market prices using International Monetary Fund data; figures are in millions of units.
Year Gross Domestic Product (*$1,000,000) US Dollar Exchange Per Capita Income (as % of USA)1980 6.331985 4.461990 4.421995 5,066 14 Angolan Kwanza 1.582000 9,135 91,666 Angolan Kwanza 1.962005 28,860 2,515,452 Angolan Kwanza 4.73
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2023. Inflation below 5% is in green.
YearGDP(in bn. US$ PPP)GDP per capita(in US$ PPP)GDP
(in bn. US$ nominal)GDP growth(real)Inflation rate(in Percent)Government debt(in % of GDP)198010.91,3176.62.4%46.7%n/a198111.41,3416.2−4.4%1.3%n/a198212.11,3886.20.0%1.8%n/a198313.11,4646.54.2%1.8%n/a198414.41,5676.96.0%1.8%n/a198515.41,4848.53.5%1.8%n/a198616.11,5157.92.9%1.8%n/a198717.21,5769.14.1%1.8%n/a198818.91,6859.86.1%1.8%n/a198919.61,70511.40.0%1.8%n/a199019.71,66412.6−3.5%1.8%n/a199122.81,86512.21.0%85.3%n/a199226.02,0579.411.4%299.1%n/a199329.62,0676.810.7%1,379.5%n/a199433.32,4755.010.5%949.8%n/a199537.52,6986.210.4%2,672.2%n/a199642.52,9558.011.2%4,146.0%n/a199746.43,1209.47.3%221.9%n/a199849.13,1968.04.7%107.4%n/a199950.93,2077.52.2%248.2%n/a200053.63,27211.23.1%325.0%133.9%200157.23,37310.94.2%152.6%133.5%200266.03,76615.313.7%108.9%73.7%200369.33,82317.83.0%98.2%58.0%200478.94,20523.611.0%43.5%47.7%200593.74,81537.015.0%23.0%33.5%2006107.75,34152.411.5%13.3%18.7%2007126.16,03065.314.0%12.2%21.0%2008142.96,58688.511.2%12.5%31.4%2009145.06,44370.30.9%13.7%56.2%2010153.96,58683.84.9%14.5%37.2%2011162.56,700111.83.5%13.5%29.6%2012186.17,389128.18.5%10.3%26.7%2013199.97,644136.75.0%8.8%33.1%2014220.48,123145.74.8%7.3%39.8%2015204.67,274116.20.9%9.2%57.1%2016204.97,027101.1−2.6%30.7%75.7%2017217.87,210122.0−0.2%29.8%69.3%2018220.17,038101.4−1.3%16.6%93.0%2019222.56,87784.5−0.7%17.1%113.6%2020212.76,36257.1−5.6%22.3%138.9%2021224.96,51874.91.2%25.8%86.8%2022248.16,944122.83.0%21.4%66.7%2023260.37,07793.81.3%13.1%84.9% |
Economy of Angola | Agriculture | Agriculture
Angola produced, in 2018:
8.6 million tons of cassava (8th largest producer in the world);
3.5 million tons of banana (7th largest producer in the world, or the 10th largest, if we consider together with plantain);
2.2 million tons of maize;
1.2 million tons of sweet potato (10th largest producer in the world);
806 thousand tons of potato;
597 thousand tons of pineapple (13th largest producer in the world);
572 thousand tons of sugarcane;
355 thousand tons of cabbage;
314 thousand tons of beans;
280 thousand tons of palm oil;
154 thousand tons of peanut;
In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products, like coffee (16 thousand tons).Angola production in 2018, by FAO |
Economy of Angola | Foreign trade | Foreign trade
Exports in 2004 reached US$10,530,764,911. The vast majority of Angola's exports, 92% in 2004, are petroleum products. US$785 million worth of diamonds, 7.5% of exports, were sold abroad that year. Nearly all of Angola's oil goes to the United States, in 2006, making it the eighth largest supplier of oil to the United States, and to China, in 2006. In the first quarter of 2008, Angola became the main exporter of oil to China. The rest of its petroleum exports go to Europe and Latin America. U.S. companies account for more than half the investment in Angola, with Chevron-Texaco leading the way. The U.S. exports industrial goods and services, primarily oilfield equipment, mining equipment, chemicals, aircraft, and food, to Angola, while principally importing petroleum. Trade between Angola and South Africa exceeded US$300 million in 2007. From the 2000s, many Chinese have settled and started up businesses. |
Economy of Angola | Resources | Resources |
Economy of Angola | Petroleum | Petroleum
Angola produces and exports more petroleum than any other nation in sub-Saharan Africa, surpassing Nigeria first in the 2000s, then in 2022. In January 2007 Angola became a member of OPEC, before leaving in December 2023, as they wanted to expand their oil production. Under the Lourenço since 2017, the country has made efforts to incentive investments and reverse declining production, resulting in fresh investments made by international oil companies.
thumb|left|Petrol price in 2019
Chevron Corporation, TotalEnergies., ExxonMobil, Eni, and BP all operate in the country and represent a vast majority of daily production.Tvedten, Inge. Angola: Struggle for Peace and Reconstruction, 1997. Page 82.
Block 17, operated by TotalEnergies, is Angola's biggest producing asset and is known as the Golden Block. The French major is currently executing several subsea tieback projects there, including CLOV 3 and Begonia, whose final investment decisions (FIDs) were taken in 2022.
The United Nations has criticized the Angolan government for using torture, rape, summary executions, arbitrary detention, and disappearances, actions which Angolan government has justified on the need to maintain oil output.Omeje, Kenneth C. High Stakes And Stakeholders: Oil Conflict And Security in Nigeria, 2006. Page 157.
Angola is the third-largest trading partner of the United States in Sub-Saharan Africa, largely because of its petroleum exports.United States Congress. Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations for 1998: Hearings, 1997. Page 269. The U.S. imports 7% of its oil from Angola, about three times as much as it imported from Kuwait just prior to the Gulf War in 1991. The U.S. Government has invested US$4 billion in Angola's petroleum sector.Vines, Alex. Angola Unravels: The Rise and Fall of the Lusaka Peace Process, 1999. Human Rights Watch. Page 189.
Oil makes up over 90% of Angola's exports. |
Economy of Angola | Diamonds | Diamonds
Angola is the third largest producer of diamonds in Africa and has only explored 40% of the diamond-rich territory within the country, but has had difficulty in attracting foreign investment because of corruption, human rights violations, and diamond smuggling. Production rose by 30% in 2006 and Endiama, the national diamond company of Angola, expects production to increase by 8% in 2007 to 10 million carats annually. The government is trying to attract foreign companies to the provinces of Bié, Malanje and Uíge.
The Angolan government loses $375 million annually from diamond smuggling. In 2003, the government began Operation Brilliant, an anti-smuggling investigation that arrested and deported 250,000 smugglers between 2003 and 2006. Rafael Marques, a journalist and human rights activist, described the diamond industry in his 2006 Angola's Deadly Diamonds report as plagued by "murders, beatings, arbitrary detentions and other human rights violations." Marques called on foreign countries to boycott Angola's "conflict diamonds". In December 2014, the Bureau of International Labor Affairs issued a List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor that classified Angola as one of the major diamond-producing African countries relying on both child labor and forced labor. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that "there is little publicly available information on [Angola's] efforts to enforce child labor law". Diamonds accounted for 1.48% of Angolan exports in 2014. |
Economy of Angola | Iron | Iron
Under Portuguese rule, Angola began mining iron in 1957, producing 1.2 million tons in 1967 and 6.2 million tons by 1971. In the early 1970s, 70% of Portuguese Angola's iron exports went to Western Europe and Japan. After independence in 1975, the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002) destroyed most of the territory's mining infrastructure. The redevelopment of the Angolan mining industry started in the late 2000s. |
Economy of Angola | See also | See also
Banco Espírito Santo Angola
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa |
Economy of Angola | References | References |
Economy of Angola | Further reading | Further reading
McCormick, Shawn H. The Angolan Economy: Prospects for Growth in a Postwar Environment, 1994.
OECD, International Energy Agency. Angola: Towards an Energy Strategy, 2006. |
Economy of Angola | External links | External links
MBendi overview of Angola
Angola latest trade data on ITC Trade Map
Exports to Angola Datasheet
Angola
Category:Blood diamonds
Angola
Angola |
Economy of Angola | Table of Content | Short description, History, 1990s, 21st century, Overview, Agriculture, Foreign trade, Resources, Petroleum, Diamonds, Iron, See also, References, Further reading, External links |
Transport in Angola | Short description |
Transport in Angola comprises: |
Transport in Angola | Roads | Roads
Two trans-African automobile routes pass through Angola:
the Tripoli-Cape Town Highway
the Beira-Lobito Highway |
Transport in Angola | Railways | Railways
There are three separate railway lines in Angola:
Luanda Railway (CFL) (northern);
Benguela Railway (CFB) (central), operated by the Lobito Atlantic Railway joint venture;
Moçâmedes Railway (CFM) (southern);
Reconstruction of these three lines began in 2005 and they are now all operational. The Benguela Railway connects to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. |
Transport in Angola | Waterways | Waterways
1,300 km navigable (2008)
country comparison to the world: 36 |
Transport in Angola | Pipelines | Pipelines
gas 352 km; liquid petroleum gas 85 km; crude oil 1,065 km (2013)
In April 2012, the Zambian Development Agency (ZDA) and an Angolan company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build a multi-product pipeline from Lobito to Lusaka, Zambia, to deliver various refined products to Zambia.
Angola plans to build an oil refinery in Lobito in the coming years. |
Transport in Angola | Ports and harbors | Ports and harbors
thumb|Ship loading minerals at Moçâmedes harbour, Angola
The government plans to build a deep-water port at Barra do Dande, north of Luanda, in Bengo province near Caxito. |
Transport in Angola | Merchant marine | Merchant marine
total: 58
country comparison to the world: 115
by type: cargo 13, oil tanker 8, other 37 (2008) |
Transport in Angola | Airports | Airports
102 (2021)
thumb|Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport
The old airport in Luanda, Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, will be replaced by the new Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport. |
Transport in Angola | Airports – with paved runways | Airports – with paved runways
total: 30
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2008) |
Transport in Angola | Airports – with unpaved runways | Airports – with unpaved runways
total: 181 (2008)
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 32
914 to 1,523 m: 100
under 914 m: 42 (2008) |
Transport in Angola | Angolan Airlines | Angolan Airlines
TAAG Angola Airlines
Sonair
Fly Angola |
Transport in Angola | Heliports | Heliports
total: 1 (2021) |
Transport in Angola | References | References
|
Transport in Angola | Table of Content | Short description, Roads, Railways, Waterways, Pipelines, Ports and harbors, Merchant marine, Airports, Airports – with paved runways, Airports – with unpaved runways, Angolan Airlines, Heliports, References |
Angolan Armed Forces | Short description | The Angolan Armed Forces () or FAA is the military of Angola. The FAA consist of the Angolan Army (), the Angolan Navy () and the National Air Force of Angola (). Reported total manpower in 2021 was about 107,000. The FAA is headed by the Chief of the General Staff António Egídio de Sousa Santos since 2018, who reports to the minister of National Defense, currently João Ernesto dos Santos. |
Angolan Armed Forces | History | History |
Angolan Armed Forces | Roots | Roots
The FAA succeeded to the previous People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) following the abortive Bicesse Accord with the Armed Forces of the Liberation of Angola (FALA), armed wing of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). As part of the peace agreement, troops from both armies were to be demilitarized and then integrated. Integration was never completed as UNITA and FALA went back to war in 1992. Later, consequences for FALA personnel in Luanda were harsh with FAPLA veterans persecuting their erstwhile opponents in certain areas and reports of vigilantism. |
Angolan Armed Forces | Founding | Founding
The Angolan Armed Forces were created on 9 October 1991. The institutionalization of the FAA was made in the Bicesse Accords, signed in 1991, between the Angolan Government and UNITA. The principles that would govern the FAA were defined in a joint proposal presented on September 24, 1991, and approved on 9 October. On 14 November 1991, Generals João Baptista de Matos and Abílio Kamalata Numa were appointed to the Superior Command of the Armed Forces. The ceremony took place at the Hotel Presidente Luanda, and was presided over by the then-minister França Vandúnem. |
Angolan Armed Forces | Branches | Branches |
Angolan Armed Forces | Army | Army
300px|right|thumb|Angolan Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, and Captain training in Russia in August 2015The Army (Exército) is the land component of the FAA. It is organized in six military regions (Cabinda, Luanda, North, Center, East and South), with an infantry division being based in each one. Distributed by the six military regions / infantry divisions, there are 25 motorized infantry brigades, one tank brigade and one engineering brigade. The Army also includes an artillery regiment, the Military Artillery School, the Army Military Academy, an anti-aircraft defense group, a composite land artillery group, a military police regiment, a logistical transportation regiment and a field artillery brigade. The Army further includes the Special Forces Brigade (including Commandos and Special Operations units), but this unit is under the direct command of the General Staff of the FAA. |
Angolan Armed Forces | Air Force | Air Force
The National Air Force of Angola (FANA, Força Aérea Nacional de Angola) is the air component of the FAA. It is organized in six aviation regiments, each including several squadrons. To each of the regiments correspond an air base. Besides the aviation regiments, there is also a Pilot Training School.
The Air Force's personnel total about 8,000; its equipment includes transport aircraft and six Russian-manufactured Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft.IISS Military Balance 2013, 494 In 2002, one was lost during the civil war with UNITA forces.globaldefence.net: Angolan Armed Forces retrieved August 22, 2011 (de)
In 1991, the Air Force/Air Defense Forces had 8,000 personnel and 90 combat-capable aircraft, including 22 fighters, 59 fighter ground attack aircraft and 16 attack helicopters. |
Angolan Armed Forces | Navy | Navy
The Angola Navy (MGA, Marinha de Guerra de Angola) is the naval component of the FAA. It is organized in two naval zones (North and South), with naval bases in Luanda, Lobito and Moçâmedes. It includes a Marines Brigade and a Marines School, based in Ambriz. The Navy numbers about 1,000 personnel and operates only a handful of small patrol craft and barges.
The Navy has been neglected and ignored as a military arm mainly due to the guerrilla struggle against the Portuguese and the nature of the civil war. From the early 1990s to the present the Angolan Navy has shrunk from around 4,200 personnel to around 1,000, resulting in the loss of skills and expertise needed to maintain equipment. Portugal has been providing training through its Technical Military Cooperation (CTM) programme. The Navy is requesting procurement of a frigate, three corvettes, three offshore patrol vessel and additional fast patrol boats.
Most of the vessels in the navy's inventory dates back from the 1980s or earlier, and many of its ships are inoperable due to age and lack of maintenance. However the navy acquired new boats from Spain and France in the 1990s. Germany has delivered several Fast Attack Craft for border protection in 2011.
In September 2014 it was reported that the Angolan Navy would acquire seven Macaé-class patrol vessels from Brazil as part of a Technical Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering the production of the vessels as part of Angola's Naval Power Development Programme (Pronaval). The military of Angola aims to modernize its naval capability, presumably due to a rise in maritime piracy within the Gulf of Guinea which may have an adverse effect on the country's economy.
The navy's current known inventory includes the following:
Fast attack craft
4 Mandume class craft (Bazan Cormoran type, refurbished in 2009)
Patrol boats
3 18.3m long Patrulheiro patrol boats (refurbished in 2002)
5 ARESA PVC-170
2 Namacurra-class harbour patrol boats
Fisheries Patrol Boats
Ngola Kiluange and Nzinga Mbandi (delivered in September and October 2012 from Damen Shipyards)(Operated by Navy personnel under the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries)
28-metre FRV 2810 (Pensador) (Operated by Navy personnel under the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries)
Landing craft
LDM-400 – 1 or 3 (reportedly has serviceability issues)
Coastal defense equipment (CRTOC)
SS-C1 Sepal radar system
The navy also has several aircraft for maritime patrol:
Aircraft Origin Type Versions In service"World Military Aircraft Inventory", Aerospace Source Book 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 15, 2007. Notes Fokker F27 Netherlands Medium transport 2 EMB 111 Brazil Maritime patrol 6 Boeing 707 United States Maritime patrol 1 |
Angolan Armed Forces | Specialized units | Specialized units |
Angolan Armed Forces | Special forces | Special forces
The FAA include several types of special forces, namely the Commandos, the Special Operations and the Marines. The Angolan special forces follow the general model of the analogous Portuguese special forces, receiving similar training.
The Commandos and the Special forces are part of the Special Forces Brigade (BRIFE, Brigada de Forças Especiais), based at Cabo Ledo, in the Bengo Province. The BRIFE includes two battalions of commandos, a battalion of special operations and sub-units of combat support and service support. The BRIFE also included the Special Actions Group (GAE, Grupo de Ações Especiais), which is presently inactive and that was dedicated to long range reconnaissance, covert and sabotage operations. In the Cabo Ledo base is also installed the Special Forces Training School (EFFE, Escola de Formação de Forças Especiais). Both the BRIFE and the EFFE are directly under the Directorate of Special Forces of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
The marines (fuzileiros navais) constitute the Marines Brigade of the Angolan Navy. The Marines Brigade is not permanently dependent of the Directorate of Special Forces, but can detach their units and elements to be put under the command of that body for the conduction of exercises or real operations. The Marines have a special forces unit known as Special Operations Marines(FOE, Fuzileiros Operaçües Especiais).Bond, Jason (October 7, 2015), "US, UK Royal Marines work with West African partners during Africa Partnership Station [Image 4 of 20]" Defense Visual Information Distribution Information Service, US Department of Defense, https://www.dvidshub.net/image/2293338/us-uk-royal-marines-work-with-west-african-partners-during-africa-partnership-station, Date accessed: February 2, 2025
Since the disbandment of the Angolan Parachute Battalion in 2004, the FAA do not have a specialized paratrooper unit. However, elements of the commandos, special operations and marines are parachute qualified. |
Angolan Armed Forces | Territorial troops | Territorial troops
The Directorate of People's Defense and Territorial Troops of the Defence Ministry or ODP was established in late 1975. It had 600,000 members, having personnel in virtually every village by 1979. It had both armed and unarmed units dispersed in villages throughout the country. The People's Vigilance Brigades () also serve a similar purpose. |
Angolan Armed Forces | Training establishments | Training establishments |
Angolan Armed Forces | Armed Forces Academy | Armed Forces Academy
The Military Academy () is a military university public higher education establishment whose mission is to train officers of the Permanent Staff of the Army. It has been in operation since 21 August 2009 by presidential decree. Its headquarters are in Lobito. It trains in the following specialties:
Infantry
Tanks
Land Artillery
Anti-Air Defense
Military Engineering
Logistics
Telecommunications
Hidden Direction of Troops
Military Administration
Armament and Technique
Chemical Defense
Operational Military Intelligence
Technical Repair and Maintenance Platoon of Auto and Armored Technique |
Angolan Armed Forces | Navy | Navy
Naval War Institute (INSG)
Naval Academy
Naval Specialist School |
Angolan Armed Forces | Air Force | Air Force
Angolan Military Aviation School
Pilot Basic Training School (Lobito) |
Angolan Armed Forces | Institutions/other units | Institutions/other units |
Angolan Armed Forces | Museum of the Armed Forces | Museum of the Armed Forces |
Angolan Armed Forces | Military Hospitals | Military Hospitals
The Military hospital of the FAA is the Main Military Hospital. It has the following lineage:
1961 – Evacuation Infirmary
1962 – Military Hospital of Luanda
1975 – Military Hospital
1976 – Central Military Hospital
1989 – Main Military Hospital
It provides specialized medical assistance in accordance with the military health system; It also promotes post-graduate education and scientific research. Currently, the Main Military Hospital serves 39 special medical specialties. It is a headed by a Director General whose main supporting body is the board of directors. |
Angolan Armed Forces | Supreme Military Court | Supreme Military Court
The Supreme Military Court is the highest organ of the hierarchy of military courts. The Presiding Judge, the Deputy Presiding Judge and the other Counselor Judges of the Supreme Military Court are appointed by the President of the Republic. The composition, organization, powers and functioning of the Supreme Military Court are established by law. |
Angolan Armed Forces | Military Bands | Military Bands
The FAA maintains Portuguese-style military bands in all three branches and in individual units. The primary band is the 100-member Music Band of the Presidential Security Household. The music band of the Army Command was created on 16 June 1994http://m.portalangop.co.ao/angola/pt_pt/mobile/noticias/politica/2017/1/8/Moxico-FAA-preve-criar-bandas-musica-nas-unidades-militares,dd07f366-3490-46c4-8298-7947ecc750c7.html?version=mobile and four years later, on 15 August 1998, the National Air Force created a music band within an artistic brigade.http://tpa.sapo.ao/noticias/cultura/banda-da-forca-aerea-realiza-hoje-espectaculo-no-maan The navy has its own marching band, as well as a small musical group known as Banda 10 de Julho (10 July Band), based at the Luanda Naval Base.http://jornaldeangola.sapo.ao/cultura/musica/banda_da_marinha_de_guerra_grava_a_voz_do_marinheiro |
Angolan Armed Forces | Foreign deployments | Foreign deployments
The FAPLA's main counterinsurgency effort was directed against UNITA in the southeast, and its conventional capabilities were demonstrated principally in the undeclared South African Border War.Library of Congress Country Studies The FAPLA first performed its external assistance mission with the dispatch of 1,000 to 1,500 troops to São Tomé and Príncipe in 1977 to bolster the socialist regime of President Manuel Pinto da Costa. During the next several years, Angolan forces conducted joint exercises with their counterparts and exchanged technical operational visits. The Angolan expeditionary force was reduced to about 500 in early 1985.
The Angolan Armed Forces were controversially involved in training the armed forces of fellow Lusophone states Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau. In the case of the latter, the 2012 Guinea-Bissau coup d'état was cited by the coup leaders as due to Angola's involvement in trying to "reform" the military in connivance with the civilian leadership.
Occasionally skirmishes on the DRC-Angola border happening, sometimes also in connection with the Cabinda conflict. In 2020 one Angolan soldier died after a gun battle with congolese forces in Kasai region on DRC territory. A presence during the unrest in Ivory Coast, 2010–2011, were not officially confirmed. However, the , citing Jeune Afrique, said that among President Gbagbo's guards were 92 personnel of President Dos Santos's Presidential Guard Unit.Gbagbos letzte Trumpfkarte: als Märtyrer sterben , April 7, 2011 Angola is basically interested in the participation of the FAA operations of the African Union and has formed special units for this purpose.
In 2021, the Angolan Parliament approved integration of FAA into Southern African Development Community (SADC)'s mission for peace in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. Angola sent a team of 20 officers to participate. |
Angolan Armed Forces | References | References |
Angolan Armed Forces | Further reading | Further reading
Human Rights Watch, Angola Unravels: The Rise and Fall of the Lusaka Peace Process, October 1999
Utz Ebertz and Marie Müller, Legacy of a resource-fueled war: The role of generals in Angola's mining sector, BICC Focus, June 2013
Area Handbook for Angola, August 1967, Angola, A Country Study (1979 and 1991)
Rocky Williams, "National defence reform and the African Union." SIPRI Yearbook 2004: 231–249.
Weigert, Stephen L. Angola: a modern military history, 1961–2002. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Martin Rupiya et al., 'Angola', in Evolutions and Revolutions
The Twenty-Seventh of May: An Historical Note on the Abortive 1977 "coup" in Angola
David Birmingham, African Affairs, Vol. 77, No. 309 (Oct. 1978), pp. 554–564
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal African Society |
Angolan Armed Forces | External links | External links
Official site of the Angolan Ministry of National Defence
World Navies
Brinkman, Inge "Language, Names, and War: The Case of Angola", African Studies Review
Category:Military of Angola
Category:Military history of Angola
Category:Angolan Civil War
Category:1991 establishments in Angola
Category:Military units and formations established in 1991 |
Angolan Armed Forces | Table of Content | Short description, History, Roots, Founding, Branches, Army, Air Force, Navy, Specialized units, Special forces, Territorial troops, Training establishments, Armed Forces Academy, Navy, Air Force, Institutions/other units, Museum of the Armed Forces, Military Hospitals, Supreme Military Court, Military Bands, Foreign deployments, References, Further reading, External links |
Foreign relations of Angola | short description | The foreign relations of Angola are based on Angola's strong support of U.S. foreign policy as the Angolan economy is dependent on U.S. foreign aid.
From 1975 to 1989, Angola was aligned with the Eastern bloc, in particular the Soviet Union, Libya, and Cuba. Since then, it has focused on improving relationships with Western countries, cultivating links with other Portuguese-speaking countries, and asserting its own national interests in Central Africa through military and diplomatic intervention. In 1993, it established formal diplomatic relations with the United States. It has entered the Southern African Development Community as a vehicle for improving ties with its largely Anglophone neighbors to the south. Zimbabwe and Namibia joined Angola in its military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Angolan troops remain in support of the Joseph Kabila government. It also has intervened in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) in support of Denis Sassou-Nguesso in the civil war.
Since 1998, Angola has successfully worked with the United Nations Security Council to impose and carry out sanctions on UNITA. More recently, it has extended those efforts to controls on conflict diamonds, the primary source of revenue for UNITA during the Civil War that ended in 2002. At the same time, Angola has promoted the revival of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) as a forum for cultural exchange and expanding ties with Portugal (its former ruler) and Brazil (which shares many cultural affinities with Angola) in particular. Angola is a member of the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa (PMAESA). |
Foreign relations of Angola | Diplomatic relations | Diplomatic relations
List of countries which Angola maintains diplomatic relations with:
frameless|425x425px#CountryDate123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930—313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990—919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112—113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140—141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173 |
Foreign relations of Angola | Bilateral relations | Bilateral relations |
Foreign relations of Angola | Africa | Africa
Country Formal Relations BeganNotes30 October 1977See Angola–Cape Verde relations
Cape Verde signed a friendship accord with Angola in December 1975, shortly after Angola gained its independence. Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau served as stop-over points for Cuban troops on their way to Angola to fight UNITA rebels and South African troops. Prime Minister Pedro Pires sent FARP soldiers to Angola where they served as the personal bodyguards of Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos.
Angola has an embassy in Praia.
Cape Verde has an embassy in Luanda and a consulate in Benguela.17 October 1978Many thousands of Angolans fled the country after the civil war. More than 20,000 people were forced to leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2009, an action the DR Congo said was in retaliation for regular expulsion of Congolese diamond miners who were in Angola illegally. Angola sent a delegation to DR Congo's capital Kinshasa and succeeded in stopping government-forced expulsions which had become a "tit-for-tat" immigration dispute. "Congo and Angola have agreed to suspend expulsions from both sides of the border," said Lambert Mende, DR Congo information minister, in October 2009. "We never challenged the expulsions themselves; we challenged the way they were being conducted – all the beating of people and looting their goods, even sometimes their clothes," Mende said.
Angola has an embassy in Kinshasa.
DR Congo has an embassy in Luanda.See Angola–Kenya relations
Angola has an embassy in Nairobi.
Kenya has an embassy in Luanda.5 July 1975See Angola–Mozambique relations
Angola has an embassy in Maputo.
Mozambique has an embassy in Luanda.18 September 1990See Angola–Namibia relations
Namibia borders Angola to the south. In 1999, Namibia signed a mutual defense pact with its northern neighbor Angola.
This affected the Angolan Civil War that had been ongoing since Angola's independence in 1975. Namibia's ruling party SWAPO sought to support the ruling party MPLA in Angola against the rebel movement UNITA, whose stronghold is in southern Angola, bordering to Namibia. The defence pact allowed Angolan troops to use Namibian territory when attacking Jonas Savimbi's UNITA.
Angola has an embassy in Windhoek and consulates-general in Oshakati and Rundu.
Namibia has an embassy in Luanda and consulates-general in Menongue and Ondjiva.15 March 1976See Angola–Nigeria relations
Angolan-Nigerian relations are primarily based on their roles as oil exporting nations. Both are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the African Union and other multilateral organizations.
Angola has an embassy in Abuja.
Nigeria has an embassy in Luanda.17 May 1994See Angola–South Africa relations
Angola-South Africa relations are quite strong as the ruling parties in both nations, the African National Congress in South Africa and the MPLA in Angola, fought together during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War. They fought against UNITA rebels, based in Angola, and the apartheid-era government in South Africa who supported them. Nelson Mandela mediated between the MPLA and UNITA factions during the last years of Angola's civil war.
Angola has an embassy in Pretoria and consulates-general in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
South Africa has an embassy in Luanda.15 October 1982See Angola–Zimbabwe relations |
Foreign relations of Angola | Americas | Americas
Country Formal Relations BeganNotes2 June 1979Both countries established diplomatic relations on 2 June 1979
See Angola–Argentina relations
Angola has an embassy in Buenos Aires.
Argentina has an embassy in Luanda.12 November 1975See Angola–Brazil relations
Commercial and economic ties dominate the relations of each country. Parts of both countries were part of the Portuguese Empire from the early 16th century until Brazil's independence in 1822. As of November 2007, "trade between the two countries is booming as never before"ANGOLA-BRAZIL: Portuguese – the Common Language of Trade by Mario de Queiroz, ipsnews.net, 13 November 2007
Angola has an embassy in Brasília and consulates-general in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Brazil has an embassy in Luanda.1 February 1978Both countries established diplomatic relations on 1 February 1978
Canada-Angola relations were established in 1978, and Canada is accredited to Angola from its embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe. Ties have grown since the end of the civil war in 2002, with increased engagement in areas of mutual interest. As Chair of the United Nations Security Council's Angola Sanctions Committee, Canada limited the ability of UNITA to continue its military campaign, sanctions helped to bring a ceasefire agreement to end Angola's conflict.
Angola is accredited to Canada from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States.
Canada is accredited to Angola from its embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe and maintains an honorary consulate in Luanda.15 November 1975See Angola–Cuba relations
During Angola's civil war Cuban forces fought to install a Marxist–Leninist MPLA-PT government, against Western-backed UNITA and FLNA guerrillas and the South-African army.Piero Gleijeses, Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington and Africa, 1959–1976
Angola has an embassy in Havana.
Cuba has an embassy in Luanda.20 February 1976Both countries established diplomatic relations on 20 February 1976
See Angola–Mexico relations
Angola is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States.
Mexico is accredited to Angola from its embassy in Pretoria, South Africa and maintains an honorary consulate in Luanda.14 July 1994Both countries established diplomatic relations on 14 July 1994
See Angola–United States relations
thumb|Embassy of Angola in Washington, D.C.
From the mid-1980s through at least 1992, the United States was the primary source of military and other support for the UNITA rebel movement, which was led from its creation through 2002 by Jonas Savimbi. The U.S. refused to recognize Angola diplomatically during this period.
Relations between the United States of America and the Republic of Angola (formerly the People's Republic of Angola) have warmed since Angola's ideological renunciation of Communism before the 1992 elections.
Angola has an embassy in Washington, D.C., and consulates-general in Houston and New York City.
United States has an embassy in Luanda.6 March 1987Both countries established diplomatic relations on 6 March 1987
See Angola–Uruguay relations
Angola has a consulate-general in Montevideo.
Uruguay is accredited to Angola from its embassy in Pretoria, South Africa. |
Foreign relations of Angola | Asia | Asia
Country Formal Relations BeganNotes12 January 1983Both countries established diplomatic relations on 12 January 1983
See Angola–China relations
Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao visited Angola in June 2006, offering a US$9 billion loan for infrastructure improvements in return for petroleum. The PRC has invested heavily in Angola since the end of the civil war in 2002. João Manuel Bernardo, the current ambassador of Angola to China, visited the PRC in November 2007.
Angola has an embassy in Beijing and a consulate-general in Macau.
China has an embassy in Luanda.2 June 1979Both countries established diplomatic relations on 2 June 1979
See Angola–India relations
Angola has an embassy in New Delhi.
India has an embassy in Luanda.16 April 1992See Angola–Israel relations
Angola-Israel relations, primarily based on trade and pro-United States foreign policies, are excellent. In March 2006, the trade volume between the two countries amounted to $400 million. In 2005, President José Eduardo dos Santos visited Israel.
Angola/Israel business volume amounted at USD 400 million Angola Press, 22 March 2006
Israeli Ambassador Highlights Relations With Angola Angola Press
Angola has an embassy in Tel Aviv.
Israel has an embassy in Luanda.September 1976See Angola–Japan relations
Diplomatic relations between Japan and Angola were established in September 1976. Japan has donated towards demining following the civil war.
Angola has an embassy in Tokyo.
Japan has an embassy in Luanda.20 October 1977Both countries established diplomatic relations on 20 October 1977
The Government of Angola called for the support of Pakistan for the candidature of Angola to the seat of non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, whose election is set for September this year, during the 69th session of the General Assembly of United Nations. On the fringes of the ceremony, the Angolan diplomat also met with officials in charge of the economic and commercial policy of Pakistan, to assess the business opportunities between the two states. It asked to discuss aspects related to the cooperation on several domains of common interest.14 September 2001Both countries established diplomatic relations on 14 September 2001.
Angola has an embassy in Manila.
Philippines is accredited to Angola from its embassy in Lisbon, Portugal. 9 July 1980Both countries established diplomatic relations on 9 July 1980
See Angola–Turkey relations
Angola has an embassy in Ankara.
Turkey has an embassy in Luanda.
Trade volume between the two countries was US$212 million in 2019.12 November 1975Both countries established diplomatic relations on 12 November 1975
See Angola–Vietnam relations
Angola-Vietnam relations were established on 12 November 1975 after Angola gained its independence, when future president of Angola Agostinho Neto visited Vietnam. Angola and Vietnam have steadfast partners as both transitioned from Cold War-era foreign policies of international communism to pro-Western pragmatism following the fall of the Soviet Union.
Angola has an embassy in Hanoi.
Vietnam has an embassy in Luanda. |
Foreign relations of Angola | Europe | Europe
Country Formal Relations BeganNotes17 February 1976See Angola–France relations
Relations between the two countries have not always been cordial due to the former French government's policy of supporting militant separatists in Angola's Cabinda province and the international Angolagate scandal embarrassed both governments by exposing corruption and illicit arms deals. Following French president Nicolas Sarkozy's visit in 2008, relations have improved.
Angola has an embassy in Paris.
France has an embassy in Luanda.16 August 1979Both countries established diplomatic relations on 16 August 1979
See Angola–Germany relations
Angola has an embassy in Berlin.
Germany has an embassy in Luanda.14 April 1975 Angola has an embassy to the Holy See based in Rome.
Holy See has an Apostolic Nuncio to Angola.4 June 1976See Angola–Italy relations
Angola has an embassy in Rome.
Italy has an embassy in Luanda.18 February 1976 Angola has an embassy in The Hague and a consulate-general in Rotterdam.
Netherlands has an embassy in Luanda.9 March 1976See Angola–Portugal relations
Angola-Portugal relations have significantly improved since the Angolan government abandoned communism and nominally embraced democracy in 1991, embracing a pro-U.S. and to a lesser degree pro-Europe foreign policy. Portugal ruled Angola for 400 years, colonizing the territory from 1483 until independence in 1975. Angola's war for independence did not end in a military victory for either side, but was suspended as a result of a coup in Portugal that replaced the Caetano regime.
Angola has an embassy in Lisbon and a consulate-general in Porto.
Portugal has an embassy in Luanda and a consulate-general in Benguela.11 November 1975Both countries established diplomatic relations on 11 November 1975
See Angola–Russia relations
Angola has an embassy in Moscow.
Russia has an embassy in Luanda.12 November 1975Both countries established diplomatic relations on 12 November 1975
See Angola–Serbia relations
The defence minister of Serbia, Dragan Šutanovac, stated in a 2011 meeting in Luanda that Serbia would negotiate with the Angolan military authorities for the construction of a new military hospital in Angola.
Angola supports Serbia's stance on Kosovo, and recognizes Serbia's territorial integrity.Angola: Head of State Sends Message to Serbian Counterpart, Angola Press Agency, 2008-06-24
Angola has an embassy in Belgrade.
Serbia has an embassy in Luanda.19 October 1977Both countries established diplomatic relations on 19 October 1977
See Angola–Spain relations
Angola has an embassy in Madrid.
Spain has an embassy in Luanda.14 October 1977Angola established diplomatic relations with the UK on 14 October 1977.
Angola maintains an embassy in London.
The United Kingdom is accredited to Angola through its embassy in Luanda.
Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic co-operation pact, and the World Trade Organization. |
Foreign relations of Angola | See also | See also
List of diplomatic missions in Angola
List of diplomatic missions of Angola
Visa requirements for Angolan citizens |
Foreign relations of Angola | References | References |
Foreign relations of Angola | External links | External links
|
Foreign relations of Angola | Table of Content | short description, Diplomatic relations, Bilateral relations, Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, See also, References, External links |
Albert Sidney Johnston | short description | Albert Sidney Johnston (February 2, 1803 – April 6, 1862) was an American military officer who served as a general in three different armies: the Texian Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army. He saw extensive combat during his 34-year military career, fighting actions in the Black Hawk War, the Texas-Indian Wars, the Mexican–American War, the Utah War, and the American Civil War, where he died on the battlefield.
Considered by Confederate States President Jefferson Davis to be the finest general officer in the Confederacy before the later emergence of Robert E. Lee, he was killed early in the Civil War at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862. Johnston was the highest-ranking officer on either side killed during the war. Davis believed the loss of General Johnston "was the turning point of our fate."
Johnston was unrelated to Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Early life and education | Early life and education
Johnston was born in Washington, Kentucky, the youngest son of Dr. John and Abigail (Harris) Johnston. His father was a native of Salisbury, Connecticut. He was a grandson of Revolutionary War patriot Edward Harris. Although Albert Johnston was born in Kentucky, he lived much of his life in Texas, which he considered his home. He was first educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, where he met fellow student Jefferson Davis. Both were appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Davis two years behind Johnston.Woodworth, p. 46. In 1826,Chisholm, p. 472 Johnston graduated eighth of 41 cadets in his class from West Point with a commission as a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Infantry.Eicher, p. 322.
Johnston was assigned to New York and Missouri posts. In August 1827, he participated in the expedition to capture Red Bird, the rebellious Winnebago chief. Johnston later wrote: "I must confess that I consider Red Bird one of the noblest and most dignified men I ever saw... He said: 'I have offended. I sacrifice myself to save my country.'" Johnston served in the brief Black Hawk War of 1832 as chief of staff to Brevet Brigadier General Henry Atkinson. The commander praised Johnston for "talents of the first order, a gallant soldier by profession and education and a gentleman of high standing and integrity." |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Marriage and family | Marriage and family
thumb|China Grove Plantation, Johnston's Texas home
In 1829, he married Henrietta Preston, sister of Kentucky politician and future Civil War general William Preston. They had three children, of whom two survived to adulthood. Their son, William Preston Johnston, became a colonel in the Confederate States Army. The senior Johnston resigned his commission in 1834 to care for his dying wife in Kentucky, who succumbed two years later to tuberculosis.
After serving as Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas in 1838–40, Johnston resigned and went back to Kentucky. In 1843, he married Eliza Griffin, his late wife's first cousin. The couple moved to Texas, where they settled on a large plantation in Brazoria County. Johnston named the property "China Grove". Here they raised Johnston's two children from his first marriage and the first three children born to Eliza and him. A sixth child was born when the family lived in Los Angeles, where they had permanently settled. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Texian Army | Texian Army
Johnston moved to Texas in 1836 and enlisted as a private in the Texian Army after the Texas War of Independence from the Republic of Mexico. He was named Adjutant General as a colonel in the Republic of Texas Army on August 5, 1836. On January 31, 1837, he became senior brigadier general in command of the Texas Army.
On February 5, 1837, Johnston fought in a duel with Texas Brigadier General Felix Huston, who was angered and offended by Johnston's promotion. Huston had been the acting commander of the army and perceived Johnston's appointment as a slight from the Texas government. Johnston was shot through the hip and severely wounded, requiring him to relinquish his post during his recovery.
Afterward, Johnston said he fought Huston "as a public duty... he had little respect for the practice of dueling." He believed that the "safety of the republic depended upon the efficiency of the army... and upon the good discipline and subordination of the troops, which could only be secured by their obedience to their legal commander. General Huston embodied the lawless spirit in the army, which had to be met and controlled at whatever personal peril."Johnston, pp. 80
Many years later, Huston said that the duel was "a shameful piece of business, and I wouldn't do it again under any circumstances... Why, when I reflect upon the circumstances, I hate myself... that one act blackened all the good ones of my life. But I couldn't challenge Congress; and President Houston, although a duelist, was too far above me in rank. Well, thank God I didn't kill him."
On December 22, 1838, Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the Republic of Texas, appointed Johnston as Secretary of War. He defended the Texas border against Mexican attempts to recover the state in rebellion. In 1839, he campaigned against Native Americans in northern Texas during the Cherokee War of 1838–39. At the Battle of the Neches, Johnston and Vice President David G. Burnet were both cited in the commander's report "for active exertions on the field" and "having behaved in such a manner as reflects great credit upon themselves." In February 1840, he resigned and returned to Kentucky. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | United States Army | United States Army
thumb|Johnston as commander of the Department of Utah. Portrait taken by Samuel C. Mills at Camp Floyd, Utah Territory, winter of 1858–59
When the United States declared war on Mexico in May 1846, Johnston rode 400 miles from his home in Galveston to Port Isabel to volunteer for service in Brigadier General Zachary Taylor's Army of Occupation. Johnston was elected as colonel of the 1st Texas Rifle Volunteers but the enlistments of his soldiers ran out just before the army's advance on Monterrey, so Taylor appointed him as the inspector general of Brigadier General William O. Butler's division of volunteers. Johnston convinced a few volunteers of his former regiment to stay on and fight.
During the Battle of Monterrey, Butler was wounded and carried to the rear, and Johnston assumed an active leadership role in the division. Future U.S. general, Joseph Hooker, was with Johnston at Monterrey and wrote: "It was through [Johnston's] agency, mainly, that our division was saved from a cruel slaughter... The coolness and magnificent presence [that he] displayed on this field... left an impression on my mind that I have never forgotten."Roland, pp. 46 General Taylor considered Johnston "the best soldier he had ever commanded."
Johnston resigned from the army just after the battle of Monterrey in October 1846. He had promised his wife, Eliza, that he would only volunteer for six months' service. In addition, President James K. Polk's administration's preference for officers associated with the Democratic Party prevented the promotion of those, such as Johnston, who were perceived as Whigs:
He remained on his plantation after the war until he was appointed by later 12th president Zachary Taylor to the U.S. Army as a major and was made a paymaster in December 1849 for a district of Texas encompassing the military posts from the upper Colorado River to the upper Trinity River. He served in that role for more than five years, making six tours and traveling more than annually on the Indian frontier of Texas. He served on the Texas frontier at Fort Mason and elsewhere in the western United States.
In 1855, 14th president Franklin Pierce appointed him colonel of the new 2nd U.S. Cavalry (the unit that preceded the modern 5th U.S.), a new regiment, which he organized, his lieutenant colonel being Robert E. Lee, and his majors William J. Hardee and George H. Thomas. Other subordinates in this unit included Earl Van Dorn, Edmund Kirby Smith, Nathan G. Evans, Innis N. Palmer, George Stoneman, R.W. Johnson, John B. Hood, and Charles W. Field, all future Civil War generals.Johnston, pp. 185 On March 31, 1856, Johnston received a promotion to temporary command of the entire Department of Texas. He campaigned aggressively against the Comanche, writing to his daughter that "the Indians harass our frontiers and the 2nd Cavalry and other troops thrash them wherever they catch them." In March 1857, Brigadier General David E. Twiggs was appointed permanent commander of the department and Johnston returned to his position as colonel of the 2nd Cavalry. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Utah War | Utah War
As a key figure in the Utah War, Johnston took command of the U.S. forces dispatched to crush the Latter Day Saint rebellion in November 1857. Their objective was to install Alfred Cumming as governor of the Utah Territory, replacing Brigham Young, and restore U.S. legal authority in the region. As Johnston had replaced Brigadier General William S. Harney in command, he only joined the army after it had already departed for Utah. Johnston's adjutant general, and future U.S. general in the Civil War, Major Fitz John Porter wrote: "Experienced on the Plains and of established reputation for energy, courage, and resources, [Johnston's] presence restored confidence at all points, and encouraged the weak-hearted and panic-stricken multitude. The long chain of wagons, kinked, tangled, and hard to move, uncoiled and went forward smoothly."Johnston, pp. 211
Johnston worked tirelessly over the next few months to maintain the effectiveness of his army in the harsh winter environment at Fort Bridger, Wyoming. Major Porter wrote to an associate: "Col. Johnston has done everything to add to the efficiency of the command – and put it in a condition to sustain the dignity and honor of the country – More he cannot do… Don't let any one come here over Col. Johnston – It would be much against the wishes and hopes of everyone here – who would gladly see him a Brigadier General."Roland, pp. 202 Even the Mormons commended Johnston's actions, with the Salt Lake City Deseret News reporting that "It takes a cool brain and good judgment to maintain a contented army and healthy camp through a stormy winter in the Wasatch Mountains."Deseret News (1858). Edition published October 13, 1858, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory.
Johnston and his troops hoped for war. They had learned of the Mountain Meadows Massacre and wanted revenge against the Mormons. However, a peaceful resolution was reached after the army had endured the harsh winter at Fort Bridger. In late June 1858, Johnston led the army through Salt Lake City without incident to establish Camp Floyd some 50 miles distant. In a report to the War Department, Johnston reported that "horrible crimes… have been perpetrated in this territory, crimes of a magnitude and of an apparently studied refinement in atrocity, hardly to be conceived of, and which have gone unwhipped of justice."Johnston, pp. 239 Nevertheless, Johnston's army peacefully occupied the Utah Territory. U.S. Army Commander-in-Chief, Major General Winfield Scott, was delighted with Johnston's performance during the campaign and recommended his promotion to brevet brigadier general: "Colonel Johns[t]on is more than a good officer – he is a God send to the country thro' the army." The Senate confirmed Johnston's promotion on March 24, 1858.
With regard to the relations established by Johnston with the Native American tribes of the area, Major Porter reported that "Colonel Johnston took every occasion to bring the Indians within knowledge and influence of the army, and induced numerous chiefs to come to his camp... Colonel Johnston was ever kind, but firm, and dignified to them... The Utes, Pi-Utes, Bannocks, and other tribes, visited Colonel Johnston, and all went away expressing themselves pleased, assuring him that so long as he remained they would prove his friends, which the colonel told them would be best for them. Thus he effectively destroyed all influence of the Mormons over them, and insured friendly treatment to travelers to and from California and Oregon."Johnston, p. 235
In August 1859, parts of Johnston's Army of Utah were implicated as participants in an alleged massacre at Spring Valley, a retaliation against an Indian massacre of an emigrant train to California. There are conflicting reports of the event and Johnston only referenced it in a November 1859 report to Scott. He wrote: "I have ascertained that three [emigrant] parties were robbed, and ten or twelve of their members, comprising men, women, and children, murdered... The perpetrators of the robbery of the first party were severely chastised by a detachment of dragoons, under the command of Lieutenant Gay. The troops failed to discover the robbers of the last two parties that were attacked. They are supposed to be vagabonds from the Shoshonee (sic) or Snake and Bannack (sic) Indians, whose chiefs deny any complicity with these predatory bands. There is abundant evidence to prove that these robber bands are accompanied by white men, and probably instigated and led by them. On that account I am inclined to believe the disclaimer of the Indians referred to, of having any knowledge of the robberies or any share in the plunder." The only evidence of the massacre is the account of Elijah Nicholas Wilson (written in 1910, about 51 years after the incident) and oral histories.Senate of the United States; First Session of the 36th Congress, 1859–60; No. 42, p. 26Wilson, pp. 165
In late February 1860, Johnston received orders from the War Department recalling him to Washington D.C. to prepare for a new assignment. He spent 1860 in Kentucky until December 21, when he sailed for California to take command of the Department of the Pacific. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Slavery | Slavery
Johnston was a slave owner and a strong supporter of slavery. By 1846, he owned four slaves in Texas.Roland, p. 141. In 1855, having discovered that a slave was stealing from the Army payroll, Johnston refused to have him physically punished and instead sold him for $1,000 to recoup the losses. Johnston explained that "whipping will not restore what is lost and it will not benefit the [culprit], whom a lifetime of kind treatment has failed to make honest."Roland, p. 166. In 1856, he called abolitionism "fanatical, idolatrous, negro worshipping" in a letter to his son, fearing that the abolitionists would incite a slave revolt in the Southern states.Roland, p. 182. Upon moving to California, Johnston sold one slave to his son and freed another, Randolph Hughes, or "Ran", who agreed to accompany the family on the condition of a $12/month contract for five more years of servitude. Ran accompanied Johnston throughout the American Civil War until the latter's death.Roland, p. 242. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | American Civil War | American Civil War
thumb|Albert S. Johnston in Confederate Army uniform wearing Three Gold Stars and Wreath on a General's Collar
At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Johnston was the commander of the U.S. Army Department of the Pacific in California. Like many regular army officers from the Southern United States, he opposed secession. Nevertheless, Johnston resigned his commission soon after he heard of the Confederate states' declarations of secession. The War Department accepted it on May 6, 1861, effective May 3.Johnston, p. 273. On April 28, he moved to Los Angeles, the home of his wife's brother John Griffin. Considering staying in California with his wife and five children, Johnston remained there until May. A sixth child was born in the family home in Los Angeles. His eldest son, Capt. Albert S. Johnston, Jr. was later killed in an accidental explosion on a steamer ship while on liberty in Los Angeles in 1863. Los Angeles Star. Vol. XII, No. 52, May 2, 1863.
Soon, Johnston enlisted in the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles (a pro-Southern militia unit) as a private, leaving Warner's Ranch on May 27.Johnston, pp. 185. He participated in their trek across the Southwestern deserts to Texas, crossing the Colorado River into the Confederate Territory of Arizona on July 4, 1861. His escort was commanded by Alonzo Ridley, Undersheriff of Los Angeles, who remained at Johnston's side until he was killed. Los Angeles Star, Vol. XIII, No. 32, December 12, 1863.
Early in the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis decided that the Confederacy would attempt to hold as much territory as possible, distributing military forces around its borders and coasts.Woodworth, pp. 18–19. In the summer of 1861, Davis appointed several generals to defend Confederate lines from the Mississippi River east to the Allegheny Mountains.Woodworth, pp. 17–33. Aged 58 when the war began, Johnston was old by Army standards. He came east to offer his service for the Confederacy without having been promised anything, merely hoping for an assignment.
The most sensitive, and in many ways, the most crucial areas, along the Mississippi River and in western Tennessee along the Tennessee and the Cumberland riversWoodworth, pp. 20–22 were placed under the command of Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk and Brig. Gen. Gideon J. Pillow. The latter had initially been in command in Tennessee as that State's top general.Woodworth, pp. 30–32. Their impolitic occupation of Columbus, Kentucky, on September 3, 1861, two days before Johnston arrived in the Confederacy's capital of Richmond, Virginia, after his cross-country journey, drove Kentucky from its stated neutrality.Woodworth, pp. 35, 45.Long, p. 114. The majority of Kentuckians allied with the U.S. camp.Woodworth, pp. 39, 50. Polk and Pillow's action gave U.S. Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant an excuse to take control of the strategically located town of Paducah, Kentucky, without raising the ire of most Kentuckians and the pro-U.S. majority in the State legislature.Woodworth, p. 39.Long, p. 115. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Confederate command in Western Theater | Confederate command in Western Theater
On September 10, 1861, Johnston was assigned to command the huge area of the Confederacy west of the Allegheny Mountains, except for coastal areas. He became commander of the Confederacy's western armies in the area often called the Western Department or Western Military Department.Woodworth, p. 51.Long, p. 116. Johnston's appointment as a full general by his friend and admirer Jefferson Davis had already been confirmed by the Confederate Senate on August 31, 1861. The appointment had been backdated to rank from May 30, 1861, making him the second-highest-ranking general in the Confederate States Army. Only Adjutant General and Inspector General Samuel Cooper ranked ahead of him.Eicher, Civil War High Commands. p. 807. From General Command Line List. Weigley, p. 110. McPherson, p. 394. After his appointment, Johnston immediately headed for his new territory.Woodworth, p. 52. He was permitted to call on Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi governors for new troops. However, politics largely stifled this authority, especially concerning Mississippi. On September 13, 1861, Johnston ordered Brig. Gen. Felix Zollicoffer with 4,000 men to occupy Cumberland Gap in Kentucky to block U.S. troops from coming into eastern Tennessee. The Kentucky legislature had voted to side with the United States after the occupation of Columbus by Polk. By September 18, Johnston had Brig. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner with another 4,000 men blocking the railroad route to Tennessee at Bowling Green, Kentucky.Long, p. 119.
Johnston had fewer than 40,000 men spread throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri.Woodworth, p. 53. Of these, 10,000 were in Missouri under Missouri State Guard Maj. Gen. Sterling Price. Johnston did not quickly gain many recruits when he first requested them from the governors, but his more serious problem was lacking sufficient arms and ammunition for the troops he already had. As the Confederate government concentrated efforts on the units in the East, they gave Johnston small numbers of reinforcements and minimal amounts of arms and material.Woodworth, p. 55. Johnston maintained his defense by conducting raids and other measures to make it appear he had larger forces than he did, a strategy that worked for several months. Johnston's tactics had so annoyed and confused U.S. Brig. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in Kentucky that he became paranoid and mentally unstable. Sherman overestimated Johnston's forces and was relieved by Brig. Gen. Don Carlos Buell on November 9, 1861. However, in his Memoirs, Sherman strongly rebutted this account.Woodworth, pp. 55–56Long, p. 138.McPherson, p. 394 says Johnston had 70,000 troops to defend his territory between the Appalachians and the Ozarks by the end of 1861.The Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman (1885), Chapter IX https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4361/4361-h/4361-h.htm |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Battle of Mill Springs | Battle of Mill Springs
East Tennessee (a heavily pro-union region of the southern U.S. during the Civil War) was occupied for the Confederacy by two unimpressive brigadier generals appointed by Jefferson Davis: Felix Zollicoffer, a brave but untrained and inexperienced officer, and soon-to-be Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden, a former U.S. Army officer with apparent alcohol problems.Woodworth, p. 61 While Crittenden was away in Richmond, Zollicoffer moved his forces to the north bank of the upper Cumberland River near Mill Springs (now Nancy, Kentucky), putting the river to his back and his forces into a trap.Woodworth, p. 65.Long, pp. 161–162. Zollicoffer decided it was impossible to obey orders to return to the other side of the river because of the scarcity of transport and proximity of U.S. troops.Woodworth, p. 66. When U.S. Brig. Gen. George H. Thomas moved against the Confederates, Crittenden decided to attack one of the two parts of Thomas's command at Logan's Cross Roads near Mill Springs before the U.S. forces could unite. At the Battle of Mill Springs on January 19, 1862, the ill-prepared Confederates, after a night march in the rain, attacked the U.S. soldiers with some initial success.Woodworth, pp. 66–67. As the battle progressed, Zollicoffer was killed and the Confederates were turned back and routed by a U.S. bayonet charge, their force of 4,000 suffering 533 casualties, while Crittenden's conduct in the battle was so inept that subordinates accused him of being drunk.Woodworth, p. 67.Long, p. 162. The Confederate troops who escaped were assigned to other units as General Crittenden faced an investigation of his conduct.Woodworth, p. 69.
After the Confederate defeat at Mill Springs, Davis sent Johnston a brigade and a few other scattered reinforcements. He also assigned him Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard, who was supposed to attract recruits because of his victories early in the war and act as a competent subordinate for Johnston.Woodworth, pp. 71–72. The brigade was led by Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd, considered incompetent. He took command at Fort Donelson as the senior general present just before U.S. Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant attacked the fort.Woodworth, pp. 80, 84. Historians believe the assignment of Beauregard to the west stimulated U.S. commanders to attack the forts before Beauregard could make a difference in the theater. U.S. Army officers heard that he was bringing 15 regiments with him, but this was an exaggeration of his forces.Woodworth, pp. 72, 78. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Nashville | Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Nashville
Based on the assumption that Kentucky neutrality would act as a shield against a direct invasion from the north, circumstances that no longer applied in September 1861, Tennessee initially had sent men to Virginia and concentrated defenses in the Mississippi Valley.Woodworth, p. 54.Eicher, The Longest Night. pp. 111–113. Even before Johnston arrived in Tennessee, construction of two forts had been started to defend the Tennessee and the Cumberland rivers, which provided avenues into the State from the north.Woodworth, p. 56. Both forts were located in Tennessee to respect Kentucky neutrality, but these were not in ideal locations.Long, p. 142Weigley, p. 108McPherson, p. 393. Fort Henry on the Tennessee River was in an unfavorable low-lying location, commanded by hills on the Kentucky side of the river. Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, although in a better location, had a vulnerable land side and did not have enough heavy artillery to defend against gunboats.
Maj. Gen. Polk ignored the problems of the forts when he took command. After Johnston took command, Polk at first refused to comply with Johnston's order to send an engineer, Lt. Joseph K. Dixon, to inspect the forts.Woodworth, p. 57. After Johnston asserted his authority, Polk had to allow Dixon to proceed. Dixon recommended that the forts be maintained and strengthened, although they were not in ideal locations, because much work had been done on them, and the Confederates might not have time to build new ones. Johnston accepted his recommendations. Johnston wanted Major Alexander P. Stewart to command the forts, but President Davis appointed Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman as commander.
To prevent Polk from dissipating his forces by allowing some men to join a partisan group, Johnston ordered him to send Brig. Gen. Gideon Pillow and 5,000 men to Fort Donelson.Woodworth, p. 58. Pillow took up a position at nearby Clarksville, Tennessee, and did not move into the fort until February 7, 1862.Long, pp. 167–168.Eicher, The Longest Night, p. 171 says the garrison at Fort Donelson numbered 1,956 men before the Fort Henry garrison and the men under Floyd and Pillow joined them in early February 1862. Alerted by a U.S. reconnaissance on January 14, 1862, Johnston ordered Tilghman to fortify the high ground opposite Fort Henry, which Polk had failed to do despite Johnston's orders.Woodworth, p. 71. Tilghman failed to act decisively on these orders, which were too late to be adequately carried out in any event.McPherson, p. 396.A Confederate battery and the beginning of some fortifications were sited across the river at Fort Heiman, but these were of little value when the U.S. flotilla appeared.
Gen. Beauregard arrived at Johnston's headquarters at Bowling Green on February 4, 1862, and was given overall command of Polk's force at the western end of Johnston's line at Columbus, Kentucky.Woodworth, p. 78.After some preliminary work with Johnston, Beauregard assumed command of this force, which he named the Army of the Mississippi, on March 5, 1862, while at Jackson, Tennessee. Like the other Confederate commander, he had to withdraw to the south after the fall of the forts or be surrounded by the advancing U.S. forces. Long, p. 178. On February 6, 1862, U.S. gunboats quickly reduced the defenses of ill-sited Fort Henry, inflicting 21 casualties on the small remaining Confederate force.Woodworth, pp. 78–79.Long, p. 167. Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman surrendered the 94 remaining officers and men of his approximately 3,000-man force, which had not been sent to Fort Donelson, before Grant's U.S. forces could even take up their positions.Long, pp. 166–167Weigley, p. 109. Johnston knew he could be trapped at Bowling Green if Fort Donelson fell, so he moved his force to Nashville, the capital of Tennessee and an increasingly important Confederate industrial center, beginning on February 11, 1862.Woodworth, p. 79.Loing, pp. 169–170.
Johnston also reinforced Fort Donelson with 12,000 more men, including those under Floyd and Pillow, a curious decision given his thought that the U.S. gunboats alone could take the fort. He ordered the fort commanders to evacuate the troops if the fort could not be held.Woodworth, p. 80. The senior generals sent to the fort to command the enlarged garrison, Gideon J. Pillow and John B. Floyd, squandered their chance to avoid having to surrender most of the garrisonMcPherson, pp. 400–401. and on February 16, 1862, Brig. Gen. Simon Buckner, having been abandoned by FloydFloyd was able to ferry his four Virginia regiments out of the fort with him but left his Mississippi regiment behind to surrender with the rest of the garrison. Pillow escaped only with his chief of staff. Woodworth, p. 83. Long, p. 171. and Pillow, surrendered Fort Donelson.Woodworth, pp. 82–84. Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest escaped with his cavalry force of about 700 men before the surrender.Woodworth, p. 84.McPherson, pp. 401–402.This included about 200 men not in Forrest's immediate command. Weigley, p. 111 The Confederates suffered about 1,500 casualties, with an estimated 12,000 to 14,000 taken prisoner.Long, p. 172.Weigley, p. 111. U.S. casualties were 500 killed, 2,108 wounded, and 224 missing.
Johnston, who had little choice in allowing Floyd and Pillow to take charge at Fort Donelson based on seniority after he ordered them to add their forces to the garrison, took the blame and suffered calls for his removal because a full explanation to the press and public would have exposed the weakness of the Confederate position.Woodworth, pp. 84–85. His passive defensive performance while positioning himself in a forward position at Bowling Green, spreading his forces too thinly, not concentrating his forces in the face of U.S. advances, and appointing or relying upon inadequate or incompetent subordinates subjected him to criticism at the time and by later historians.Weigley, p. 112.McPherson, pp. 405–406.Davis defended Johnston, saying: "If Sidney Johnston is not a general, we had better give up the war, for we have no general." McPherson, p. 495. The fall of the forts exposed Nashville to an imminent attack, and it fell without resistance to U.S. forces under Brig. Gen. Buell on February 25, 1862, two days after Johnston had to pull his forces out to avoid having them captured as well.Woodworth, p. 86.Long, p. 175.McPherson, p. 402. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Concentration at Corinth | Concentration at Corinth
Johnston was in a perilous situation after the fall of Ft. Donelson and Henry; with barely 17,000 men to face an overwhelming concentration of Union force, he hastily fled south into Mississippi by way of Nashville and then into northern Alabama.Woodworth, pp. 85–86. Johnston himself retreated with the force under his personal command, the Army of Central Kentucky, from the vicinity of Nashville. With Beauregard's help,McPherson, p. 406. Johnston decided to concentrate forces with those formerly under Polk and now already under Beauregard's command at the strategically located railroad crossroads of Corinth, Mississippi, which he reached by a circuitous route.Woodworth, pp. 86–88. Johnston kept the U.S. forces, now under the overall command of Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck, confused and hesitant to move, allowing Johnston to reach his objective undetected.Woodworth, p. 88. He scraped together reinforcements from Louisiana, as well as part of Polk's force at Island No. 10, and 10,000 additional troops under Braxton Bragg brought up from Mobile.Woodworth, pp. 90, 94. Bragg at least calmed the nerves of Beauregard and Polk, who had become agitated by their apparent dire situation in the face of numerically superior forces, before Johnston's arrival on March 24, 1862.Woodworth, p. 95.Long, p. 188.
Johnston's army of 17,000 men gave the Confederates a combined force of about 40,000 to 44,669 men at Corinth.Eicher, The Longest Night, p. 223. On March 29, 1862, Johnston officially took command of this combined force, which continued to use the Army of the Mississippi name under which Beauregard had organized it on March 5.Long, 190.Eicher, Civil War High Commands p. 887 and Eicher, The Longest Night p. 219 are nearly alone in referring to this army as the Army of Mississippi. Muir, p. 85, in discussing the first "Army of Mississippi", includes this army as one of three in the article with that title but states: "Historians have pointed out that the Army of Mississippi is frequently mentioned in the Official Records as the Army of the Mississippi." Contemporaries, including Johnston and Beauregard, and modern historians call this Confederate army the Army of the Mississippi. , Volume X, Part 1, index, pp. 96–99; 385 (Beauregard's report on the Battle of Shiloh, April 11, 1862, from Headquarters, Army of the Mississippi) and Part 2, p. 297 (Beauregard's announcement on taking command of Army of the Mississippi); p. 370 (Johnston General Orders of March 29, 1862, assuming command and announcing the army would retain the name Army of the Mississippi); pp. 405–409. Beauregard, p. 579. Boritt, p. 53. Connelly, Army of the Heartland: The Army of Tennessee, 1861–1862. p. 151. ("The Army retained Beauregard's chosen name...") Connelly, Civil War Tennessee: Battles And Leaders. p. 35. Cunningham, pp. 98, 122, 397. Engle, p. 123. Hattaway, p. 163. Hess, pp. 47, 49, 112 ("...Braxton Bragg's renamed Army of Tennessee (formerly the Army of the Mississippi)..."). Isbell, p. 102. McDonough, pp. 60, 66, 78. Kennedy, p. 48. Noe, p. 19. Williams, p. 122.
Johnston's only hope was to crush Grant before Buell and others could reinforce him. He started his army in motion on April 3, intent on surprising Grant's force as soon as the next day. It was not an easy undertaking; his army had been hastily thrown together, two-thirds of the soldiers had never fired a shot in battle, and drill, discipline, and staff work were so poor that the different divisions kept stumbling into each other on the march.Woodworth, pp. 96–97.Long, p. 192 Beauregard felt that this offensive was a mistake and could not possibly succeed, but Johnston replied "I would fight them if they were a million" as he drove his army on to Pittsburg Landing.McWhiney; Jamieson, p. 162. His army was finally in position within a mile or two of Grant's force, undetected, by the evening of April 5, 1862.Woodworth, p. 97.Long, pp. 193–194.Weigley, p. 113.McPherson, pp. 406–407.Johnston did not achieve total surprise as some U.S. pickets were alerted to the Confederate presence and provided warning to some U.S. units before the attack began. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Battle of Shiloh and death | Battle of Shiloh and death
Johnston launched a massive surprise attack with his concentrated forces against Grant at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862.Chisholm, p. 473 As the Confederate forces overran the U.S. camps, Johnston personally rallied troops up and down the line on his horse. One of his famous moments in the battle occurred when he witnessed some of his soldiers breaking from the ranks to pillage and loot the U.S. camps and was outraged to see a young lieutenant among them. "None of that, sir", Johnston roared at the officer, "we are not here for plunder." Then, realizing he had embarrassed the man, he picked up a tin cup from a table and announced, "Let this be my share of the spoils today", before directing his army onward.
At about 2:30 pm, while leading one of those charges against a U.S. camp near the "Peach Orchard", he was wounded, taking a bullet behind his right knee. The bullet clipped a part of his popliteal artery, and his boot filled up with blood. No medical personnel were on the scene since Johnston had sent his personal surgeon to care for the wounded Confederate troops and U.S. prisoners earlier in the battle.thumb|220x220px|Henry Mosler's drawing of the death of General Johnston
Within a few minutes, Johnston was observed by his staff to be nearly fainting. Among his staff was Isham G. Harris, the Governor of Tennessee, who had ceased to make any real effort to function as governor after learning that Abraham Lincoln had appointed Andrew Johnson as military governor of Tennessee. Seeing Johnston slumping in his saddle and his face turning deathly pale, Harris asked: "General, are you wounded?" Johnston glanced down at his leg wound, then faced Harris and said his last words in a weak voice: "Yes... and I fear seriously." Harris and other staff officers removed Johnston from his horse, carried him to a small ravine near the "Hornets Nest", and desperately tried to aid the general, who had lost consciousness. Harris then sent an aide to fetch Johnston's surgeon but did not apply a tourniquet to Johnston's wounded leg. A few minutes later, Johnston died from blood loss before a doctor could be found. It is believed that Johnston may have lived for as long as one hour after receiving his fatal wound. It was later discovered that Johnston had a tourniquet in his pocket when he died.thumb|right|Monument to Johnston at Shiloh National Military ParkHarris and the other officers wrapped General Johnston's body in a blanket to not damage the troops' morale with the sight of the dead general. Johnston and his wounded horse, Fire Eater, were taken to his field headquarters on the Corinth road, where his body remained in his tent for the remainder of the battle. P. G. T. Beauregard assumed command of the army. He resumed leading the Confederate assault, which continued advancing and pushed the U.S. forces back to a final defensive line near the Tennessee river. With his army exhausted and daylight almost gone, Beauregard called off the final Confederate attack around 1900 hours, figuring he could finish off the U.S. army the following morning. However, Grant was reinforced by 20,000 fresh troops from Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio during the night and led a successful counter-attack the following day, driving the Confederates from the field and winning the battle. As the Confederate army retreated to Corinth, Johnston's body was taken to the home of Colonel William Inge, which had been his headquarters in Corinth. It was covered in the Confederate flag and lay in state for several hours.Sword, pp. 270–273, 443–446; Cunningham, pp. 273–276; Smith, pp. 26–34. Sword offers evidence that Johnston lived as long as an hour after receiving his fatal wound.
It is possible that a Confederate soldier fired the fatal round, as many Confederates were firing at the U.S. lines while Johnston charged well in advance of his soldiers.Sword, p. 444. Alonzo Ridley of Los Angeles commanded the bodyguard "the Guides" of Gen. A. S. Johnston and was by his side when he fell. Los Angeles Star, Vol. XII, No. 30, November 29, 1862.
Johnston was the highest-ranking fatality of the war on either side and his death was a strong blow to the morale of the Confederacy. At the time, Davis considered him the best general in the country.Dupuy, p. 378. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Legacy and honors | Legacy and honors
thumb|Johnston's tomb and statue by Elisabet Ney in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas
Johnston was survived by his wife, Eliza, and six children. His wife and five younger children, including one born after he went to war, chose to live out their days at home in Los Angeles with Eliza's brother, Dr. John Strother Griffin. Johnston's eldest son, Albert Sidney Jr. (born in Texas), had already followed him into the Confederate States Army. In 1863, Albert Jr. was on his way out of San Pedro harbor on a ferry after taking home leave in Los Angeles. While a steamer was taking on passengers from the ferry, a wave swamped the smaller boat, causing its boilers to explode. Albert Jr. was killed in the accident.
Upon his passing, General Johnston received the highest praise ever given by the Confederate government: accounts were published on December 20, 1862, and after that, in the Los Angeles Star of his family's hometown. Johnston Street, Hancock Street, and Griffin Avenue, each in northeast Los Angeles, are named after the general and his family, who lived in the neighborhood.
Johnston was initially buried in New Orleans. In 1866, a joint resolution of the Texas Legislature was passed to have his body moved and reinterred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin. The re-interment occurred in 1867. Forty years later, the state appointed Elisabet Ney to design a monument and sculpture of him to be erected at the grave site, installed in 1905.
The Texas Historical Commission has erected a historical marker near the entrance of what was once Johnston's plantation. An adjacent marker was erected by the San Jacinto Chapter of the Daughters of The Republic of Texas and the Lee, Roberts, and Davis Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederate States of America.
In 1916, the University of Texas at Austin recognized several confederate veterans (including Johnston) with statues on its South Mall. On August 21, 2017, as part of the wave of confederate monument removals in America, Johnston's statue was taken down. Plans were announced to add it to the Briscoe Center for American History on the east side of the university campus.
Johnston was inducted to the Texas Military Hall of Honor in 1980.
In the fall of 2018, A. S. Johnston Elementary School in Dallas, Texas, was renamed Cedar Crest Elementary. Johnston Middle School in Houston, Texas, was also renamed Meyerland Middle School. Three other elementary schools named for Confederate veterans were renamed simultaneously. |
Albert Sidney Johnston | See also | See also
Albert Sidney Johnston High School, a defunct public high school in Austin, Texas
Statue of Albert Sidney Johnston (Texas State Cemetery), a 1903 memorial sculpture by Elisabet Ney
Statue of Albert Sidney Johnston (University of Texas at Austin), a statue by Pompeo Coppini
List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)
List of Confederate monuments and memorials |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Notes | Notes |
Albert Sidney Johnston | References | References
Beauregard, G. T. The Campaign of Shiloh. p. 579. In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. I, edited by Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence C. Buel. New York: Century Co., 1884–1888. .
Dupuy, Trevor N., Curt Johnson, and David L. Bongard. Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: HarperCollins, 1992. .
Hattaway, Herman, and Archer Jones. How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. .
Long, E. B. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. .
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Albert Sidney Johnston | Further reading | Further reading
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Albert Sidney Johnston | External links | External links
Eliza Johnston, Wife Of Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston at Handbook of Texas Online
Category:1803 births
Category:1862 deaths
Category:Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War
Category:Deaths from bleeding
Category:Burials at Texas State Cemetery
Category:Confederate States Army full generals
Category:People from Washington, Kentucky
Category:Military personnel from Texas
Category:People of California in the American Civil War
Category:People of Texas in the American Civil War
Category:American people of the Black Hawk War
Category:Transylvania University alumni
Category:United States Army generals
Category:United States Military Academy alumni
Category:People of the Texas Revolution
Category:People of the Utah War
Category:Politicians killed in the American Civil War
Category:Proslavery activists killed in the American Civil War
Category:Slave owners killed in the American Civil War
Category:Preston family (Virginia) |
Albert Sidney Johnston | Table of Content | short description, Early life and education, Marriage and family, Texian Army, United States Army, Utah War, Slavery, American Civil War, Confederate command in Western Theater, Battle of Mill Springs, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Nashville, Concentration at Corinth, Battle of Shiloh and death, Legacy and honors, See also, Notes, References, Further reading, External links |
Android (robot) | Short description | thumb|Repliee Q2, an android, can mimic human functions such as blinking, breathing and speaking, with the ability to recognize and process speech and touch, and then respond in kind.
An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being, often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids existed only in the domain of science fiction and were frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot technology have allowed the design of functional and realistic humanoid robots.Ishiguro, Hiroshi. "Android science.", Cognitive Science Society, Osaka, 2005. Retrieved on 3 October 2013. |
Android (robot) | Terminology | Terminology
thumb|Early example of the term androides used to describe human-like mechanical devices, London Times, 22 December 1795
The Oxford English Dictionary traces the earliest use (as "Androides") to Ephraim Chambers' 1728 Cyclopaedia, in reference to an automaton that St. Albertus Magnus allegedly created.OED at "android" citing Ephraim Chambers, Cyclopædia; or, a universal dictionary of arts and sciences. 1728. By the late 1700s, "androides", elaborate mechanical devices resembling humans performing human activities, were displayed in exhibit halls.
The term "android" appears in US patents as early as 1863 in reference to miniature human-like toy automatons. The term android was used in a more modern sense by the French author Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam in his work Tomorrow's Eve (1886), featuring an artificial humanoid robot named Hadaly. The term made an impact into English pulp science fiction starting from Jack Williamson's The Cometeers (1936) and the distinction between mechanical robots and fleshy androids was popularized by Edmond Hamilton's Captain Future stories (1940–1944).
Although Karel Čapek's robots in R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) (1921)—the play that introduced the word robot to the world—were organic artificial humans, the word "robot" has come to primarily refer to mechanical humans, animals, and other beings. The term "android" can mean either one of these, while a cyborg ("cybernetic organism" or "bionic man") would be a creature that is a combination of organic and mechanical parts.
The term "droid", popularized by George Lucas in the original Star Wars film and now used widely within science fiction, originated as an abridgment of "android", but has been used by Lucas and others to mean any robot, including distinctly non-human form machines like R2-D2. The word "android" was used in Star Trek: The Original Series episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" The abbreviation "andy", coined as a pejorative by writer Philip K. Dick in his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, has seen some further usage, such as within the TV series Total Recall 2070.
While the term "android" is used in reference to human-looking robots in general (not necessarily male-looking humanoid robots), a robot with a female appearance can also be referred to as a gynoid. Besides one can refer to robots without alluding to their sexual appearance by calling them anthrobots (a portmanteau of anthrōpos and robot; see anthrobotics) or anthropoids (short for anthropoid robots; the term humanoids is not appropriate because it is already commonly used to refer to human-like organic species in the context of science fiction, futurism and speculative astrobiology).
Authors have used the term android in more diverse ways than robot or cyborg. In some fictional works, the difference between a robot and android is only superficial, with androids being made to look like humans on the outside but with robot-like internal mechanics. In other stories, authors have used the word "android" to mean a wholly organic, yet artificial, creation. Other fictional depictions of androids fall somewhere in between.
Eric G. Wilson, who defines an android as a "synthetic human being", distinguishes between three types of android, based on their body's composition:
the mummy type – made of "dead things" or "stiff, inanimate, natural material", such as mummies, puppets, dolls and statues
the golem type – made from flexible, possibly organic material, including golems and homunculi
the automaton type – made from a mix of dead and living parts, including automatons and robots
Although human morphology is not necessarily the ideal form for working robots, the fascination in developing robots that can mimic it can be found historically in the assimilation of two concepts: simulacra (devices that exhibit likeness) and automata (devices that have independence). |
Android (robot) | Projects | Projects
Several projects aiming to create androids that look, and, to a certain degree, speak or act like a human being have been launched or are underway. |
Android (robot) | Japan | Japan
thumb|Repliee Q2, a Japanese android
Japanese robotics have been leading the field since the 1970s. Waseda University initiated the WABOT project in 1967, and in 1972 completed the WABOT-1, the first android, a full-scale humanoid intelligent robot. Its limb control system allowed it to walk with the lower limbs, and to grip and transport objects with hands, using tactile sensors. Its vision system allowed it to measure distances and directions to objects using external receptors, artificial eyes and ears. And its conversation system allowed it to communicate with a person in Japanese, with an artificial mouth.Robots: From Science Fiction to Technological Revolution, page 130
In 1984, WABOT-2 was revealed, and made a number of improvements. It was capable of playing the organ. Wabot-2 had ten fingers and two feet, and was able to read a score of music. It was also able to accompany a person. In 1986, Honda began its humanoid research and development program, to create humanoid robots capable of interacting successfully with humans.
The Intelligent Robotics Lab, directed by Hiroshi Ishiguro at Osaka University, and the Kokoro company demonstrated the Actroid at Expo 2005 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan and released the Telenoid R1 in 2010. In 2006, Kokoro developed a new DER 2 android. The height of the human body part of DER2 is 165 cm. There are 47 mobile points. DER2 can not only change its expression but also move its hands and feet and twist its body. The "air servosystem" which Kokoro developed originally is used for the actuator. As a result of having an actuator controlled precisely with air pressure via a servosystem, the movement is very fluid and there is very little noise. DER2 realized a slimmer body than that of the former version by using a smaller cylinder. Outwardly DER2 has a more beautiful proportion. Compared to the previous model, DER2 has thinner arms and a wider repertoire of expressions. Once programmed, it is able to choreograph its motions and gestures with its voice.
The Intelligent Mechatronics Lab, directed by Hiroshi Kobayashi at the Tokyo University of Science, has developed an android head called Saya, which was exhibited at Robodex 2002 in Yokohama, Japan. There are several other initiatives around the world involving humanoid research and development at this time, which will hopefully introduce a broader spectrum of realized technology in the near future. Now Saya is working at the Science University of Tokyo as a guide.
The Waseda University (Japan) and NTT docomo's manufacturers have succeeded in creating a shape-shifting robot WD-2. It is capable of changing its face. At first, the creators decided the positions of the necessary points to express the outline, eyes, nose, and so on of a certain person. The robot expresses its face by moving all points to the decided positions, they say. The first version of the robot was first developed back in 2003. After that, a year later, they made a couple of major improvements to the design. The robot features an elastic mask made from the average head dummy. It uses a driving system with a 3DOF unit. The WD-2 robot can change its facial features by activating specific facial points on a mask, with each point possessing three degrees of freedom. This one has 17 facial points, for a total of 56 degrees of freedom. As for the materials they used, the WD-2's mask is fabricated with a highly elastic material called Septom, with bits of steel wool mixed in for added strength. Other technical features reveal a shaft driven behind the mask at the desired facial point, driven by a DC motor with a simple pulley and a slide screw. Apparently, the researchers can also modify the shape of the mask based on actual human faces. To "copy" a face, they need only a 3D scanner to determine the locations of an individual's 17 facial points. After that, they are then driven into position using a laptop and 56 motor control boards. In addition, the researchers also mention that the shifting robot can even display an individual's hair style and skin color if a photo of their face is projected onto the 3D Mask. |
Android (robot) | Singapore | Singapore
Prof Nadia Thalmann, a Nanyang Technological University scientist, directed efforts of the Institute for Media Innovation along with the School of Computer Engineering in the development of a social robot, Nadine. Nadine is powered by software similar to Apple's Siri or Microsoft's Cortana. Nadine may become a personal assistant in offices and homes in future, or she may become a companion for the young and the elderly.
Assoc Prof Gerald Seet from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and the BeingThere Centre led a three-year R&D development in tele-presence robotics, creating EDGAR. A remote user can control EDGAR with the user's face and expressions displayed on the robot's face in real time. The robot also mimics their upper body movements. |
Android (robot) | South Korea | South Korea
thumb|200px|EveR-2, the first android that can sing
KITECH researched and developed EveR-1, an android interpersonal communications model capable of emulating human emotional expression via facial "musculature" and capable of rudimentary conversation, having a vocabulary of around 400 words. She is tall and weighs , matching the average figure of a Korean woman in her twenties. EveR-1's name derives from the Biblical Eve, plus the letter r for robot. EveR-1's advanced computing processing power enables speech recognition and vocal synthesis, at the same time processing lip synchronization and visual recognition by 90-degree micro-CCD cameras with face recognition technology. An independent microchip inside her artificial brain handles gesture expression, body coordination, and emotion expression. Her whole body is made of highly advanced synthetic jelly silicon and with 60 artificial joints in her face, neck, and lower body; she is able to demonstrate realistic facial expressions and sing while simultaneously dancing. In South Korea, the Ministry of Information and Communication had an ambitious plan to put a robot in every household by 2020. Several robot cities have been planned for the country: the first will be built in 2016 at a cost of 500 billion won (US$440 million), of which 50 billion is direct government investment. The new robot city will feature research and development centers for manufacturers and part suppliers, as well as exhibition halls and a stadium for robot competitions. The country's new Robotics Ethics Charter will establish ground rules and laws for human interaction with robots in the future, setting standards for robotics users and manufacturers, as well as guidelines on ethical standards to be programmed into robots to prevent human abuse of robots and vice versa. |
Android (robot) | United States | United States
Walt Disney and a staff of Imagineers created Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln that debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Dr. William Barry, an Education Futurist and former visiting West Point Professor of Philosophy and Ethical Reasoning at the United States Military Academy, created an AI android character named "Maria Bot". This Interface AI android was named after the infamous fictional robot Maria in the 1927 film Metropolis, as a well-behaved distant relative. Maria Bot is the first AI Android Teaching Assistant at the university level. Maria Bot has appeared as a keynote speaker as a duo with Barry for a TEDx talk in Everett, Washington in February 2020.
Resembling a human from the shoulders up, Maria Bot is a virtual being android that has complex facial expressions and head movement and engages in conversation about a variety of subjects. She uses AI to process and synthesize information to make her own decisions on how to talk and engage. She collects data through conversations, direct data inputs such as books or articles, and through internet sources.
Maria Bot was built by an international high-tech company for Barry to help improve education quality and eliminate education poverty. Maria Bot is designed to create new ways for students to engage and discuss ethical issues raised by the increasing presence of robots and artificial intelligence. Barry also uses Maria Bot to demonstrate that programming a robot with life-affirming, ethical framework makes them more likely to help humans to do the same.
Maria Bot is an ambassador robot for good and ethical AI technology.
Hanson Robotics, Inc., of Texas and KAIST produced an android portrait of Albert Einstein, using Hanson's facial android technology mounted on KAIST's life-size walking bipedal robot body. This Einstein android, also called "Albert Hubo", thus represents the first full-body walking android in history. Hanson Robotics, the FedEx Institute of Technology, and the University of Texas at Arlington also developed the android portrait of sci-fi author Philip K. Dick (creator of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the basis for the film Blade Runner), with full conversational capabilities that incorporated thousands of pages of the author's works. In 2005, the PKD android won a first-place artificial intelligence award from AAAI. |
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