Portuguese rule In 1882 approximately one thousand
Portuguese settlers came from the island of
Madeira to the area of current-day
Lubango. These Portuguese farmers helped develop the region and founded the settlement. The city, originally established in 1885 to serve colonists from the Madeira Islands, lies at an elevation of 1,760 metres in a valley of the
Huíla Plateau and was surrounded by a scenic park spreading up the mountain slopes. By 1910 there were over 1,700 ethnic Portuguese living in the settlement, which was referred to as "
Lubango". By 1923 the
Moçâmedes Railway had connected the settlement to the town of
Moçâmedes in the coast. The
Portuguese government made it a city and renamed it "Sá da Bandeira", after
Bernardo de Sá, 1st Marquess of Sá da Bandeira. Once the major centre of
Portuguese settlement, it was built in a
Portuguese style of architecture, with a
cathedral,
commerce hall, industrial hall, and a
secondary school, and, like every Portuguese city or town in the mainland and the overseas territories, it would have the Portuguese town hall, the hospital and the typical
CTT post office, besides banking (most prominently the
Banco Nacional Ultramarino - BNU), insurance and other services as well. The city developed as a notable
agricultural and
transportation centre, with its own airport and railway station, as well as major maintenance and repair facilities for them. Several
Basters (children of African and
Cape Colony Dutch descent) emigrated from
Namibia to Angola and settled in
Lubango, where they are known as the Ouivamo. Many of them were forced to return to
Namibia between 1928 and 1930 by white South Africans. In 1951, the
Portuguese colony of Angola was officially rebranded the
Overseas Province of Angola.
Post independence After Angola's Independence from
Portugal due to the events of the April 25, 1974
Carnation Revolution in
Lisbon, the city was once again renamed Lubango. During the
Angolan Civil War (1975–2002),
Lubango served as a major base of
Cuban,
SWAPO, and government troops. Its once-thriving economy plummeted. == Economy ==