Maps have been a focus of attention ever since I was a child, imagining all the places I would go when I grew up. Now, as an adult, I realize that I won’t make it to most of the places I once fantasized about. My curiosity persists, however. So, instead of traveling to far away places, I’m working to learn about them from a distance.
In focus today is the city of Tchiowa. Tchiowa is a city that rests on the Atlantic coast of southwestern Africa, in the country of Angola. The city is often referred to as Cabinda, but it also rests within the province of Cabinda, so I’m using the local name of Tchiowa in order to make the distinction between the two more clear.
Tchiowa was a colonial possession of Portugal until 1975, as was Angola. However, as a Portugese colony, Cabinda was separate from Angola, with a name of its own: Portugese Congo. Since the end of Portugal’s colonial claims, there have been efforts among some residents and expatriates of Cabinda to achieve independence from Angola. The urge for independence has been fueled by three factors: 1) Cabinda’s distinct colonial status; 2) Cabinda’s geographic separation from the rest of Angola by a thin strip of what is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo; and 3) The deposits of petroleum off Cabinda’s 50-mile-long shoreline.
Exact numbers are disputed, but what is not argued is that the province of Cabinda is the source of the majority of Angola’s crude oil. Oil is the biggest Angola’s export, consisting about 90 percent of the nation’s export revenues. That makes Cabinda, though geographically peripheral, the center of Angola’s economic aspirations.
The area where the city now exists was, before colonial times, part of the Bantu kingdom of N’Goyo. Tchiowa itself was first established as a port for the slave trade, sitting on a cape with a port that makes it a convenient point for seafaring enterprises. The population of Tchiowa is now in the hundreds of thousands, though recent population estimates have varied widely. Portuguese and French influence brought the dominance of the Catholic Church in the city, though Protestant denominations have recently been proselytizing there. Indigenous cultural beliefs have persisted in spite of Christian efforts to eradicate them.
Descriptions of Tchiowa are generally general. Information from anyone who has direct experience with the city would be appreciated.
