1961 UPA uprising

The 1961 UPA uprising began on 15 March in northern Angola, when the UPA gave the signal for an uprising by armed Bakongo against non-Bakongo. The revolt’s targeting of Portuguese civilians and Angolans from other communities, and its suppression by the Portuguese Army, made it a defining episode in the early armed conflict: violence was followed by a massacre of Bakongo and the flight of many Bakongo across the border to Zaïre.

Background and Outbreak

The account places the uprising within the opening phase of Angola’s liberation struggle. It distinguishes the event from the MPLA fighters’ attack on Luanda’s Casa de Reclusão Militar on 4 February 1961, which it identifies as the commencement of the armed struggle. The UPA’s signal on 15 March initiated a separate revolt in the north, organized around Bakongo identity and directed against people outside that group.

Targets and Suppression

The uprising’s victims included Portuguese civilians and Angolan mulattoes, Ovimbundu, and Kimbundu. The account characterizes the revolt as racist and emphasizes that its violence crossed community lines rather than being confined to confrontations with Portuguese colonial forces. The Portuguese Army suppressed the insurrection, bringing the uprising to an end.

Aftermath and Political Context

Suppression did not end the violence. The account records a dreadful massacre of Bakongo and the emigration of large numbers of Bakongo to Zaïre, consequences that extended the crisis beyond the uprising itself and displaced many people from the north.

In the following year, the UPA changed its name to the FNLA. The account identifies Holden Roberto as its leader and describes the organization as strictly tribal, rooted in Bakongo political aims. That later development provides context for the movement’s identity, but it is distinct from the March 1961 uprising and its immediate aftermath.