Place · city

Benguela

Also known as São Filipe de Benguela

Benguela is a coastal city of western Angola, founded by the Portuguese in 1617 as São Filipe de Benguela. It became the second centre of Portuguese Angola after Luanda and a major port of the Atlantic slave trade, drawing captives from the central highland kingdoms such as Bailundo and Viye. The Dutch held it briefly in the 1640s. It is now the capital of Benguela province.

Benguela
Image: David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 5 state histories

Portuguese AngolaDutch AngolaWambu KingdomBailundo KingdomViye Kingdom

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Benguela. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/benguela
MLA
“Benguela.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/benguela. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Benguela.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/benguela.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Benguela’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/benguela (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻