Impact of South Africa Going Communist

I did read it in the 1990s but at moment can’t locate it. Will keep looking. If other Portuguese have any sources they can share be great.
John cann's Counterinsurency in africa. It focused on Angola, and Mozambique, but does mention briefly, Portuguese plans to protect its ethnic children abroad.
 
Of the 5 plus million whites in south Africa over 500,000 were either Portuguese and of Portuguese descendance. The Portuguese in the 1980s and 1990s had developed a plan to evacuate the Portuguese from South Africa in such an eventuality of it falling to the communist.

Interesting, do you have any source for that (i don't care if it's in portuguese)?

I'm not sure if there are (or were as many as 500 000) but Portuguese South Africans make up a significant minority in SA, particularly in Johannesburg. As far as I know, they are primarily Madeiran or came here via Mozambique and Angola.

There's a stupid joke in SA: when the Jews start emigrating it's time to go, when the Portuguese go, it's too late.

EDIT: Wiki has the number of Portuguese South Africans at 300 000.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_South_African
 

Lusitania

Donor
I'm not sure if there are (or were as many as 500 000) but Portuguese South Africans make up a significant minority in SA, particularly in Johannesburg. As far as I know, they are primarily Madeiran or came here via Mozambique and Angola.

There's a stupid joke in SA: when the Jews start emigrating it's time to go, when the Portuguese go, it's too late.

EDIT: Wiki has the number of Portuguese South Africans at 300 000.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_South_African

That is current data. In the 1980-1990s the number we had in Portuguese was closer to 5000,000. Emigration out of South Africa after fall of apartheid plus, deaths of original emigrantes and some New generation identity as South African as opposed to Portuguese.
 
Couldn't they use Angola as a base to attack Namibia or was UNITA and SADF too much of a barrier


Couldn't the various former Angolan, Mozambican and Zimbabwean groups advise them ?

Well, these were all things that could have happened in OTL and didn't.

I'm sure MPLA, ZANU-PF etc advised them, but didn't come to much.

I think the SADF was simply too good for MK at the time, the SADF would have wiped the floor with them in a conventional war, and probably even a guerrilla war. Which meant the ANC had to rely on other options, such as international pressure, civil disobedience etc.
 
A general proxy war in South Africa during the 60's instead of the one in Vietnam actually sounds like a fascinating idea - a shift in the US from SEA (possibly with an actual divergence of either Ho Chi Minh managing to wrangle a functioning united vietnam with US assistance rather than the US backing the French. We could also see a VERY different post colonial Africa starting to happen with this. This is certainly an interesting concept.
 

kernals12

Banned
A general proxy war in South Africa during the 60's instead of the one in Vietnam actually sounds like a fascinating idea - a shift in the US from SEA (possibly with an actual divergence of either Ho Chi Minh managing to wrangle a functioning united vietnam with US assistance rather than the US backing the French. We could also see a VERY different post colonial Africa starting to happen with this. This is certainly an interesting concept.
The US didn't really care about Africa. And I don't think LBJ would be able to get much backing to send US Troops to prop up a segregationist government.
 

Lusitania

Donor
Angola and Mozambique did both go communist in OTL.
Yes the Americans felt the presence of Portuguese was detrimental to their interest and did everything in their powers to weaken the Portuguese. They figured they would be able to support the “right” people do that these countries especially Angola be in their zone of influence. Hah
 
Savambi and Roberto could have made nice. Two brilliant, well connected visionaries fighting each other instead of Neto.
 
Top