Luau is a town and municipality in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

in the province of Moxico on the border with the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Colonial period

Until independence, the town was called Teixeira de Sousa, having been named after the Portuguese Prime Minister

António Teixeira de Sousa António Teixeira de Sousa, 2nd Count of Sousa Palmela (5 May 1857 in Celeirós, Sabrosa – 5 June 1917 in Celeirós, Sabrosa; ) was a Portuguese medical doctor and politician during the Constitutional Monarchy. He graduated in Medicine at th ...

. The town once had a population of nearly 90,000 due to its creation as a stopping point on the Benguela railway, which continued east to cross the nearby

Luao River The Luao River forms part of the boundary between Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a right tributary of the Kasai River. Location The Luao River flows from south to north along the border between Moxico Province of Angola an ...

and enter

Dilolo Dilolo is a town in Lualaba province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lies within five miles of the eastern bank of the Luao River, the DRC-Angolan border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by feature ...

, where it connected to the Katanga rail network. It was developed as a railroad town by Sir Robert Williams, who was a friend of

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Br ...

. The town has downsized considerably since independence.

Transport

The Benguela railway connects Luau with the port of

Lobito Lobito is a Municipalities of Angola, municipality in Angola. It is located in Benguela Province, on the Atlantic Coast north of the Catumbela Estuary. The Lobito municipality had a population of 393,079 in 2014. History The city was founded in ...

, Angola to the rich minerals of the Katanga province of the then

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

. The railway and town were very successful until the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

, when the infrastructure of Angola, as well as most industry, ceased to be productive. As a result of the war, there are also considerable amounts of mine-fields around the town, making transportation and development considerably difficult. After the war, the railway was slowly rebuilt, and the first train reached Luau in August 2013.

Notes

Populated places in Moxico Province {{Angola-geo-stub

Colonial period

Transport

See also

Notes