Bié is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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

located on the

Bié Plateau The Bié Plateau or Central Plateau of Angola is a plateau that occupies most of central Angola. The elevation of the plateau is from 1,520 m to 1,824.8956 m. Several major rivers originate from the plateau such as the Cunene River, the Kuanza R ...

in central part of country. Its capital is Kuito, which was called Silva Porto until independence from Portugal in 1975. The province has an area of and a population of 1,455,255 in 2014. The current governor of Bié is José Amaro Tati.

Geography

Bié has boundaries with the province of

Malanje Malanje is the capital city of Malanje Province in Angola, with a population of 455,000 (2014 census), and a municipality, with a population of 506,847 (2014 census). Projected to be the thirteenth fastest growing city on the African continent be ...

, to the northeast with the province of

Lunda Sul :''Lunda Sul Province is not to be confused with Luanda Sul, a satellite city of Luanda, the capital of Angola.'' Lunda Sul ("South Lunda") is a province of Angola. It has an area of 77,637 km² and a 2014 census population of 537,587. Sa ...

, to Moxico, to the south with

Cuando Cubango Cuando Cubango (Umbundu: Kwando Kubango Volupale) is a province of Angola and it has an area of 199,049km2 and a population of 534,002 in 2014. Menongue is the capital of the province. The governor of the province is José Martins, who was appoin ...

and to the west with the provinces of Huila,

Huambo Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa (English: ''New Lisbon''), is the third-most populous city in Angola, after the capital city Luanda and Lubango, with a population of 595,304 in the city and a population of 713,134 in the municipality of Huambo (Cens ...

and Cuanza Sul.

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

of Bié is cool and abundant rainfall makes it possible to farm

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

and

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...

s. Its ground is among the most fertile in

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

History

The province was once an important commercial link between the Portuguese traders at the port of Benguela on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and the Ovimbundu in the interior. The capital and other cities in the province remain important commercial centers in Angola.

Origins of Jonas Savimbi

Bié province is perhaps best known as the place where the family of Angolan political leader Jonas Savimbi came from. Savimbi, although born in

Moxico Province Moxico (Portuguese spelling) or Moshiko (Bantu spelling) is the largest province of Angola. It has an area of , and covers 18% of the landmass of Angola. The province has a population of 758,568 (2014 census) and a population density of approxim ...

near Bié, was ethnically Bieno, i.e. of a subgroup of the Ovimbundu. He led the

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

movement first in the anti-colonial war against the Portuguese, and then in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

against the ruling

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social dem ...

before he was killed in combat in 2002. Savimbi gained global notoriety as a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

ally during the Cold War.

Civil War

Bié is one of the regions that was heavily affected by the Civil War. Agriculture came to a halt in several areas, and part of the rural population fled to the cities. The province capital Kuito was in part destroyed by bombing, as were roads and other infrastructures. Since 2002, reconstruction efforts have been important, but as of early 2011 much remained to be done.

Municipalities

The province of Bié contains nine

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

( pt, municípios): * Andulo * Camacupa * Catabola * Chinguar * Chitembo *

Cuemba Cuemba is a town and municipality in Bié Province in Angola. The municipality had a population of 56,963 in 2014. See also * Railway stations in Angola Railway stations in Angola include: Towns served by rail North line (Luanda Railwa ...

Cuíto Cuíto, formerly known as Silva Porto, is a city and municipality in central Angola, capital of Bié Province. The municipality had a population of 450,881 in 2014. Projected to be the tenth fastest growing city on the African continent between 2 ...

(Kuito) *

Cunhinga Cunhinga is a town and municipality in Bié Province in Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religi ...

* N'Harea (Nharea)

Communes

The province of Bié contains the following

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

( pt, comunas); sorted by their respective municipalities: * Andulo Municipality – Andulo, Calucinga, Cassumbe, Chivaúlo * Camacupa Municipality – Camacupa, Cuanza, Ringoma, Santo António da Muinha, Umpulo * Catabola Municipality – Caiuera (Caivera), Catabola

Chipeta Chipeta or White Singing Bird (1843 or 1844 – August 1924) was a Native American woman, and the second wife of Chief Ouray of the Uncompahgre Ute tribe. Born a Kiowa Apache, she was raised by the Utes in what is now Conejos, Colorado. An ad ...

, Chiuca, Sande * Chinguar Municipality – Cangote (Kangote), Chinguar, Cutato (Kutato) * Chitembo Municipality – Cachingues, Chitembo, Malengue, Mumbué, Mutumbo (Matumbo), Soma Cuanza * Cuemba Municipality –

, Luando, Munhango, Sachinemuna * Kuito Municipality – Cambândua, Chicala,

(Kuito), Cunje (Kunje),

Trumba Trumba is a city and commune of Angola, located in the province of Bié. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units in Angola after municipalities. The 163 municipalities of Angola are d ...

* Cunhinga Municipality – Belo Horizonte,

Cunhinga Cunhinga is a town and municipality in Bié Province in Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religi ...

* N'Harea Municipality – Calei (Caiei), Dando,

Gamba Gamba or Gambas may refer to: Geography *Gamba, Gabon, a port **Gamba Airport in Gamba, Gabon *Gamba, Chad, a town *Gamba County, Tibet People *Gamba (surname) *Gamba (footballer) (Carlos Alberto Gambarotta; 1893–1944), Brazilian footballer Ot ...

, Lúbia, N'Harea (Nharea)

List of governors of Bié

References

External links

Official website of province governor

Information on this province at the Angolan ministry for territorial administration

Information on this province at ''Info Angola''

Province geographical info at geoview.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bie Province Provinces of Angola