The Eastern Revolt (; RDL) is an

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

n nationalist organization that fought in the

war of independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

under the leadership of Daniel Chipenda.Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola-Workers' Party
Country-data The RDL drew its support from the

Ovimbundu The Ovimbundu, also known as the Southern Mbundu, are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group who live on the Bié Plateau of central Angola and in the coastal strip west of these highlands. As the largest ethnic group in Angola, they make up 38 pe ...

ethnic group.Westad, Odd Arne. ''The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times'', 2005. Page 217. In May 1966, Chipenda, then a member of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (, abbr. MPLA), from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the P ...

), established the Eastern Front, significantly expanding the MPLA's reach in Angola. When the EF collapsed, Chipenda and MPLA leader

Agostinho Neto António Agostinho Neto (17 September 1922 – 10 September 1979) was an Angolan Communism, communist politician and poet. He served as the first president of Angola from 1975 to 1979, having led the MPLA, Popular Movement for the Liberation of ...

each blamed the other's factions. In 1972, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

allied with Chipenda's faction, giving him aid. The Eastern Revolt also received aid from the governments of

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

.Stewart Lloyd-Jones and António Costa Pinto. ''The Last Empire: Thirty Years of Portuguese Decolonisation'', 2003. Pages 27-29. Chipenda left the MPLA in 1973, founding the Eastern Revolt with 1,500 former MPLA followers.George, Edward. ''The Cuban Intervention In Angola, 1965-1991: from Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale'', 2005. Page 46. He opposed the MPLA's

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

-leadership and was wary of the Soviet Union, despite its support. In 1973, the Soviet Union invited Neto to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and told him Chipenda planned to assassinate him. Although Chipenda joined the

National Liberation Front of Angola The National Front for the Liberation of Angola (; abbreviated FNLA) is a political party and former militant organisation that fought for Angolan independence from Portugal in the war of independence, under the leadership of Holden Roberto. F ...

(FNLA) in September 1974,Bennett, Andrew. ''Condemned to Repetition?: The Rise, Fall, and Reprise of Soviet-Russian Military Interventionism'', 1999. Page 152. the Eastern Revolt's existence continued and RDL forces fought against the MPLA in February 1975.

References

Rebel groups in Angola Angolan War of Independence Cold War {{ColdWar-stub