Networking Liberation, Translating Revolution: China’s Support of Anti-colonial Struggles in Lusophone Africa (1954–1975)
Sun JY, Yuan M (2025)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Book chapter / Article in edited volumes
Publication year: 2025
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Edited Volumes: The Liberation of Portuguese Africa, 1961-75. International Exile and Solidarity
Series: Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies
City/Town: Cham
Pages Range: 197-221
ISBN: 978-3-031-85580-1
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-85581-8_8
Abstract
Anti-colonial struggles in Lusophone Africa were often violent, marked by armed conflicts—sometimes between the liberation movements themselves. This in-fighting was often a reflection of a decolonisation process significantly influenced by global geopolitics. Against the backdrop of the Cold War ideological competition, there was a tendency for African nationalists to establish contacts with and seek support from superpowers. The escalation of the Sino-Soviet split at the beginning of 1960 only heightened their competition for influence. To borrow from Mao Zedong’s famous quote, African nationalists like Viriato da Cruz resembled sporadic ‘sparks’, which would be mobilised into a revolutionary ‘prairie fire’ across the whole continent. Building on earlier accounts of China’s foreign policy towards Angola and Mozambique, this chapter will examine the particular role of Beijing as a home base for exiled members of liberation movements and activists of Lusophone Africa. We use mainly Chinese archival sources, African literature, and political biographies to demonstrate the diverse platforms and social networks used to facilitate relations between China and Lusophone Africa. The emphasis on distinctive and significant individual actors will enrich the existing narratives of solidarity and global mobility of liberation struggles in Lusophone Africa.
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APA:
Sun, J.Y., & Yuan, M. (2025). Networking Liberation, Translating Revolution: China’s Support of Anti-colonial Struggles in Lusophone Africa (1954–1975). In Pedro Aires Oliveira, Fernando Tavares Pimenta, Aurora Almada e Santos (Eds.), The Liberation of Portuguese Africa, 1961-75. International Exile and Solidarity. (pp. 197-221). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
MLA:
Sun, Jodie Yuzhou, and Mingqing Yuan. "Networking Liberation, Translating Revolution: China’s Support of Anti-colonial Struggles in Lusophone Africa (1954–1975)." The Liberation of Portuguese Africa, 1961-75. International Exile and Solidarity. Ed. Pedro Aires Oliveira, Fernando Tavares Pimenta, Aurora Almada e Santos, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2025. 197-221.
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