Angola–Cuba Declaration of 1984 on 11 November 1975, with Agostinho Neto becoming the first president, though the civil war continued. José Eduardo Dos Santos became the first elected President of Angola from the MPLA-LT and continued to get the support of Cuba. Angola was a colony of Portugal for more than 400 years from the 15th century. The demand for independence in Angola picked up momentum during the early 1950s. The Portuguese régime, refused to accede to the demands for independence, provoking an armed conflict that started in 1961 when freedom fighters attacked both white and black civilians in cross-border operations in northeastern Angola,
1960s in Angola exports doubled between 1965 and 1970 to 170 million pounds. In the district of Huambo, between 1968 and 1970 white-owned land more than doubled from 249,039 hectares to 526,270 hectares. Native-owned land decreased by 36.5%. The average African farm's gross income declined between 1964 and 1970 from $98.00 to $35.00 Portuguese petroleum-production began in Congo basin in the 1960s, and in the exclave of Cabinda in 1968. Now the petroleum industry is the engine of the Angolan economy. 1960s in Angola The 1960s in Angola were marked by the War of Independence (1961–1975). Portuguese police arrested Agostinho Neto of the