Portuguese Colonial War and political rights, corruption, poverty, inequality, and failed central planning eroded the initial revolutionary zeal. A level of social order and economic development comparable to what had existed under Portuguese rule, including during the period of the Colonial War, became the goal of the independent territories. The former Portuguese territories in Africa became sovereign states, with Agostinho Neto in Angola, Samora Machel in Mozambique, Luís Cabral in Guinea-Bissau, Manuel Pinto da Costa in São Tomé and Príncipe, and Aristides Pereira in Cape Verde as the heads of state. When the Portuguese began trading on the west coast of Africa, in
American Portuguese American Portuguese Portuguese is the largest language of South America. It is the sole official language of Brazil and is a co-official language of several regional organizations, notably Mercosul, UNASUL, ACTO, CELAC, the Rio Group, and ALADI. The main varieties of Portuguese spoken in South America are Brazilian Portuguese (spoken by the vast majority), Uruguayan Portuguese and a mixed variety known as Portunhol. Brazil is the largest country in which Portuguese is spoken in all of the Americas, with a population of approximately 200 million people, almost all of whom are native speakers of Portuguese. The size of this population