ABSTRACT
Cabinda is an enclave of Angola and has boundaries with the Republic of Congo to the north and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south. Its geopolitical importance is based upon its petroleum resources. In a convention to the Angolo-Portuguese Treaty of 22 January 1815, Portugal laid claim to Cabinda but it was not until 1884, in a version of the same treaty, that Portuguese claims were acknowledged. On 14 February 1885, Portugal and the International Association of the Congo signed a treaty delimiting the CabindaCongo boundary, recognising Portuguese sovereignty in the area and guaranteeing the International Association a narrow corridor to the sea. The Front for the Liberation of Cabinda (FLEC), under its leader Captain Bonga Bonga, is active and Cabindans base their independence claim on the Treaty of Simulambuco, which first linked Cabinda to Angola but recognised its special status.
