Massangano Fort, Portuguese fort in Cambambe, Angola

Massangano Fort is a square-plan Portuguese fortification without corner bastions, standing on the bank of the Cuanza River. Ten gun emplacements open through its walls, and a vaulted tunnel leads from the landward gate-of-arms into the interior. On the terrace stand the Casa do Comando and the Quartel de Tropa; a stone inscription by the access ramp reads "First fortress / 1604 / National Monument".

Massangano Fort was built in 1583 on the Cuanza River, by Paulo Dias de Novais or, according to other authors, Manuel Cerveira Pereira, after the 1580 Battle of Massangano. It secured Portuguese occupation and the trade networks of the region. In 1640 Queen Ana de Sousa Ginga attacked it; her sisters Cambu and Fungi were captured and Fungi executed. When the Dutch took Luanda in 1641, the Portuguese withdrew here until Salvador Correia de Sá e Benevides retook Luanda in 1648.

The fort's name honours Nossa Senhora da Vitória, and its gate carries two bronze plaques: one marks the 1954 visit of General Craveiro Lopes, the other a 1948 gathering honouring those who resisted the Dutch. A stone inscription by the access ramp reads "First fortress / 1604 / National Monument".

The fort can be reached on land through a vaulted tunnel system that leads from the entrance gate. This underground passage connects the outer gate directly to the inner courtyard of the fortification.

Access to the fortress passes through an underground vaulted tunnel departing from the gate-house on the landward side. This hidden passage made the garrison less exposed to attacks coming from outside the walls.