The Genesis of the New Currency Units and Banking Systems in the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries. The Co-operation with Portugal

Decolonisation brought different geopolitical positions for coloniser and ex-colonised countries. Following independence, many African countries created Currency Boards as credit organizations with government sponsorship. The newly-independent Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa occupied and transformed the local agencies of the colonial issuing banks into their National Banks, which later would issue new currencies and assume central banking functions. The national currencies were named escudo in Cabo Verde, peso in Guiné-Bissau, dobra in São Tomé e Príncipe, kwanza in Angola, and metical in Moçambique, which are symbols of political sovereignty. Following independence, in spite of the implementation of socialist-communist political blueprints in the newly independent countries, many co-operation agreements were implemented for trade and international movements of capital, thanks to Portuguese commercial bank credit lines for these purposes.