The settlement of Dundo was founded in 1912 after the discovery of diamonds in the Cuango River valley, located in the north-eastern border of Angola where it today adjoins the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Formed as a planned community to support the burgeoning mining operations, Dundo grew after the private investor company, Diamang were given the diamond mining concession in the entire region of Lunda, basing their headquarters in the town. Diamang was created under the auspices of Portugal, Angola's then colonial master, with further investment from other European nations. The region was mainly stable under colonial rule, but after independence in 1975, Angola was engulfed in civil war. This led to increased and unplanned population growth in the country's mining towns as people fled the insecurity of the countryside. In 1978 the Angolan government created the province of Lunda Norte and established the nearby town of Lucapa as the provincial capital. Up-until 1980 the mines south-east of Dundo annually produced close to 10 percent of the world's total gem-quality supply of diamonds. The effects of the Angolan civil war impacted Dundo's diamond mining operations. The rebel forces of UNITA sought to disrupt the governmental mining companies of Diamang and Endiama, by allowing workers to act as wildcat prospectors. This and the continued violence saw the collapse of Endiama in Dundo with the loss of 18,000 jobs. This resulted in miners turning to UNITA, who either took a cut of their profits or sold the diamonds to fund their resistance to the government, this practice was known as blood diamonds. In 2000, the government changed the provincial capital of Lunda Norte from Lucapa to Dundo due to its 'greater architectural design, size and economic importance'. A new settlement, New Dundo, is being built next to Dundo to cement the cities importance in the region.
Notable buildings
The city has its own airport, Dundo Airport. Built within the heart of Dundo, it has seen constant expansion throughout the 2010s, with a new terminal constructed in 2012, and an extended main runway in 2014 to allow larger aircraft to access the city. The Dundo Museum, built in the 1950s has been described as having "one of the most distinguished collections of ethnographic art from wooden traditional masks and wooden sculptures of the local heterogeneous Chokwe people". As well as traditional pieces it holds modern media collections, such as photographic and audio recordings of the indigenous people. Dundo is also home to Sagrada Esperança Stadium, the Diamond Hotel and Middle Polytechnic Institute.
Sport
The city is home to the football club G.D. Sagrada Esperança that plays in Girabola, the highest national championship. The team plays its home games in the city stadium, the Estádio Quintalão.
Religion
Since 2012, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Dundo is Bishop Estanislau Marques Chindekasse.
