Kingdom of Kongo
Angola, 1395–1888. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Kingdom of Kongo was a kingdom in Central Africa, located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. The kingdom consisted of several core provinces ruled by the Manikongo, the Portuguese version of the Kongo title Mwene Kongo, meaning "lord or ruler of the Kongo kingdom". The mission returned with Cão, who was accompanied with Catholic priests and soldiers in 1491, baptising Nzinga a Nkuwu, who took the Christian name of João I in honour of Portugal's king at the time, João II. In 1914, following the Portuguese suppression of a Kongo revolt, Portugal abolished the titular monarchy.
Seat of power: M'banza-Kongo
Rulers
João I of Kongo
Manikongo, 1470–1506
King João I was the 5th ManiKongo of the Kingdom of Kongo between 1470 and 1509. He was baptised on 3 May 1491 and took the Portuguese Christian name of João. ManiKongo Nzinga-a-Nkuwu João I abandoned the new faith in 1495 for a number of reasons, one of them being the Catholic Church's requirement of monogamy.
Portrait of João I of Kongo: Pierre Duflos, Public domain, file
Afonso I of Kongo
Manikongo, 1509–1543
He reigned over the Kongo Empire from 1509 to late 1542 or 1543. As king, Afonso centralized governmental power in his capital city at Mbanza Kongo, curtailed the power of the Kongolese nobility, and expanded the kingdom's borders through war. Unlike previous Kongolese kings, he remained a Catholic throughout his life, and worked aggressively to convert his kingdom to Christianity.
Portrait of Afonso I of Kongo: Affricoll9, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Diogo I Nkumbi a Mpudi
Manikongo, 1545–1561
Diogo was the grandson of king Afonso I of Kongo and won the throne after overthrowing his uncle Pedro Nkanga a Mvemba, forcing him to take refuge in a church in São Salvador, and after the short reign of his cousin Francisco. In 1555, the king cut all ties with the Portuguese whom he saw as meddlesome and a threat to the kingdom and expelled all 70 Portuguese inhabitants from the kingdom.
Portrait of Diogo I Nkumbi a Mpudi: Affricoll9, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Álvaro I of Kongo
Manikongo, 1567–1587
He was a Manikongo (Mwene Kongo), or king of Kongo, and the founder of the Kwilu dynasty. The Jagas, however, did create a major problem for Álvaro, who had to abandon the capital of Mbanza Kongo, and flee to an island in the Congo River. From that place, he sought help from Portugal to restore him to the throne and expel the Jagas.
Portrait of Álvaro I of Kongo: Unknown author, Public domain, file
Álvaro II of Kongo
Manikongo, 1587–1614
He was king of Kongo from 1587 to 1614, and one of Kongo's most powerful and important kings. During Álvaro's reign, the capital city, M'banza-Kongo was recognized as the capital of the diocese of then Portuguese Congo and Angola, and the first bishop was appointed, in 1596.
Garcia II of Kongo
Manikongo, 1641–1660
He ruled the Kingdom of Kongo from 23 January 1641 to 1660. He is sometimes considered Kongo's greatest king for his religious piety and his near expulsion of the Portuguese from Angola. He also participated in the Atlantic slave trade.
João II of Lemba
Manikongo, 1680–1716
He ruled the Kingdom of Lemba from 1680 to 1716. João II Nzuzi a Ntamba was a ruler of Lemba and was one of the main Kinlaza claimants to the throne of the Kingdom of Kongo during its civil war, the other being the King of Kibangu.
Peter IV of Kongo
Manikongo, 1696–1718
He is noted for restoring the country and ending the civil war that had raged since 1666. He claimed the throne upon the death of his brother, but as he was not crowned in São Salvador, he was not considered fully legitimate.
Manuel II du Kongo
Manikongo, 1718–1743
He ruled the Kingdom of Kongo from 1718 until 1743. He ruled in a period of "rotating lineages" as planned by his predecessor and was of the Kimpanzu.
Portrait of Manuel II du Kongo: Affricoll9, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Garcia IV of Kongo
Manikongo, 1743–1752
Garcia IV was ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo from 1743 until 1752. He ruled in a period of "rotating lineages", which was a plan reportedly devised by Pedro IV of Kongo.
Portrait of Garcia IV of Kongo: Affricoll9, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Alvare XI du Kongo
Manikongo, 1764–1779
He was ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo (1764-1779) from the Kinlaza house. He overthrew Pedro V, who had opposed the rotational succession imposed by Pedro IV.
Garcia V du Kongo
Manikongo, 1803–1830
He was ruler (Manikongo) of the Kingdom of Kongo from 1803 until January 1830. He returned the Kingdom of Kongo to the rule of the Água Rosada dynasty, founded by Pedro IV, after a number of Kinlaza kings.
André II of Kongo
Manikongo, 1825–1842
He was the first child of the Manikongo Garcia V Nkanga Mvemba. He was eventually overthrown by Henrique III, though he survived but never regained the throne.
Henri III du Kongo
Manikongo, 1842–1857
He was ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo from the Kivuzi branch of the Kinlaza house, who reigned from 1842 until 1857. Henrique came to power when he overthrew his predecessor, André II.
Pedro VI of Kongo
Manikongo, 1859–1891
He was king of Kongo from 7 August 1859 to February 1891. In order to obtain this aid, Pedro swore vassalage to Portugal, the first Kongo king ever to do so. He also managed to re-concentrate population in São Salvador and rebuild the capital.
Portrait of Pedro VI of Kongo: Cunha Moraes, Public domain, file
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Culture
- Upon his ascension as king in 1509, Afonso I worked to create a viable version of the Catholic Church in Kongo, providing for its income from royal assets and taxation that provided salaries for its workers.
- Starting in the 14th century (and reaching its height in the 17th century), the kings of the Kongo forcibly relocated captured peoples to the royal capital at M'banza-Kongo.
- By the early seventeenth century the city and its hinterland had a population of around 100,000, or nearly one out of every six inhabitants in the Kingdom (according to baptismal statistics compiled by a Jesuit priest in 1623), while the kingdom as a whole numbered some 780,000.
- Oral traditions about the early history of the country were set in writing for the first time in the late 16th century.
Picture
At its greatest extent it reached from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Kwango River in the east, and from the Congo River in the north to the Kwanza River in the south.
Image: Oren neu dag, Public domain, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.