Wednesday, May 15, 2013


Kingdom of Kongo also known as Kongo dya Ntotila or Wene wa Kongois ranks among the most famous kingdoms in sub-Saharan Africa. The kingdom located in southwest Africa. It is now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The empire consisted of six provinces ruled by a monarch, the Manikongo of the Bakongo (Kongo peoples).

                   BANZA KONGO , Capital of the Kingdom of Kongo


                                 Map of Kingdom of Kongo

When the leader of the first Portuguese expedition, the navigator Diogo Cao, landed in 1483 in the Zaïre estuary, he was astonished to discover the existence of a centralised political state, an African replica of the Portuguese kingdom (Vansina 1966; Randles 1968; Ekholm 1972). The Portuguese first dealt with this kingdom accordingly, on a more or less equal basis, exchanging ambassadors.

                               Portuguese audience bowing before the King of Kongo

 The king of Kongo was baptised in 1491 by the Portuguese who gave him the name of their king, Joao. Under his successor, Afonso, Christianity spread even further throughout the kingdom. However, instead of becoming a religion of the masses, it was adopted by a small ruling elite who made it a royal cult, reinforcing their political authority. One of Afonso’s sons was even ordained a bishop as early as 1518, the first black bishop ever.

Capuchin Missionary and his Entourage being Greeted in Front of Village, Sogno, Kingdom of Kongo, 1740s Paola Collo and Silvia Benso ,Sogno Bamba, Pemba, Ovando (Milan, 1986)

 The missionaries, who were mainly Jesuits and Capucins, the traders and officials, left behind a vivid description of the development of the kingdom which permitted a detailed reconstruction of the daily lives of its inhabitants at a time when their civilization was at its peak (Balandier 1965). Their highly centralized political structure allowed them to rule over an area of 150,000 km2, almost the size of Uganda, stretching south of the Zaïre estuary. They acquired a mastery of metallurgy, law, weaving and textiles. The art of the Kongo remains, even today, one of the most elaborate in Africa, making use of wood, cloth, terra cotta
and even stones. Kongo not only survived contact with the Portuguese but continued expansion and development into a centralized state until the start of the civil wars in the late seventeenth century (Thorton 1979; Thorton 1983; Hilton 1985). The memory of this magnificent kingdom which proclaimed very early the achievements of black men, is still present in the minds of many intellectuals and leaders of Africa today.

                             The Kingdom of Kongo (1400– 1914)

Origin of  Kongo Kingdom
From 500 B.C.E, some Bantu-speaking people began migrating south and east from a region south of the Sahara near the present-day Cameron. By 500 B.C.E, the Bantu population were firmly established in the savanna region near Congo (formerly Zaire) River in what is today known as northern Angola. There they cultivated the land using the iron-technology they brought, raise animals, made iron tools and weapons to conquer the indigenous San people (Bushmen), and developed a complex social and political systems.
The Kingdom of Kongo was formed around 1375. Traditions collected in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries attribute the foundation of the kingdom to a mythical hero Ntinu Lukeni (circa 1380-1420)  who, coming from the north, crossed the Zaïre river and conquered the area south of it. According to Historian Jean Cuvelier "Lukeni lua Nimi or Nimi a Lukeni, became the founder of Kongo when he conquered the kingdom of the Mwene Kabunga (or Mwene Mpangala), which lay upon a mountain to his south, after crossing Nzadi from his father's kingdom on the north bank, the historical kingdom of Vungu. The original inhabitants of the area were large-headed dwarfs called BaMbakambaka, Mbwidi-Mbodila, and BaFula Mengo. He transferred his rule to this mountain, the Mongo dia Kongo or "mountain of Kongo", and made Mbanza Kongo, the town there, his capital. Two centuries later the Mwene Kabunga's descendants still symbolically challenged the conquest in an annual celebration. The rulers that followed Lukeni all claimed some form of relation to his kanda or lineage and were known as the Kilukeni. The Kilukeni kanda or "house" as recorded in Portuguese documents would rule Kongo unopposed until 1567."  The king of Kongo thereafter was the embodiment of the cosmological world of the Bakongo, he had direct links with the forces that affected its prosperity, he controlled the weather, he could summon the dead, and he was able to bless his subjects with a movement of his fingers.

After the death of Nimi a Lukeni, his brother, Mbokani Mavinga, took over the throne and ruled until approximately 1367. He had two wives and nine children. His rule saw an expansion of the Kingdom of Kongo to include the neighbouring state of Loango and other areas now encompassed by the current Republic of Congo.


The Portuguese first arrived in Kongo in 1485, and were regarded as visitors from the land of the dead. Nzinga Nkuwu, king of the Bakongo was baptised in 1491, and while he gave up Christianity two or three years later, his son Afonso, persisted in the faith. During the 16th Century efforts to convert all the Bakongo continued through the work of the Jesuits.


From the end of the 'old kingdom' in 1678, to the arrival of the colonial administration, the slave trade and a free sense of trade between Africans and Europeans dominated the costal region and certainly influenced the future developments in Kongo society.

The geographic context
 The coastal zone of the kingdom was sparsely populated with a concentration of settlements in the river valleys to the south where rainfall was poor and irregular, and on the hills near the Zaïre river where the best water and also the most productive part of that zone was to be found. The zone incorporated the provinces of Sonyo near the estuary and of Mbamba further south.

About 100 km inland to the east is a more hospitable hilly area, rising to a ridge over 1000 m high and with an annual rainfall above 1000 mm. Most of the soils were relatively fertile, temperatures moderate, the vegetation being a mixture of savannahs and woodlands. This zone was densely populated, especially in the north eastern part which contained the provinces of Nsundi, Mpangu and Mbata. The provinces of Mpemba, Wembo and Wandu were also located in this zone. Further east, stretches the vast Kalahari sands plateau, infertile and very sparselypopulated, which was drawn into the kingdom in the sixteenth century (Hilton 1985, pp. 1–5). Hilton (1985, pp. 7–8) gives a good summary of the settlement pattern:
"The people’s primary economic activities – long fallow agriculture and arboriculture
supplemented by animal husbandry, hunting, and collecting – determined that
settlement was normally dispersed. The village, libata, which were descent based,
were very small, probably counting no more than thirty houses. There were also
innumerable dispersed hamlets called ki-belo, a term which indicated that a lineage
segment had established a settlement or worked a field. The towns, called mbanza,
which evolved as a result of trade, refugee settlement or concentrations of power,
were essentially areas of denser settlement on the same pattern with small settlements
interspersed with cultivated fields.
The overall population density was probably not high – perhaps fewer than four
persons per square kilometre in the mid-seventeenth century and the land teemed with
wild and often dangerous animals."
Each province of the kingdom had a capital named after it, thus Mbanza Sundi for the province of
Sundi. According to Hilton (1985, p. 34):
"The governors established their capitals in the most fertile parts of the provinces.
Mbanza Sonyo, for example, was located in the Zaïre estuary in the northwest. This
was the best watered and the most populous part of a generally arid province. Mbanza
Mbamba, which governed an even less hospitable region, was located in the wetter,
northern part of the province in a fertile region south of the River Mbrije. The capital
of the central province of Mpemba was strategically located away from Mbanza
Kongo at its southern extremity in a fertile region on the River Loje. The eastern
capitals, Mbanzas, Nsundi, Mpangu and Mbata were all located in the fertile Nkisi
Valley near the eastern frontier of the kingdom."
One should note that the name ‘Mbanza’ derives from a proto-Bantu root, banja, which probably originally meant ‘ground made ready for building’, which evolved into courtyard,building site and in the Bantu linguistic zone H, among the Kongo, ‘important village where the chief lives’, ‘main village’, ‘town’, or even ‘cemetery’ (Grégoire 1976).
Kongo man in loin cloth. This 1786 engraving gives an exact description of their clothing . . . their loincloth is made from 'macout' a local term meaning fabric made from straw. With the advent of trade with Europeans, the loincloth came to be made of various fabrics, including linen, cotton, silk, or even velvet. They are excessively decorated with red coral, the ultimate luxury . . . Rich people wear a long silver chain that fits low around their waist. But out of their apparel, the most important is a fur pelt with groups of small bells that they wear near their 'natural parts'; it is what they call their 'canda'. This means skin. This part of their clothing is their seal of honor" (pp. 70-72;).

 The Portuguese and Christianity
King Joao I of the Kongo, 16th century [14]
King Joao I of the Kingdom of kongo





Catholic Priest Burning Idol House, Sogno, Kingdom of Kongo, 1740s Paola Collo and Silvia Benso ,Sogno Bamba, Pemba, Ovando (Milan, 1986)


Capuchin Missionary Witnessing a Tournament, Sogno, Kingdom of Kongo, 1740s Paola Collo and Silvia Benso ,Sogno Bamba, Pemba, Ovando (Milan, 1986)

The spatial organization of Mbanza Kongo

Mbanza Kongo is situated on a rocky hill which rises 559 meters, overlooking the surroundings, the summit being a plateau seven km. in length. From the top, one has a sweeping view. Because of its location, the Portuguese called it Outeiro, which means ‘height’. But the inhabitants called it Mbanza Kongo, the city of Kongo, Mbanza Kongo dia Ntotelo, the Kongo city of the king; Kongo dia Wene, Kongo of the founder or Kongo of authority; Kongo dia Ngunga, Kongo of the bell, which referred to the many churches built in the royal city.

                           BANZA KONGO , Capital of the Kingdom of Kongo

The founder chose this location because it offered the dual advantage of an almost central position in the kingdom and a natural defence against enemy attack. Furthermore, on the plateau, according to Pigafetta (1591, Vol. I, p. 39), is the soil ‘fertile, the air fresh, healthy and pure; there are many springs of drinkable water which never hurts one’s health, in any season’. The abundance, the exceptional purity of the water and the fertility of the land also struck a German traveller, Bastian (1859, pp. 123–5), in the nineteenth century. In O. Dapper’s book (1668), there is an etching drawn from memory which shows the capital erected on top of a cliff overlooking the Lunda river and the narrow valley.

Early in the eighteenth century, Laurent de Lucques again recognized the quality of the city: ‘This city occupies the best location in the kingdom, on very beautiful hills. Thanks to its altitude, the air is mild ... The population lived in opulence because this was the metropolis of the vast kingdom where the riches of the provinces were flowing’ (Cuvelier 1953, p. 257).

When the first Portuguese ambassador reached Mbanza Kongo in 1491, 7 years before reaching Mombasa, the city was already quite spread out, according to Cuvelier (1946, pp. 72–4) who gives us a detailed description:
"The streets were not aligned, nor the houses in the ancient Kongo kingdom, no
avenues lined with palms nor ornamental trees. Narrow paths were running in all
directions through the tall grass. The living quarters of the most important people
were located close to the king’s quarters. Spread out, according to their taste or their

fancy, they occupied sometimes quite a considerable space. The houses were made of
straw without any ornaments, except inside, where there would be a palm cloth
hanging on the wall, representing an antelope or an other animal. The houses of the
important people could be distinguished from those of the simple ones, because they
were larger and had more painted palm cloths. The houses were surrounded by a fence
made from very strong trees: the mingienge with juicy fruits like prunes, mpesempese, African poplars, cactus (diiza) with a sap which could poison spearheads and
war knives. Toward the north, the mountain was crowned with dark woods, a sacred
place where the noise of a hatchet was never heard. Palms, baobabs and many trees
stood there and this was where the ancient kings were buried. The founder of the
kingdom of Ntinu Wene was buried there. To the south, there was a large courtyard
called Mbazi ou Mbazi Nkanu, the court of justice, because there, under a huge wild
fig tree ... which shaded a corner of the place, the kings used to administer justice. It
was a large open space where crowds would gather to receive the king’s blessing, to
watch dances and triumphal parades.
Not far from this public place was the king’s residence or enclosure, which was
called lumbu by the natives. This enclosure was more than one thousand meters in
circumference and was made of pales tied together with lianas ...
At the gates, mavitu were standing the royal guards and some horn blowers. Inside the
fence, there was a courtyard; then one could see another fence, in the middle of which
was the king’s house. One could only reach it through a labyrinth. The only difference
between this and the other houses, was that this one was more spacious. Inside the
royal enclosure, the queen had her residence surrounded by huts with her followers
who accompanied her when she left the enclosure."

16th century cathedral (built in 1549), which many Angolans claim is the oldest church in sub-Saharan Africa. (The church, known locally as nkulumbimbi, is now said to have been built by angels overnight. It was elevated to the status of cathedral in 1596. Pope John Paul II visited the site during his tour of Angola in 1992.)

This description shows well that this urban centre resembled many big villages in central Africa with living quarters spread out and surrounded by hedges and gardens. The layout of the capital was probably not very different from the provincial centre, the clustering of the population resulting essentially from the presence of the king or an important chief. The mbanza political centers exist only in relation to the holder of power and their evolution is linked. Built of earth, wood, straw and palms, these cities were fragile and their rise and fall was linked to the person who exercised the power. As elsewhere in central Africa, this type of centre gravitates around the king’s or the governor’s compound with their households, the courtyard and the sacred woods often used as a cemetery for the ancestors’ graves. Those different elements put into space the sacred king, a sort of symbolic mechanism which mediates between nature and culture. From this symbolic nucleus, the urban centre spreads and stretches following the evocative image of Balandier (1965, p. 141). The resulting settlement is a city, if one considers the number of people and a village, even if out of proportion, if one considers its aspect and structure.
Female Clothing, Angola, 1786 87 Louis de Grandpre, Voyage a la cote occidentale dAfrique, fait dans les annees 1786 et 1787 (Paris, 1801)

At the end of the sixteenth century, using information provided by Duarte Lopez, Pigafetta (1591, Vol. II, p. 40) described Mbanza Kongo, as it was modified by the Portuguese influence.
"The town is erected in the corner of this summit, facing south. Dom Afonso, the first
christian king surrounded it by walls. He assigned to the Portuguese a distinct area
also surrounded by walls. He also enclosed his palace and the royal house, leaving in
between those two enclosures a large open space where the principal church was
erected. In front of it is a square. The doors, both of the nobles’ residences and of the
Portuguese houses, opened on the church side. At the entrance of the main square,
some noblemen from the court have their household. Behind the church, the square
leads to a narrow street with a door. If one exits through it one finds many houses on
the east side. Outside the walls which surround the king’s household and the
Portuguese city, many constructions belonging to various noblemen each one
occupying, without any order, the place he likes, so as to live close to the court. So it
is not possible to estimate the size of this city outside of the two enclosures, as all the
countryside is scattered with rural houses and palaces. Each nobleman, in his
compound, is walled in like a village. The perimeter of the Portuguese city measures
almost a mile, the one of the royal quarters almost the same. The walls are very thick.
At night, the gates are not closed and not even guarded."

Clothing Styles, Kingdom of Loango, late 17th cent D O Dapper, Description de l Afrique (Amsterdam,1686)

According to another testimony from the end of the sixteenth century: ‘In the capital San Salvador, there is more than one hundred Portuguese merchants and more than a thousand others born in Portugal. Their houses are in an area of the city separated from the blacks.’ (Cuvelier & Jadin 1954, p. 137)
So, as early as the end of the sixteenth century, Mbanza Kongo had the look of a colonial city, with two cities co-existing: the European city, built to last, commercial, with six or seven churches, an Episcopalian see, students and the indigenous city, a sort of fragile ‘village-city’ which had grown like a giant village much in the same way the African suburbs around modern African towns.
Even if there is a correlation between the development of the Kongo political organization and the birth of elementary urban civilization as noted by Balandier (1965, p. 140), one must admit that we do not have here an urban tradition similar to those of the old West African cities, probably due to the materials used for building and to the lack of a monumental architectural tradition. In l687, Dapper (1668, p. 343) published a reconstructed view of Mbanza Kongo and described the city:
"The summit of the mountain is occupied by houses built close to each other. The
persons of quality own most of them and erect walled-in buildings which resemble a
little city. The houses of the ordinary people are lined up following various streets.
They are rather big but their walls are made only of straw except for some of them
which are made by the Portuguese in beaten earth with a thatched roof. The king’s
palace is as big as an ordinary city."


It is enclosed by four walls, one overlooking the Portuguese quarter, is made of lime and stone; the others are made of straw, but very neatly done. The walls of the interior rooms are decorated with woven straw tapestries. In the interior enclosure of the Palace, there are gardens and groves with beautiful bowers and pavilions, exquisite for this country, although in fact it is not very much. There are ten or twelve churches, the Cathedral, seven chapels in the city and three churches in the Prince’s palace. There is also a Jesuit convent where three or four of these fathers teach catechism every day to the people, and schools where Latin and Portuguese are taught.
There are two fountains, one in Saint James street and another in the Palace courtyard, which give an abundance of fresh water, even without having to re-do or maintain the aqueducts. Furthermore, there is a branch of the Lelunde river, called Vefe which exits at the bottom of the mountain east of the city; its water is very good, the people draw from it and use it to water and fertilize the surrounding countryside. There are pigs and goats, but few sheep and cows; the animals are closed up at night in pens which are inside the city near the houses.

Estimates of the population of Mbanza Kongo given by various authors vary. At the end of the sixteenth century, Pigafetta (1591, Vol. II, § 1) said that more than 100,000 people lived there and this is probably exaggerated. An anonymous text dated 1595 talks about 10,000 fires (Brasio 1954, Vol. III, pp. 500–4). At the same period, Carmelite missionaries mentioned 30,000 inhabitants in the capital. Around 1604, the dean of the cathedral counted 2000 households. (Balandier 1965, p. 140). Later, in the second half of the seventeenth century, Dapper (1668, p. 343) estimated the population at 40,000 inhabitants. At the same period, Cavazzi (1687) stated that the capital could hold 60,000 people during peace time. (Labat 1732, Vol. I, p. 212 after Cavazzi 1687).
Outside of the Kongo Kingdom, north of the Zaire River, Dapper (1668, pp. 320-1) visited the city of Loango. He left us with a remarkable illustration of this seventeenth century city, also called Mbanza Louangiri or Bwali, now in the Congo Republic (Hagenbucher-Sacripanti 1973, p. 69). According to him: ‘this city was almost the same size as Rouen, but the buildings did not touch each other’.

Economic structure

17th century painting of the dutch painter Albert Eckhout showing two emissaries of the Kingdom of Kongo in Brazil holding the two main sources of wealth in west africa, an ivory tusk and a jewel box.


A Covered Litter, Kingdom of Kongo, late 17th cent D O Dapper, Description de l Afrique (Amsterdam,1686)

Political structure

Capuchin Missionary being Greeted by Village Head, Sogno, Kingdom of Kongo, 1740s Paola Collo and Silvia Benso ,Sogno Bamba, Pemba, Ovando (Milan, 1986)


                                Court of Luango

Favorite servant of the king of Congo, after Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur (1757-1810). Late 18th century.

African Kongo Nobleman (17th century painting of the dutch painter Albert Eckhout showing the nobleman Don Miguel de Castro from the Kingdom of Kongo during a commercial trip to the Portuguese colony of Brazil)


Military structure

Kongo Religion
Nzambi Kalunga or Nzambi Mpungu Tulendo was the main God of the Kongo Kingdom. The people believed that he/she is the creator and the ultimate source of power (he is the supreme being and is thought to be omnipotent). They also believed in lesser spirits and matrilineal ancestors buried on their land are constant sources of life and well-being as well as on fertility and the continuity of the community. It was their belief that lesser gods and ancestral spirit mediate between humanity and the supreme being and that evil, disorder, and injustice are the result of such base human motives as greed, envy, or maliciousness.
The religion relied on Tax collection to protect against illness and disasters from angry gods. The king was heavily involved in the religion and was named the nzambi mpungu (superior spirit). Although they adored him, they did not believe that he could deal with disease, death, and famine with without a help from their gods.

The Kongo believe in a cosmos divided in two, 'this world' (nza yayi) and 'the land of the dead' (nsi a bafwa). The two worlds are divided by a body of water, traditionally called Kalunga, and also known as nlangu (water), m'bu (ocean), or nzadi (great river). Life in that sense is a cyclical and repetitive movement between the two worlds mentioned above, resembling the path of the sun. At the rising and setting of the sun then, the living and the dead exchange day and night.
In Kongo belief, man's life does not end, it constitutes a cycle, and death is merely a transition in the process of change. Following that belief, a man's soul does not dwell in the grave after his death but leaves it to become a ghost (n'kuyu) in the land of the dead, which is called ku mpemba a fula.
The sun constitutes a daily important symbol in Kongo life, because it is a sign of the constant cycle of life, so that at the rising and setting of the sun the living and the dead exchange day and night. The setting of the sun symbolizes man's death and its rising his rebirth, or the continuity of his life. Rising = beginning, birth, regrowth; ascendancy = maturity, responsibility; setting = handing on, death, transformation; midnight = existence in the other world, eventual birth. The sun therefore ultimately symbolizes the path of the soul.

Art of the Kongo Kingdom

Slavery and royal rivalries


Problems also arose between Diogo and the Portuguese settlers at Sao Tome known as Tomistas. According to a treaty between Kongo and Portugal, the former were only to trade within the latter's realm for slaves. That meant the Portuguese were restricted to the slaves offered by King Diogo or those he authorized to sell slaves. Every year the Tomistas would come with 12 to 15 ships to carry back between 400 and 700 slaves (5000-10000 slaves a year). This was not enough to take advantage of Kongo's ever-growing supply of slaves thanks to wars on its eastern frontier. The captains would try to overload their cargos, resulting in revolts. However, the factor that actually broke the deal was the Tomista habit of sailing upriver to the Malebo Pool to purchase slaves from BaTeke traders who were increasingly taken with European goods over the nzimbu shells the manikongo offered them. Enraged by this breach of contract, King Diogo broke off relations in 1555 and expelled 70 or so Portuguese living in his realm (many of whom had lived there for a long time with African wives and mixed-race children).

Kongo under the House of Kwilu

Kongo under the House of Nsundi

Kongo-Portuguese War of 1622 

Factionalism and return of the House of Kwilu
King Ambrósio either could not or did not remove Paulo from Soyo, though he did eventually remove Jordão. After a rule marked by rumors of war mobilizations and other disruptive behavior, a great riot at the capital resulted in the death of the king by a mob. Ambrosio is replaced with Alvaro IV by the Duke of Mbamba, Daniel da Silva. King Alvaro IV is only eleven at the time and easily manipulated. In 1632, Daniel da Silva marched on the capital in order to "rescue his nephew from his enemies". At the time, he was under the protection of the Count of Soyo, Paulo, Alvaro Nimi a Lukeni a Nzenze a Ntumba and his brother Garcia II Nkanga a Lukeni. After a dramatic battle in Soyo, the young king was successfully restored only to be later poisoned by Alvaro V, a Kimpanzu.
Kongo under the House of Kinlaza
Dutch invasion of Luanda and the Second Portuguese War

King of Kongo,Garcia II Receiving Dutch Ambassadors, 1642 DO Dapper, Description de lAfrique Traduite du Flamand (1686)

Kongo's War with Soyo

The Third Portuguese War
The Battle of Mbwila
Kongo Civil War
                            King of Kongo Manuel Afonso Nzinga a Nlenke (Circa1685 - 1688)

Image title: Group gathered around throne. Kongo  (1686) 
 Author: Dapper, Olfert, 1639-1689 &#8212; Author
Source&#160;: Description de l&#8217;Afrique, contenant les noms, la situation &amp; les confins de toutes ses parties, leurs rivieres, leurs villes &amp; leurs habitations, leurs plantes &amp; leurs animaux; les moeurs, les coutumes, la langue, les richesses, la religion. 
Location&#160;: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture / Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Click here for information on the kingdom of Kongo.
                   Group gathered around throne. Kongo  (1686), by Dapper, Olfert, 1639-1689 


Turmoil and rebirth
18th and 19th centuries
 Kongo prince, Dom Nicolau. Westernized Nicolau I of Kongo (Also known as Nicolau I Misaki mia Nimi).He Ruled 27 August 1752–post 1758.


Kimpanzu and Kinlaza.


Reverends, Fathers and Dear Compatriots:
Capuchin Missionary Celebrating Mass, Sogno, Kingdom of Kongo, 1740s Paola Collo and Silvia Benso ,Sogno Bamba, Pemba, Ovando (Milan, 1986)


Early Kings
AD 1400 - 1568
Although its trading contacts were limited, by the fifteenth century the kingdom stretched from the River Congo in the north to the River Loje in the south, and from the Atlantic Ocean to beyond the River Kwango in the east. Several smaller autonomous states to the south and east paid tribute to it. Kongo was ruled by the manikongo, or king, and was divided into six provinces, each administered by a governor who was appointed by the manikongo. The capital was at Mbanza.
Unfortunately, the history of the kingdom was only written down in the late sixteenth century, and focussed on the ruling dynasty, largely overlooking any previous ruling dynasties.
1400 - ?
Lukeni lua Nimi (Nimi a Lukeni)
Founded Kongo kingdom.
Nkuwu a Lukeni
Son of Lukeni.
1470 - 1509
Nzinga Nkuwu / João I
Portuguese explorer Diogo Cao visits the kingdom, impressing the manikongo with Portuguese culture.
Portuguese missionaries, soldiers, and artisans are welcomed at Mbanza. The missionaries soon gain converts, including Nzinga Nkuwu (who takes the name João I), and the soldiers help the manikongo defeat an internal rebellion.
1509- 1543
Alfonso I Mvemba a Nzinga
Raised as a Christian. Attempted to convert his subjects.
The Portuguese are primarily interested in increasing their private fortunes (especially through capturing Africans and selling them into slavery), despite the attempts of King Manuel I of Portugal to channel the efforts of his subjects into constructive projects. Following Alfonso's death, they play a major part in weakening the kingdom and reducing the hold of the capital (renamed São Salvador) over the provinces. Kongo declines rapidly and suffers major civil wars.
1543 - 1545
Pedro I Nkanga a Mvemba
1545 - 1561
Diogo (James) I Nkumbi a Mpudi
The Portuguese have already shifted their interest southwards to the previously subject kingdom of Ndongo and help them to defeat Kongo.
Alfonso II Mpemba a Nzinga
1561 - 1566
Bernardo I
1566 - 1568
Henrique I
Killed while fighting a war in the east.
House of Kwilu
AD 1568 - 1622
During this period, the Portuguese strengthened their position along the coastline through an aggressive policy of war and treaty, forming a colony that would become Angola. They also sent several missions to Kongo's southern neighbour, Ndongo, which ended in a disastrous uprising in 1579. The Portuguese fled back into Kongo and had to be aided by Kongo's native forces to repel the Ndongo.
1568 - 1587
Alvaro I Nimi a Lukeni lua Mvemba
Stepson. Accession was contested.
Following a request by the manikongo, the Portuguese aids the Kongo kingdom (and their own interests) by helping to repel an invasion from the east by the Lunda ethnic group.
Kongo virtually becomes a Portuguese colony. They are 'allowed' by the manikongo to found its present capital, Luanda, which they use as a base for the slave trade.
1587 - 1614
Alvaro II Nimi a Nkanga
1614 - 1615
Bernardo II Nimi a Nkanga
1615 - 1622
Alvaro III Nimi a Mpanzu
House of Nsundi (Kinkanga)
AD 1622 - 1631
In around 1615, the Portuguese encouraged Imbangala bands that were ravaging the kingdom of Benguela to cross the River Kwanza and serve in the colonial armies. They were used well in attacks against Ndongo from 1618.
1622 - 1624
Pedro II Nkanga a Mvika
1624 - 1626
Garcia I Alphonse Mvemba a Nkanga
1626 - 1631
Ambrosio (Ambrose) I Nimi a Nkanga
House of Kimpanzu
AD 1631 - 1636
The Portuguese suffered a loss of authority during a series of wars in 1626 and 1628 against the ruler of Ndongo, thanks to mistakes made by the Portuguese governor. Negotiations and skirmishes continued until 1639.
1631 - 1636
Alvaro IV Nzinga a Nkuwu
Alvaro V Mpanzu a Nimi
House of Kinlaza
AD 1636 - 1665
Relative peace returned to the Kongo kingdom in 1639 following the conclusion of a peace treaty with Ndongo. A new Portuguesegovernor from 1648 attempted to restore colonial authority as much as possible, although he made little progress.
1636 - 1641
Alvaro VI Alphonse Nimi a Lukeni a Nzenze a Ntumba
1641 - 1660
Garcia II Alphonse Nkanga a Lukeni a Nzenze a Ntumba
1641 - 1665
Garcia allies himself to the Dutch in an attempt to control Portuguese slave traders, but in 1665 a Portuguese force decisively defeats the army of Kongo. The manikongo becomes little more than a Portuguese vassal. The kingdom disintegrates into a number of small states, all controlled to varying degrees by the Portuguese.
Portuguese meet with Queen Nzinga in 1657
Portuguese relations with the Kongo kingdom were usually dictatorial
1661 - 1665
Antonio (Anthony) I Nvita a Nkanga
Civil War Kings
AD 1665 - 1678
After the Battle of Mbwila (or Ulanga), the kingdom was involved in a long and brutal civil war. The House of Kimpanzu, with the support of Soyo, was often based at Mbamba Luvota, while the rival House of Kinlaza held Mbula (or Lemba), south of the River Congo, and Nkondo in the upper Mbidizi/Lukunga system. A third house, Agua Rosada, which was descended from both the other two, ruled in Kibangu. Soyo more or less became independent but regularly intervened in Kongo's affairs.
While many of the rulers in this period did not recognise the legitimacy of their rivals, the numbering was maintained by later generations to include them all.
Afonso II
House of Kimpanzu.
1665 - 1666
Alvaro VII Tusi Mumaza
House of Kinlaza.
1666 - 1669
Alvaro VIII Mvemba a Mpanzu
House of Kinlaza.
Pedro III Nsimba Ntamba
House of Kinlaza. Continued to rule at Mbula/Lemba.
1669 - 1670
Alavaro IX Mpanzu a Ntivila
House of Kimpanzu.
1670 - 1673
Rafael I Nzinga a Nkanga
House of Kimpanzu.
1673 - 1674
Afonso III Mvemba a Nimi
House of Kimpanzu.
1674 - 1678
Daniel I Miala mia Nzimbwila
House of Kimpanzu.
São Salvador is sacked and destroyed, considerably weakening the country's centre to the benefit of the rival faction based on the kingdom's edge.
House of Kibangu for the Agua Rosada
AD 1669 - 1709
The Kimpanzu retreated south to Mbamba Lovata, which territory was to some extent under the protection of the prince of Soyo. Under the informal leadership of Suzanna de Nobrega, they opposed the Kinlaza and any other group claiming to rule Kongo. The kingdom's population also retreated to the mountains or fell victim to the slavers. The manikongo of Kibangu still claimed sovereignty over the kingdom, but their power never extended beyond their fortress.
1669 - 1685
Garcia III Nkanga a Mvemba
André I Mvizi a Nkanga
1685 - 1688
Manuel Afonso Nzinga a Nlenke
1688 - 1695
Alvaro X Nimi a Mvemba Agua Rosada
1695 - 1709
Pedro IV Nusamu a Mvemba
Gained the entire kingdom, creating the Rotating Houses.
King of Lemba for the House of Kinlaza
AD 1669 - 1709
Following the destruction of the capital in 1678, the Kinlaza retreated to their fortress at Mbula/Lemba, Pedro III continued his reign and Joao II followed.
1669 - 1680
Pedro III Nsimba Ntamba
Ruled Kongo (1669). Continued diminished reign at Mbula/Lemba.
1680 - 1716
João II Nzuzi a Ntamba

The Period of Rotating Houses
AD 1709 - 1764
Following Dona Beatriz's religious movement which re-populated São Salvador, Pedro IV seized the kingdom and tried Dona Beatriz for heresy. With the church behind him, he secured Kongo and appeased the opposition faction by ensuring that a Kimpanzu heir would succeed each Kinlaza ruler at the end of his reign.
(The names of kings shown in red are from the list by Francisco das Necessidades, which was compiled from oral traditions and documents found in São Salvador in 1844)
1709 - 1718
Pedro IV Nusamu a Mvemba
Reunited the kingdom. House of Kinlaza.
1718 - 1743
Manuel II Mpanzu a Nimi
House of Kimpanzu.
1743 - 1752
Garcia IV Nkanga a Mvandu
House of Kinlaza.
1752 - al.1758
Nicolau I Misaki mia Nimi
House of Kimpanzu. Ruled after 1758.
Afonso IV Nkanga a Nkanga
House of Kinlaza.
António II Mvita a Mpanzu
House of Kimpanzu.
Sebastião I Nkanga kia Nkanga
House of Kinlaza.
1763 - 1764
Pedro V Ntivila a Nkanga
House of Kimpanzu. Overthrown.
House of the Southern Kinlaza
AD 1764 - c.1790
When Pedro V was overthrown he withdrew to Mbamba Lovata as Alvaro XI seized power. Alvaro XI and his successors were apparently from the Kinlaza who controlled Nkondo on the upper River Mbidizi and had been in place since the late 1680s when Ana Afonso de Leao had established herself there. These were termed Southern Kinlaza, as the Northern Kinlaza, centred in Mbula continued to exist.
1764 - 1778
Alvaro XI Nkanga a Nkanga
1778 - 1785
José I Mpasi a Nkanga
1785 - 1787
Afonso V
1787 - ?
Alvaro XII
Kings of Kongo
c.AD 1790 - 1891
Once Alvaro XII had died, the throne passed from house to house in no particular order, and records became very scrappy and sparse regarding their reigns.
? - 1793
Alexio I Mpanzu a Mbandu
1793 - 1794
Joaquim I
1794 - 1803
Henrique I Alphonse Masaki ma Mpanzu
1803 - 1830
Garcia V Nkanga a Mvemba
1830 - ?
André II Mvizi a Lukeni
? - 1842
André III Ndondele Beya
Portugal officially abolishes the slave trade.
1842 - 1857
Henrique II Mpanzu a Nsindi a Nimi a Lukeni
1857 - 1859
Alvaro XIII / Ndongo
1859 - 1891
Pedro VI / Elelo
Pedro VI signs the Treaty of Vassallage with Portugal. The area of Kongo is incorporated mostly into Angola and partly into the Independent State of Congo (the modern Democratic Republic of Congo). Local resistance persists.
Kings of the Independent State of Congo (Angola)
AD 1891 - 1914
Under Portuguese control, these kings governed a reduced Kongo from their capital at São Salvador. Following their removal from power in 1914, the kings apparently retained their titles but had no power and the claim seems to have ended with independence in 1975. These kings are shown with a shaded background.
1891 - 1896
Alvaro XIV / Agua Rosada
1896 - 1901
Henrique III / Tekenge
1901 - 1910
Pedro VII / Mbemba
1910 - 1911
Manuel Nkomba
1911 - 1914
Manuel III
Deposed. The line continued with Hereditary Kings.
The kings are abolished by the Portuguese following a revolt.
1915 - 1923
Alvaro XV Alphonse Nzinga
1923 - 1955
Pedro VIII Alphonse
Angola's Portuguese status changes from colony to overseas province. Between this point and 1961 a nationalist movement develops and guerrilla war begins.
1955 - 1957
António III Alphonse
1957 - 1962
Pedro IX Alphonse Mansala
To the north of Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo achieves independence from Belgium, while the formerFrench region of Middle Congo becomes the Republic of the Congo.
1962 - 1975
Isabel Maria da Gama
First female claimant to the title.