Kingdom of Kongo

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Kingdom of Kongo
Wene wa Kongo or Kongo dya Ntotila
Reino do Congo
1390[1]–1914[2]
Flag of Kongo
Flag (c. 17th century)
Coat of arms (c. 1528–1541) of Kongo
Coat of arms (c. 1528–1541)
The "Kingdom of Congo" (now usually rendered as "Kingdom of Kongo" to maintain distinction from the present-day Congo nations)
The "Kingdom of Congo" (now usually rendered as "Kingdom of Kongo" to maintain distinction from the present-day Congo nations)
StatusSovereign kingdom (1390–1857)
Vassal of the Kingdom of Portugal (1857–1910)
Subject of the First Portuguese Republic (1910–1914)
CapitalMbanza-Kongo (São Salvador), Angola[3]
Common languagesKikongo,
Portuguese
Religion
Bukongo
Roman Catholicism
Antonianism (1704–1708)
GovernmentMonarchy
King 
• c. 1390–1420 (first)
Lukeni lua Nimi
• 1911–1914 (last)
Manuel III of Kongo
LegislatureNe Mbanda-Mbanda
History 
• Conquest of Kabunga
1390[1]
1622
1623
29 October 1665
1665–1709
• Reunification
February 1709
• Vassalage
1857
1884–1885
• Abolishment[4]
1914[2]
Area
c. 1650129,400 km2 (50,000 sq mi)
Population
• c. 1650
appx 500,000
CurrencyNzimbu shells and Lubongo (Libongo, Mbongo), Mpusu cloth
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Mpemba Kasi
Mbata Kingdom
International Congo Association
Portuguese West Africa
French Congo
Today part ofAngola
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
Gabon

The Kingdom of Kongo was a kingdom located in central Africa in northern Angola, the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, and the southern part of Gabon. At its greatest size it reached from the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Kwango River to the east, the Congo River to the north, and the Kwanza River to the south. The kingdom was made up of many provinces ruled by the Manikongo, the Portuguese version of the Kongo title Mwene Kongo, meaning "lord or ruler of the Kongo kingdom", but its sphere of influence reached to neighbouring kingdoms, like Ngoyo, Kakongo, Loango, Ndongo, and Matamba, the latter two located in Angola.

References[change | change source]

  1. Tshilemalema, Mukenge (2001). Culture and Customs of the Congo. Greenwood Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-313-31485-3.
  2. Alisa LaGamma, Kongo: Power and Majesty, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015
  3. Mbanza-Kongo, named São Salvador in the late-16th century; reverted to the name Mbanza-Kongo in 1975
  4. Nassoro Habib Mbwana Msonde, A Revised History for Advanced Level and Colleges: Part One, Xlibris Corporation, 2017