Kongo History

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Although now a part of Zaire, the kingdom of Kongo was established in the 14th cent. Kongo covered the area from the Congo River to the Loje River and the Altantic Ocean to beyong the Kwango River. The people were ruled by a king or manikongo who appointed a governer to each of the six providences. The people paid tribute to the king who then redistributed the goods so every providence benefited from the tribute paid by others. The people's cosmology and family linage played a major factor in determining the leaders of the land. In 1482, the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cao reached the kingdom and greatly impressed the king, Nzinga Nkuwu. In 1491, Portugesse missionaries started to arrive and converted the Kongonesse to Christianity. During Afonso's reign from 1505-1543) the rise of Christianity continued, while the Portugesse began their slave trade. The presense of the Portugesse led to the deteriation of the Kongo and civil wars broke out. In 1556 the Portugesse helped a region to the south, Ndongo, to defeat Kongo. Despite efforts to ally the Dutch in 1641, Kongo fell to the Portugesse in 1665. In the late 19th century, the Kongo region became part of Angola and the Independent State of the Congo, now Zaire.