Kingdom of the Kongo

Kingdom of Kongo
Wene wa Kongo or Kongo dya Ntotila
(1390–1857) Sovereign kingdom (1857–1910) Vassalage of the Kingdom of Portugal (1910–1914) Subject of the First Portuguese Republic
1390–1914
Flag Coat of arms
The "Kingdom of Congo" (now usually rendered as "Kingdom of Kongo" to maintain distinction from the present-day Congo nations)
Capital		São Salvador, Angola
Languages		Kongo Portuguese
Religion		Christianity with some traditional practices
Government		Monarchy
King
•	c. 1390s	Lukeni lua Nimi (first)
•	1911–1914	Manuel III (last)
Legislature		ne mbanda-mbanda
History
•	Conquest of Kabunga	1390
•	Kongo Civil War begins	29 October 1665
•	Kongo Reunification	February, 1709
•	Kongo becomes vassal of Portugal	1857
•	Portuguese suzerainty	1914
Area
•	c. 1650	129,400 km2 (50,000 sq mi)
Population
•	c. 1650 est.	509,250
Density		4/km2 (10/sq mi)
Currency		Nzimbu shells and Raffia cloth
Preceded by Succeeded by Mpemba Kasi International Congo Association Portuguese West Africa French Congo
Today part of		Angola  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Republic of the Congo  Gabon

The Kingdom of Kongo (Kongo: Kongo dya Ntotila or Wene wa Kongo;Portuguese: Reino do Congo) was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in what is now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the southernmost part of Gabon. 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. 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, but its sphere of influence extended to neighbouring kingdoms, such as Ngoyo, Kakongo, Ndongo and Matamba.

From c. 1390 to 1891 it was mostly an independent state. From 1891 to 1914 it was a vassal state of the Kingdom of Portugal. In 1914, the titular monarchy was forcibly abolished, following Portuguese victory against a Kongo revolt. The remaining territories of the kingdom were assimilated into the colony of Angola. The modern-day Bundu dia Kongo sect favors reviving the kingdom through secession from Angola, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon.

Verbal traditions about the early history of the country were set in writing for the first time in the late 16th century, and the most comprehensive were recorded in the mid-seventeenth century, including those written by the Italian Capuchin missionary Giovanni Cavazzi da Montecuccolo. More detailed research in modern oral traditions, initially conducted in the early 20th century by Redemptorist missionaries like Jean Cuvelier and Joseph de Munck do not appear to relate to the very early period.