Kingdom of Kongo

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.

Kingdom of Kongo Wene wa Kongo or Kongo dya Ntotila Reino do Congo
1390–1914
The "Kingdom of Congo" (now usually rendered as "Kingdom of Kongo" to maintain distinction from the present-day Congo nations)
Status	Sovereign kingdom (1390–1857) Vassal of the Kingdom of Portugal (1857–1910) Subject of the First Portuguese Republic (1910–1914)
Capital	Mbanza-Kongo (São Salvador), Angola
Common languages	Kikongo, Portuguese
Religion	Bukongo Roman Catholicism Antonianism (1704–1708)
Government	Monarchy
King
• c. 1390–1420 (first)	Lukeni lua Nimi
• 1911–1914 (last)	Manuel III of Kongo
Legislature	Ne Mbanda-Mbanda
History
•	1390
• Battle of Mbumbi	1622
• Battle of Mbanda Kasi	1623
• Battle of Mbwila	29 October 1665
• Kongo Civil War	1665–1709
• Reunification	February 1709
• Vassalage	1857
• Berlin Conference	1884–1885
•	1914
Area
c. 1650
Population
• c. 1650	appx 500,000
Currency	Nzimbu 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 of	Angola Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Gabon

Kingdom Of Kongo Media

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  João I Nzinga a Nkuwu

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  Banner of King Afonso I

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  The Kingdom of Kongo in 1648

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  Fragmento retocado y coloreado de

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  Pedro VII and Isabel, titular King and Queen of Kongo, pictured in 1934.

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  Congo bowmen. The bulk of Kongo's infantry forces, consisted of archers equipped and dressed in a similar fashion to these encountered by the David Livingstone expedition.

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  Kongo (Boma subgroup). 19th century Grave Marker (Tumba). The Kongo people placed stone figures called tumba on the graves of powerful people. His cap (mpu) with four leopard's teeth, the beaded necklace, and the bracelet (nlunga) identify him as a chief. The term tumba comes from the old Portuguese word for "tomb"—this genre may have been inspired by grave monuments for European merchants and missionaries in Kongo cemeteries.