Garcia I of Kongo
Encyclopedia
Garcia I Mvemba a Nkanga was a manikongo
of Kongo
whom ruled from April 27, 1624 to March 7, 1626.
. He was the second and last king from the House of Nsundi begun by his father in 1622. When Pedro II died in 1624, Garcia succeeded peacefully to the throne. Prior to his reign, his father had arranged for an anti-Portuguese alliance with the Dutch West Indian Company. When the Dutch arrived in 1624 ready to seize Luanda, António da Silva intercepted the fleet's delegation at Soyo. Acting against the wishes of the House of Nsundi, Silva feigned ignorance of the Dutch-Kongo plan and insisted that since Pedro II's death all Garcia I wanted was peace between Kongo and Portugal.
Manikongo
The Manikongo or MweneKongo was the title of the rulers of the Kingdom of Kongo, a kingdom that existed from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries and consisted of land in present-day Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo...
of Kongo
Kingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in what are now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
whom ruled from April 27, 1624 to March 7, 1626.
Early Reign
Garcia I was the son of King Pedro IIPedro II of Kongo
Pedro II Nkanga a Mvika was a ruler of the kingdom of Kongo during the kingdom's first conflict with the Portuguese colony of Angola. He was the founder of the royal House of Nsundi and could trace his descent to one of Afonso I's daughters.-Career:...
. He was the second and last king from the House of Nsundi begun by his father in 1622. When Pedro II died in 1624, Garcia succeeded peacefully to the throne. Prior to his reign, his father had arranged for an anti-Portuguese alliance with the Dutch West Indian Company. When the Dutch arrived in 1624 ready to seize Luanda, António da Silva intercepted the fleet's delegation at Soyo. Acting against the wishes of the House of Nsundi, Silva feigned ignorance of the Dutch-Kongo plan and insisted that since Pedro II's death all Garcia I wanted was peace between Kongo and Portugal.
Overthrow
There were those within Kongo's nobility unwilling to allow the House of Nsundi to continue on the throne. At the behest of the royal ladies at court, the Duke of Nsundi Manuel Jordão marched an army on the capital of São Salvador. Garcia was forced to flee to Soyo with his wife and grandmother, and the House of Kwilu regained the throne of Kongo.See also
- List of rulers of Kongo
- Kingdom of KongoKingdom of KongoThe Kingdom of Kongo was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in what are now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
- House of Nsundi