João I of Kongo, alias Nzinga a Nkuwu or Nkuwu Nzinga, was ruler of the Kingdom 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...

 between 1470–1506. He was baptized as João in 3 May 1491 by Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 missionaries

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

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Early reign

King Nzinga a Nkuwu was the fourth or fifth ruler of Kongo. He was married to Queen Nzinga a Nlaza, a first cousin. She had a son by the king named Nzinga Mbemba. She would later help him become king of Kongo after her husband's death. Under the reign of Nzinga a Nkuwu, Kongo had grown to 100,000 square kilometres and contained a very centralised government.

Arrival of the Portuguese

In 1483, a Portuguese caravel captained by Diogo Cão

Diogo Cão

Diogo Cão was a Portuguese explorer and one of the most remarkable navigators of the Age of Discovery, who made two voyages sailing along the west coast of Africa to Namibia in the 1480s.-Early life and family:...

 reached the estuary of the Congo River

Congo River

The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...

 and made contact with subjects of the king. Cão sailed back to Portugal carrying a party of Kongo emissaries. On arrival in Lisbon, the emissaries were baptized and placed in a monastery before returning to the king in 1491.

Along with the emissaries came Portuguese priests, masons, carpenters and soldiers plus European goods. The ships anchored at Mpinda and after a brief halt to baptise the governor of Soyo, uncle to the manikongo, the procession went on to the capital where they were greeted by the king and 5 of his leading nobles.

Baptisms and Later Relations

On 3 May 1491, the king of Kongo was baptised along with his family. Initially, only the king and his nobles were to be converted, but the queen demanded to be baptised. Kongo's royal family took the names of their Portuguese counterparts, thus João, Eleanor (or Leanor in some instances) and Afonso. A thousand subjects were detailed to help the Portuguese carpenters build a church, meanwhile the Portuguese soldiers accompanied the king in a campaign to defend the province of Nsundi from BaTeke raiders. The European firearms were decisive in the victory and many captives were taken.

Later life

Most of the Portuguese later departed with slaves and ivory while leaving behind priests and craftsmen. After this cultural honeymoon, the king's profession of the Catholic faith proved short lived. His life ended in 1506. He was succeeded by his son via the Queen, Afonso I

Afonso I of Kongo

Mvemba a Nzinga or Nzinga Mbemba , also known as King Afonso I, was a ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo in the first half of the 16th century. He reigned over the Kongo Empire from 1509 to late 1542 or 1543.-Pre-reign career:...

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See also

• Kingdom 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...
  
  
• List of Rulers of Kongo
• History of Angola
  History of Angola
  Angola is a country in southwestern Africa. Its name derives from the Kimbundu word for king, 'N'gola'. It was first settled by Bushmen hunter-gatherer societies before the northern domains came under the rule of Bantu states such as Kongo and Ndongo. From the 15th century Portuguese colonists...
  
  
• Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba
  Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba
  Nzinga Mbande , also known as Ana de Sousa Nzinga Mbande, was a 17th century queen of the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundu people in southwestern Africa.-Early life:...