This is a list of the rulers of the Kingdom of Kongo, known commonly as the Manikongos (KiKongo: Mwenekongo). Mwene (plural: Awene) in Kikongo meant a person holding authority, particularly judicial authority, derived from the root -wene which meant territory (over which jurisdiction was held). The ruler of Kongo was the most powerful mwene in the region who the Portuguese regarded as the king (in Kikongo ntinu) upon their arrival in 1483.
The kings claimed several titles and the following royal style in Portuguese "Pela graça de Deus Rei do Congo, do Loango, de Cacongo e de Ngoio, aquém e além do Zaire, Senhor dos Ambundos e de Angola, de Aquisima, de Musuru, de Matamba, de Malilu, de Musuko e Anzizo, da conquista de Pangu-Alumbu, etc.", that means "By the grace of God King of Kongo, of Loango, of Kakongo and of Ngoyo, on this side of the Zaire and beyond it, Lord of the Ambundu and of Angola, of Aquisima, of Musuru, of Matamba, of Malilu, of Musuko and Anzizo, of the conquest of Pangu-Alumbu, etc.".
Kandas, Gerações and Houses
The kingdom of Kongo had a formal state apparatus, in which most positions (rendas in Portuguese-language documents, meaning income bearing positions) were in the hands of the king, and the king himself was elected by powerful officials. Kings sought and held office with the assistance of a kanda. Each kanda (plural: makanda) was a faction which organized people according to a common goal, often but not always rooted in a kin-based relationship.[1] Kandas generally took the name of a person (i.e. Nimi, Nlaza or Mpanzu), but could also take the name of a location or title such as Mbala (court)[2]) or birthplace (Kwilu or Nsundi[3]). The Kikongo prefix "ki" is added onto these names to mean "people with something in common".[4] These factions were recorded as gerações or casas (lineages or houses) in Kongo documents written in Portuguese. Until the mid-seventeenth century, following the Battle of Mbwila, these factions were short-lived and fluctuating, but following the battle, factions were much firmer and lasted for generations, particularly the Kimpanzu and Kinlaza.[5] The Quilombo dos Palmares, a Maroon kingdom formed in Northeast Brazil, was founded by princes and nobles who were enslaved and transported to Portuguese Brazil after the battle in Kongo. There, they retained their titles and their lineage survived even after the kingdom itself was destroyed.
Dynasties
When the Portuguese arrived in Kongo in 1483,[6] the reigning king represented the Nimi kanda.[7] This kanda was probably descended from Nimi a Nzima, father of the founder of Kongo.[8] Divisions emerged within the kanda during succession disputes, for example, following the death of Afonso I in 1542, his son Pedro I and grandson Diogo I formed two opposed factions, that of Pedro was called the Kibala (court) faction, and the other, whose name is unknown that followed Diogo.[9] Other elections in the sixteenth century probably also involved similar factions, though the details are unknown.
King Álvaro I was the first king of the House of Kwilu (Portuguese: Coulo). This kanda or lineage was named for the birthplace of Álvaro,[10] north of the capital city. The Kwilu reigned until 1614 when Antonio da Silva, Duke of Mbamba intervened to place Bernardo I on the throne, in place of Álvaro II's minor son, who would eventually take office as Álvaro III.
Another kanda, the House of Nsundi, later known as the Kinkanga a Mvika, took control of Kongo in 1622 under Pedro II, and retained it through the reign of his son, Garcia I.[11] Garcia never held power strongly, and the Kimpanzu returned to power under Ambrosio I. Kimpanzu domination ended in 1641 when two brothers Álvaro and Garcia of the new House of Kinlaza overthrew Álvaro V and took power.[12] The members of the Kikanga a Mvika were all killed or absorbed into the Kinlaza by 1657.[13] The Kinlaza dynasty would reign until Kongo's catastrophic civil war following the 1665 Battle of Mbwila, when sporadic and violent alternation followed.
The capital was destroyed in 1678.[14] Its destruction forced the claimants from both sides of the conflict to rule from mountain fortresses. The Kinlaza retreated to Mbula where they founded the capital of Lemba.[13] Earlier another branch of Kinlaza, under the leadership of Garcia III of Kongo founded a settlement at Kibangu. The Kimpanzu based their struggle for the throne at Mbamba Luvota in the south of Soyo.[13] A new faction appeared in the form of the Água Rosada kanda, headquartered at the mountain fortress of Kibangu. This might be considered a new house formed from both the Kinlaza and Kimpanzu, its founders were the children of a Kimpanzu father and a Kinlaza mother.[15] All parties claimed kingship over Kongo (or what was left of it), but their power rarely held beyond their fortresses or the immediately surrounding area.
The country was finally reunited by Pedro IV of the Água Rosada kanda. Pedro IV declared a doctrine of shared power by which the throne would shift (in due time) from Kinlaza to the Kimpanzu and back.,[16] while the Água Rosada appear to have continued as neutral in Pedro's fortress of Kibangu.[17]
The system functioned sporadically, with considerable fighting, until 1764 when José I of the Kinlaza faction usurped the throne and thrust the country back into civil war. The Kinlaza enjoyed a short-lived second dynasty that ended in 1788. After that, the throne moved through various royal hands until the kingship was extinguished in 1914.
Elections
The selection of kings of Kongo was by a variety of principles, as kings themselves evoked different methods of selection in their letters announcing their succession. Typically the kingdom was said to pass by election,[18] though the electors and the process they used changed over time and according to circumstances. Frequently election seems to have been a combination of elective and hereditary principles.[18]
Kings of Kongo
The following section is divided into periods based on kanda or house rulership. Most houses reigned of a distinct period with few if any intervals. This is not the case, however; after the Kongo Civil War. During this period you will note the name of each king's kanda alongside their reign.
Pre-colonial rulers
Ancestors of later rulers
According to oral tradition, the first king was the son of chief Nimi and his consort of unknown name, Mwene Mbata's daughter. Most of the succeeding dynasties either claim descent from this union or otherwise derive their legitimacy from it.
Claimed the title of Manikongo. He ruled the capital of the once unified Kingdom, but was deposed only a month into his term. The deposed king was forced to flee into the mountains of Nkondo where he ruled until his death in 1669. Was a relative of António I.
Claimed the title of Manikongo. He sent Capuchin friar, Friar Girolamo of Montesarchio, to make peace with the Portuguese in to Luanda, in Christmas 1665. But the friar was waylaid by a rebellion in Mbamba, and only returned to the capital in June 1666.[20]
Claimed the title of Manikongo. Was elevated to the throne by Paulo da Silva, Count of Soyo, who marched on São Salvador and killed his predecessor. In 1667, he sent his ambassador, Anastasius, to Luanda, to negotiate a treaty that ceded to the Portugueses the right to exploit the mines of the provinces of Mbamba and Mpemba.[20]
Claimed the title of Manikongo. As Marquis of Mbemba, he led a small army and attacked Mbamba, killed Count Theodosius and then invaded the kingdom's capital, killing Alvaro VIII and proclaimed himself king.[21]
He claimed the title of Manikongo. In 1678 Pedro III marched on São Salvador with Jaga mercenaries resulting in the Sack of São Salvador, which burnt the majority of the city to the ground and killed Daniel I.[21]
After the Sack of São Salvador the nation essentially ceased to exist for over a decade, instead split into three rival kingdoms ruled by the various claimants to the throne.
Claimed the title of Manikongo. He was a son of Sebastião I and reconquered the Kingdom of Kibangu. He ordered the edification of several churches in Kibagu but had a premature death before they were completed.[25]
Claimed the title of Manikongo. He was a grandson of Álvaro II and ruled the Kingdom of Lemba-Mbula. He was assassinated by the King of Mbamba-Lovata, Manuel de Nóbrega.[21]
Pedro IV Nusamu a Mvemba of the House of the Agua Rosada (ruled Kibangu from December 1695 – early 1709; ruled reunited kingdom from São Salvador February 1709 – 21 February 1718)
Manikongo. He was a nephew of his Henrique III. Signed a treaty of vassalage with Portugal in 1888. He was the 6th king named Pedro, but signed his correspondence as Pedro V, thus ignoring the Pedro V who had ruled from 1763 to 1764.
Álvaro XV Afonso of Kongo, also known as Nzinga (ruled 1915–1923)
Pedro VII Afonso of Kongo (ruled 1923–1955)
António III Afonso of Kongo (ruled 1955–1957)
Isabel Maria da Gama of Kongo (f., 1st regency 1957–1962) wife of António III Afonso of Kongo
Pedro VIII Afonso of Kongo, also known as Mansala (ruled September to October 1962) son of António III Afonso of Kongo
Isabel Maria da Gama of Kongo (f., 2nd regency 1962–1975) wife of António III Afonso of Kongo
Interregnum, 1975–2000
Pretenders to the throne since 2000
José II Henrique da Silva Meso (a claimant to the title since 19 November 2000 and said to be the grandson of Pedro VII and living in exile in Cabinda).[28][29][30][31]
The head of the nucleus of the Traditional Authorities of the Royal Court of Kongo is Afonso Mendes and is living in Mbanza-Kongo[32]
Manuel Alvaro Afonso Nzinga (a claimant to the title since 2004 and living in exile in the United States)[28]
King Nsola Meso Antônio, King of Mbata and King of Kongo (ruled May 3, 2018 – October 9, 2021) In 2008, the Angolan constitution began to recognize the authority of traditional monarchs in its articles 223 and 224.[33] The now king of Mbata, Nzola Meso Antônio, reorganized the kingdom's court and began to establish diplomatic relations with the other kingdoms originally part of the Greater Congo and, on January 7, 2017, signed the Act of Unification, being crowned on May 3, 2018 as the King of Kongo. King Nsola Meso Antônio passed away on October 9, 2021,[34] and was succeeded by the young prince Makitu, who was enthroned as King Makitu III on July 29, 2023, after a long and traditional succession process. The ceremony took place at the old São Miguel Fortress, known as Forte Velho de Luanda, and was attended by ambassadors from several countries, such as the United States, Italy, Israel, Mozambique, Norway, and other traditional kingdoms such as Bailundo and Cuanhama.[35]
Usurpation
Following the usurpation of the title of King of Kongo by certain ill-intentioned individuals, the traditional authorities of Mbanza-Kongo issued a statement on April 17, 2024, declaring that any person claiming to be the King of Kongo is an imposter, as no king has been elected or resides in Mbanza-Kongo today. [36]
"The head of the Department of Tourism at the Provincial Office for Culture, Tourism, Youth, and Sports of Zaire, Abia Graça Fortunato, explained that most of these individuals arrive in Mbanza Kongo as tourists and take advantage of the photos they take with the coordinator of the Lumbu and the director of Culture to carry out their deceptions.
Often, he noted, they welcome visits from both local and foreign tourists to the Museum of the Kings of Congo, where representatives of the Royal Court of the former Kingdom of Kongo work. Unfortunately, some people use these photos to present themselves as kings."
— Fernando Neto, 2024
Tuzolana Sakibanza Ngiangalele (self-proclaimed monarch since October 5, 2019) is a Congolese painter and former politician, married to Maman Fatuma Mugeni. Known for his artistic talent, he has received numerous awards and traveled widely to promote his work. Politically, he served as a councilor in the municipality of Anderlecht in Brussels and later worked as a diplomat for the African Union in Ethiopia. He eventually chose to leave these roles to focus on his community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He also claims the title of traditional leader of Nkolo Fuma and has been involved in projects like Bana Bilaka, an initiative focused on grassroots economic development in the DRC. Despite his local leadership role, he has no recognized historical or blood ties to the monarchy of the Kingdom of Kongo. [37][38][39]
Mfumu Difima (self-proclaimed monarch of the Kongos of Congo Kinshasa since 2018) is a Congolese customary chief as well as the president of the Commission Consultative de règlements des conflits Coutumiers CCRCC LUILA and then the president of the Conseil Supérieur de l'Autorité Traditionnelle et Coutumière CONATC RDC/AFRIQUE. With a degree in physical education, he proclaimed himself King of all Kongos in 2018 on the Pouvoirs d'Afrique programme. Today, he calls himself the King of the Kongos of the Democratic Republic of Congo.[40][41][42]
Brazilian branch of Palmares
The Quilombo dos Palmares was a Maroon Kingdom formed in the Captaincy of Pernambuco in what is now Northeast Brazil sometime around 1605 by princes and nobles from the Kingdom of Kongo. They had been captured during the Battle of Mbwila, and were subsequently transported there as slaves. After escaping slavery, they resumed use of their royal and noble titles. The members of this branch probably belonged to the House of Awenekongo of the Nlaza kanda of Antonio I.
Ganga Zumba, King (ruled 1630–1678). A son of Princess Aqualtune, daughter of an unidentified king of Kongo. She was present at the Battle of Mbwila.
Ganga Zona, King (ruled 1678–1678). A brother of Ganga Zumba.
Zumbi, also known as Francisco, King (ruled 1678–1695). A nephew of Ganga Zumba, son of his sister Princess Sabina. Today, a National Hero in Brazil.
Camuanga, King (ruled 1695–?). A son of Zumbi and the last known member of the lineage in the Americas.
Further reading
This list is constructed primarily from that found in Graziano Saccardo, 'Congo e Angola con la storia dell'antica missione dei cappuccini (3 vols, Milan, 1982–83), vol. 3, pp.11–14. Saccardo bases his reconstruction on several king lists produced over time, by António da Silva, Duke of Mbamba in 1617, by António de Teruel in 1664, by Pedro Mendes in 1710 and by Francisco das Necessidades in 1844. In addition, many of the kings wrote letters and signed them with both their names and their numbers, and Saccardo has found many of these to verify the kinglists.
Saccardo's king list has been modified in the following manner: the Kikongo names of the kings have been given in a Kikongo form following norms established in Joseph de Munck, Kinkulu kia Nsi eto' (Tumba, 1956, 2nd ed, Matadi, 1971). The Christian names of the kings are given in modern Portuguese spelling. In addition, Saccardo's entries have been updated by a number of sources, most notably the king list, unknown to him found in the Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro (Rio de Janeiro) Manuscritos, Lata 6, pasta 2. "Catallogo dos reis de Congo" MS of c. 1758.
1 2 3 Thornton, John K: "The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706", p. 39. Cambridge University, 1998
↑ Thornton, John K: "The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706", p. 23. Cambridge University, 1998
↑ Thornton, John K: "The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706", p. 40. Cambridge University, 1998
↑ Thornton, John: "Elite Women in the Kingdom of Kongo: Historical Perspectives on Women's Political Power", p. 455. The Journal of African History, Vol. 47, 2006
↑ Thornton, John K: "The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706", p. 201. Cambridge University, 1998
1 2 Thornton, John: "Elite Women in the Kingdom of Kongo: Historical Perspectives on Women's Political Power", p. 439. The Journal of African History, Vol. 47, 2006
↑ Thornton, John: "Elite Women in the Kingdom of Kongo: Historical Perspectives on Women's Political Power", pa. 445. The Journal of African History, Vol. 47, 2006
1 2 Shillington, Kevin: Encyclopedia of African History, Vol. 1, p. 776. Routledge, 2004
1 2 3 4 Thornton, John K: The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706, p. 79. Cambridge University, 1998
↑ Thornton, John: "Elite Women in the Kingdom of Kongo: Historical Perspectives on Women's Political Power", p. 456. The Journal of African History, Vol. 47, 2006
1 2 Thornton, John K: The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706, p. 39. Cambridge University, 1998
1 2 Thornton, John K: The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706, p. 36. Cambridge University, 1998
↑ Thornton, John K: The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706, p. 20. Cambridge University, 1998
↑ Thornton, John K: The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706, p. 38. Cambridge University, 1998
↑ Thornton, John: "The Origins and Early History of the Kingdom of Kongo, c. 1350–1550", p. 100. International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2001
1 2 R.A.U. Juchter van Bergen Quast (2 January 2021). "The common origin of the five Orders of Christ". Adelsrecht. To my knowledge, Dom Jose Henrique Da Silva born 1942 or 1944, is a potential claimant. He is said to live in Cabinda, northern enclave of Angola. In addition, an American citizen, originally named Dom Manuel Alvaro Afonso Nzinga, grand duke of Nzinga, has a legitimate claim.
↑ Nassoro Habib Mbwana Msonde, A Revised History for Advanced Level and Colleges: Part One, Xlibris Corporation, 2017
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