Mpemba

For other uses, see Mpemba (disambiguation).

Mpemba was a confederation in the western Congo Basin, at least from the 13th century. Its northernmost territory, Mpemba Kasi, was incorporated into the founding of the Kingdom of Kongo in the 14th century, and it was conquered. It neighboured the confederations of Vungu and Seven Kingdoms of Kongo dia Nlaza. Its capital and southernmost tip was on the Loze River in Angola, and it reached northwards 150 kilometres to the Congo River. It had sub-kingdoms, such as Mpemba Kasi, and Vunda which was complex enough to have its own sub-units which included Mpangala. ^{[1] [2] : 2  [3] : 24–25}

Writing in 2025, John Thornton has proposed that Mpemba was a very large kingdom, roughly a third of the size of Kongo's greatest extent, and was Kongo's main predecessor, though he says that archaeological research at Mpemba's capital is needed. ^[4]

References

1. Samuel, isaac. "The kingdom of Kongo and the Portuguese: diplomacy, trade, warfare and early Afro-European interactions (1483-1670)". www.africanhistoryextra.com. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
2. Thornton, John K. (2023-11-22). Afonso I Mvemba a Nzinga, King of Kongo: His Life and Correspondence. Hackett Publishing. ISBN   978-1-64792-141-5.
3. Thornton, John K., ed. (2020), "The Development of States in West Central Africa to 1540", A History of West Central Africa to 1850, New Approaches to African History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 16–55, ISBN   978-1-107-56593-7 , retrieved 2024-09-21
4. Thornton, John (2025). "The Emergence of Social and Political Complexity in West Central Africa". The Journal of African History. 66: e25. doi:10.1017/S0021853725100662. ISSN   0021-8537.