Álvaro X of Kibangu

Last updated

Álvaro X Nimi a Mvemba Água Rosada was a ruler of Kibangu and was the first Água Rosada claimant to the throne of the Kingdom of Kongo during its civil war. He ruled the Kingdom of Kibangu from 1688 to 1695. [1]

Kingdom of Kongo former African kingdom located in west central Africa

The Kingdom of Kongo was a kingdom located in west central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo as well as the southernmost part of Gabon. At its greatest extent it reached from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Kwango River in the east, and from the Congo River in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. The kingdom consisted of several core 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 extended to neighbouring kingdoms, such as Ngoyo, Kakongo, Loango, Ndongo and Matamba, the last two located in what is Angola today.

The Kongo Civil War (1665–1709) was an internal conflict between rival houses of the Kingdom of Kongo. The war waged throughout the middle of the 17th and 18th centuries pitting partisans of the House of Kinlaza against the House of Kimpanzu. Numerous other factions entered the fray claiming descent from one or both of the main parties such as the Água Rosada of Kibangu and the da Silva of Soyo. By the end of the war, Kongo's vaunted capital had been destroyed and many Bakongo were sold into the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

Rule

During the reign of the previous King of Kibangu, Álvaro and his brother led a faction that was unsatisfied by his rule. They managed to overthrow Manuel I in 1688 and Álvaro took the throne. During his reign, the king was able to keep the forces of the other two claimants to the Kingdom of Kongo at bay. The king was the first civil war claimant to Kongo to be of the Água Rosada house where there was a parent from each of the main houses of Kinlaza and Kimpanzu. [2] This was not a real house at the time of Álvaro's rule, and was only after his death in 1695 when his successor, Pedro IV formed it as a house to end the civil war and reform the Kingdom of Kongo.

The Kinlaza were members of the Nlaza kanda or House of Kinlaza, one of the ruling houses of the Kingdom of Kongo during the 17th century. It was one of the main factions during the Kongo Civil War along with the Kimpanzu and Kinkanga a Mvika kandas.

The Kimpanzu were members of the Mpanzu kanda also known as the House of Kimpanzu, one of the lineages from which the kings of Kongo were chosen during the 17th century and following Kongo's reunification under Pedro IV.

Pedro IV Nusamu a Mvemba. King of Kongo, ruled from 1695 to 1718, although his effective reign of Kongo was only from 1709. He is noted for restoring the country and ending the civil war which had raged since 1666. It was during his reign that Beatriz Kimpa Vita, the prophetess claimed to be possessed by Saint Anthony had her career.

Preceded by
Manuel I
Awenekongo of Kibangu
1688—1695
Succeeded by
Pedro IV
Preceded by
Manuel I
Manikongo
(Kibangu Claimant)

1688—1695
Succeeded by
Pedro IV

Related Research Articles

Kwilu, also known as the House of Kwilu, was a kanda or royal lineage of the Kingdom of Kongo.

Pedro III Nsimba Ntamba was a ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo during its tumultuous civil war period.

Afonso II of Kongo and Nkondo was a ruler of the kingdom of Kongo in the period following the Kongo Civil War. He was a member of the House of Kimpanzu and may have been supported in his claim for the throne by partisans in Soyo. He took the throne in November 1665 in the first of a series of power grabs for the throne of the kingdom.

Água Rosada or Álvaro XIV was ruler in Kongo, Africa, from February 1891 to 1896. His father signed the vassalage of Kongo in 1888.

Ambrósio I Nimi a Nkanga was a mwenekongo of the Kingdom of Kongo who ruled from

Álvaro IV of Kongo, also known as Álvaro IV Nzinga a Nkuwu, was a ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo from 1631 to 1636.

The Kilukeni were members of the Lukeni kanda or House of Kilukeni, the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Kongo from its inception in the late 14th century until the 1567 with the rise of the House of Kwilu. The Kilukeni were springboard for most of the major factions that battled for control of Kongo during its civil war.

Álvaro IX Mpanzu a Ntivila was a ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo during its civil war period. He ruled from June 1669 to 1670.

Daniel I Miala mia Nzimbwila was a ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo during its civil war between the various royal houses. He ruled from 1674 to 1678.

Garcia III Nkanga a Mvemba was a ruler of Kibangu and was one of the two main Kinlaza claimants to the throne of the Kingdom of Kongo during its civil war, the other being the King of Lemba. He ruled the Kingdom of Kibangu from 1669 to 1685.

André I Mvizi a Mkanga was a ruler of Kibangu and was one of the two main Kinlaza claimants to the throne of the Kingdom of Kongo during its civil war, the other being the King of Lemba. He ruled the Kingdom of Kibangu for a short period in 1685. His death marked the succession of Manuel Afonso which led to an internal struggle for power within Kibangu.

Manuel Afonso Nzinga a Nlenke was a ruler of Kibangu and was one of the two main Kinlaza claimants to the throne of the Kingdom of Kongo during its civil war, the other being the King of Lemba. He ruled the Kingdom of Kibangu from 1685 to 1688.

João II Nzuzi a Ntamba was a ruler of Lemba and was one of the main Kinlaza claimants to the throne of the Kingdom of Kongo during its civil war, the other being the King of Kibangu. He ruled the Kingdom of Lemba from 1680 to 1716.

Manuel II or Manuel II Mpanzu a Nimi was ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo (1718–1743). He ruled in a period of "rotating lineages" as planned by his predecessor and was of the Kimpanzu. He had once fought against Pedro during the recapture of São Salvador.

Henrique II was ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo. His rule was came after the end of a period of conflict in the kingdom after the death of Afonso V, who was said to have been poisoned. Henrique was able to take the throne as a compromise between the various powerful factions which had been brokered by the Água Rosada house, the descendants of Pedro IV, who had familial ties to branches of both Kinlaza and Kimpanzu houses. Under this peace, Henrique was able to rebuild the nation, and eventually passed the throne on to Garcia V, a member of the Água Rosada house.

References

  1. http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsAfrica/AfricaAngola.htm
  2. Thornton, John K: "The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684-1706", page 20. Cambridge University, 1998