Kingdom of Ndongo facts for kids
The Kingdom of Ndongo was an important African kingdom. It was also known as Angola or Dongo. This kingdom existed a long time ago in the area we now call Angola.
We first learned about the Kingdom of Ndongo in the 1500s. It was one of several smaller states that paid tribute to the powerful Kingdom of Kongo. But Ndongo was the strongest of these states. Its king was called the Ngola.
Not much is known about Ndongo in its early years. In 1535, "Angola" was listed as one of the titles of the King of Kongo. This suggests that Ndongo was somewhat under Kongo's rule. Stories passed down through generations say that the kingdom's founder, Ngola Kiluanje, came from Kongo. He led a group of people who spoke the Kimbundu language.
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How Ndongo Was Organized
The region where people spoke the Kimbundu language was known as the land of Mbundu. In the late 1500s, this land was split into many small areas. There were 736 of these small units, each ruled by a leader called a soba.
Each soba ruled over their own territory, called a murinda. These areas were groups of villages (called senzala or libatas). Each group had a small main town called a mbanza.
Sometimes, these smaller units joined together to form bigger groups or provinces. In the 1500s, the rulers of Ndongo had brought most of these regions under their control. The main city of Ndongo was Kabasa (Caculo Cabaça). It was located in the highlands near where N'dalatando is today. Kabasa was a large city, with about 50,000 people living in its busy area.
The king of Ndongo and the leaders of the provinces worked with a group of important nobles called the macota. The kingdom also had officials like the tendala, who handled legal matters. The ngolambole was the military leader. In Ndongo itself, the king had even more officials. These included a kilunda (who managed supplies) and a mwene kudya (another important official).
The people of Ndongo were mainly free commoners, known as the ana murinda. There were also two groups of people who were not free. The ijiko were like serfs, tied to the land they worked. The abika were people who could be bought and sold, similar to slaves.
Ndongo Becomes Stronger
The Kingdom of Ndongo used to pay tribute to the Kingdom of Kongo. This was true for many other states outside of Kongo. The Mbundu people in the south and the BaKongo people in the north often disagreed. But Kongo was able to collect tribute from these states even before the Portuguese arrived.
Wanting Independence
In 1518, Ndongo sent a message to Portugal. They asked for missionaries (people to teach about Christianity). This was also a way of asking Portugal to see them as independent from Kongo. A Portuguese group arrived in Ndongo in 1520. But local problems and pressure from Kongo made the missionaries leave. Afonso I of Kongo, the King of Kongo, took the missionaries to Kongo. He left his own priest in Ndongo.
The War of 1556
Around 1556, Ndongo sent another message to Portugal. They asked for military help and offered to become Christian. Portuguese officials were not sure if Ndongo was truly serious about religion. Some historians later thought this mission was because Ndongo had won a war against Kongo and become independent. But this seems to have been a misunderstanding of old records. Ndongo might have seen this mission as a way to declare independence. Kongo's reaction to the 1518 mission showed it still had control over Ndongo.
A second Portuguese group arrived in 1560 at the Cuanza River. It was led by Paulo Dias de Novais, whose grandfather was the famous explorer Bartolomeu Dias. Several Jesuit priests, including Francisco de Gouveia, were also with him. This mission also failed. Dias de Novais went back to Portugal in 1564, leaving Gouveia behind.
The Portuguese Colony of Angola
By the time of the third Portuguese mission in 1571, the King of Portugal, Sebastian I, had made a decision. He told Dias de Novais to conquer the "Kingdom of Angola." He gave Dias de Novais permission to rule the area, bring in settlers, and build forts. Dias de Novais arrived in Luanda. This was arranged with Kongo's king, Álvaro I, as a thank you for Portugal's help against the Jaga people.
Quilongo, the king of Angola, renewed ties with Portugal in 1578. Dias de Novais could not conquer land on his own. So, he made alliances with both Kongo and Ndongo. He acted like a soldier for hire.
The First Portuguese-Ndongo War
In 1579, Portuguese traders living in Kongo told Njinga Ndambi Kilombo kia Kasenda, the king of Ndongo, that Portugal planned to take over his country. Based on this information, Njinga Ndambi tricked the Portuguese soldiers. He led them into an ambush and killed many of them at his capital city.
A war followed. Kongo invaded Ndongo in 1580 but was barely defeated. Portugal then attacked up the Kwanza River. They built a fort at Massangano in 1582. Many sobas (local leaders) switched their loyalty to Portugal. Soon, many coastal areas joined the Portuguese colony. By 1590, the Portuguese decided to attack the heart of Ndongo. They sent an army against Kabasa, Ndongo's capital.
However, Ndongo had recently made an alliance with the nearby Matamba. The Portuguese army was completely defeated. After this loss, Ndongo fought back. Many sobas who had supported Portugal returned to Ndongo's side. But Portugal managed to keep much of the land they had won earlier. In 1599, Portugal and Ndongo officially agreed on their border.
The Imbangala Period
In the early 1600s, there was an uneasy peace between Portugal and Ndongo. The Portuguese kept expanding along the Kwanza River. They built a fort at Cambambe in 1602. They also tried to get involved in Ndongo's politics whenever they could. This was especially true for Ndongo's weak control over Kisama and other lands south of the Kwanza River.
While working south of the Kwanza, the Portuguese met the Imbangala people. The Imbangala were a group of nomadic raiders who were causing trouble in the country. In 1615, the temporary governor of Angola, Bento Banha Cardoso, encouraged some Imbangala to cross the river and join the Portuguese army. With their help, he expanded the colony along the Lukala River, north of Ndongo.
In 1617, the new governor, Luis Mendes de Vasconcelos, decided to work with the Imbangala. He began strong attacks against Ndongo. With the help of Imbangala groups led by Kasanje and Kasa, he invaded Ndongo. They sacked (looted) the capital city. This forced King Ngola Mbandi to hide on Kindonga Island in the Kwanza River. Thousands of Ndongo people were taken prisoner. Mendes de Vasconcelos tried to set up a puppet government (a government controlled by Portugal), but he failed.
Mendes de Vasconcelos's replacement, João Correia de Sousa, tried to make peace with Ndongo. In 1621, Ngola Mbandi sent his sister, Nzinga Mbandi, to Luanda to negotiate. She worked out a peace treaty. Portugal agreed to pull back its fort at Ambaca, which had been used to invade Ndongo. They also agreed to return many captive ijiko (serfs) to Ndongo. And they would force the Imbangala groups, who were still causing trouble, to leave. In return, Ngola Mbandi would leave the island and return to his capital. He would become a Portuguese vassal, paying 100 slaves each year as tribute.
However, João Correia de Sousa got into a bad war with Kongo. After that, angry citizens forced him out of the colony. His temporary replacement, the bishop, could not carry out the treaty. So, it was left to the new governor, Fernão de Sousa, to sort things out when he arrived in 1624.
The Rise of Queen Njinga
Portugal's failure to keep its promises made King Ngola Mbandi very upset. He died, leaving the country to his sister Nzinga. She was supposed to rule for his young son, who was being protected by the Imbangala leader Kaza. Kaza had left Portuguese service and joined Ndongo. However, Nzinga only ruled for a short time as regent. She had the young son killed and became the ruling queen herself. Some European writings call her Anna Xinga.
A priest named Giovanni tried to talk with Nzinga again. He questioned if she had the right to be queen. He refused to return the ijiko (serfs). He also insisted that Nzinga first accept Portuguese rule. Nzinga was willing to do this, but she would not leave the island until she had full control and the ijiko were returned. When the Portuguese refused, Nzinga encouraged the ijiko to run away and join her. This disagreement over the ijiko led to war in 1626. Sousa's army managed to force Nzinga out of Kidonga, but they could not capture her.
Sousa felt confident enough to say that Nzinga was no longer queen. He gathered some sobas who had supported her. In 1626, they chose a new king, Hari a Kiluanji, who ruled the strong fortress of Mpungo a Ndongo (or Pungo Andongo). But he died in a smallpox sickness that happened because of the war. He was replaced by Filipe Hari a Ngola.
Nzinga refused to accept Hari a Ngola as king. She claimed he was from a slave family and could not rule. She went back to Kindonga Island. She started gathering support from all the sobas who were against Hari a Ngola and Portuguese rule. This led to a second war with Portugal. Sousa's army defeated Nzinga again in 1628. Once more, she was forced to flee the islands. Nzinga barely escaped capture. At one point, she had to climb down into the Baixa de Cassange valley using ropes, with only a few hundred followers left.
Desperate, Nzinga joined her forces with the Imbangala group led by Kasanje. He made her accept a difficult position as his wife and give up her royal symbols. Still, she managed to convince one of his supporters, later known as Nzinga Mona (Nzinga's son), to join her. She then rebuilt her army. With this support, Nzinga moved north and captured the Kingdom of Matamba. This became her new base. She even sent a group to take back the Kindonga Islands, which were now sacred because her brother's remains were buried there.
From this point on, Nzinga's story becomes part of the history of Matamba.
Ndongo Under Filipe Hari a Ndongo
Filipe I was loyal to the Portuguese for many years. This was true even when the Portuguese made a separate peace with Nzinga in 1639. His soldiers made up the largest part of the army that Portugal used to conquer and control the Dembos area to the north. When the Dutch invaded Brazil, Filipe fought against them. His forces were the main defenders of the remaining Portuguese colony at Masangano. However, he suffered a terrible defeat by Nzinga's army and her Dutch allies in 1647 at the Battle of Kombi.
After the Dutch were forced out, Filipe began to feel that the Portuguese were not treating him fairly. He had disagreements with them over his own leaders and his territory. His forces also suffered bad losses in wars in Kisama and the Dembos. His son and the next ruler was also disappointed. This was especially true after the Portuguese signed a treaty with Ndongo in 1657. This treaty recognized Nzinga as queen of both Ndongo and Matamba. This made Filipe's son feel dishonored, as he was only ruler of Pungo a Ndongo. So, in 1670, he rebelled. After a long siege, his fortress fell to the Portuguese army in 1671. This effectively ended Ndongo as an independent kingdom.
Important People
- The First Africans in Virginia, including:
- Nzinga of Ndongo, Queen of Ndongo
See also
In Spanish: Reino de Ndongo para niños
