NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 79converted to Catholicism. After his death, his
son and heir, King Nzinga Mbemba, took the
name King Afonso I and declared the kingdom
a Catholic state, firmly bonding the two nations.
In 1512, Afonso I negotiated an agreement
with the Portuguese giving them rights to land
and direct access to Kongo’s prisoners of war,
who would be sold into the transatlantic slave
trade. This arrangement provided a model
that other European nations and western and
central African kingdoms would follow for
centuries afterward.
The first people sold were mostly prisoners
of war. African kingdoms were often in conflict,
at times absorbing smaller nations or kinshiplived in developed cities and towns surround-
ing their capital city, Kabasa. The capital was
where royalty lived, along with approximately
50,000 citizens. In 1618, Portuguese forces
aligned with Ndongo’s adversaries, neighbor-
ing Imbangala mercenaries, to invade the king-
dom. They captured thousands of prisoners to
sell into slavery.
These political relationships were spawned
135 years earlier. In 1483, the Portuguese first
forged a relationship with the Kingdom of Kon-
go. Portuguese explorers aimed to spread Ca-
tholicism in Africa, colonize both people and
land, and grow rich. Upon developing a trade deal
with the Portuguese, the Kongo King Nkuwu
POISONOUS
PARTNERSHIP
An engraving
from 1598 shows
Portuguese sailors
saluting the King
of Kongo. The two
nations forged a
centuries-long
relationship centered
on the transatlantic
slave trade.The English begin establishing
colonies in the Americas. After
an attempt in Roanoke, North
Carolina, fails, successful colonies
are founded at Jamestown, Virginia,
and St. George’s, Bermuda.The San Juan Bautista leaves
for New Spain with a cargo of
about 350 Africans. English
pirates attack the ship and seize
approximately 50 people, who are
taken to the British colonies.1584-1612 1619
SCALA, FLORENCEGETTY IMAGESIN THE LATE 1600S,
PORTUGAL BEGAN
MINTING COINS, SUCH
AS THE MACUTA
(RIGHT), FOR USE
IN AFRICA.