National Geographic History - July 2019

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 79

converted 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 kinship

lived 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, FLORENCE

GETTY IMAGES

IN THE LATE 1600S,

PORTUGAL BEGAN

MINTING COINS, SUCH

AS THE MACUTA

(RIGHT), FOR USE

IN AFRICA.