Episode 4. The Kingdom of the Kongo - at its best and at its worst

Here we follow the journey of the Kingdom of the Kongo from the 16th Century to the end of the 19th Century.

In these times the Kingdom was able to act as an independent power in its own right, acting as an ally, or a foe, to fellow African Kingdoms and European Powers.

But ultimately it was unable to withstand the many challenges, both internal and externally, that it faced in these turbulent times. It's weakness of position and lack of cohesion gave others the opportunity to exploit its riches and people, as it's nobles jockeyed for position in the damaged Kingdom.

But in this adversity a voice of hope of emerged which would act as a rallying cry and resonate through the ages in the form of a young woman...

The image I have attached for this episode are 17th century crosses from the Kingdom. These are a tangible link to the embrace given by the Kingdom to Catholicism back in the 15th century, and the importance of MBanza Kongo, or Sao Salvador as it was later named.

Episode 3: When two civilizations meet

This is the last of the New Years Eve 2020 burst of releases. More to come!

In this episode we see how the Kingdom of the Kongo met the Portuguese and established itself on the global stage of the 15th and 16th Centuries.

This was not easy and there was conflict both with the Europeans, other African peoples and internally.

For this episode I present an image of a 1570s map by Abraham Ortelius. You can see here that the Kingdom of the Kongo is present, although both the Kingdom and the capital, MBanza Kongo, are labelled as Manicongo.

We can also see the imagined lakes and inland mountains created to prevent a blank space and show the source of the rivers.

Episode 2: The Kingdom of the Kongo

The History of the Congo starts in earnest now as we start to look at the West of the country. Here we meet the Kingdom of the Kongo as it was in the 13th Century.

There are not too many images or photos of this time so I have added a photo of the Padrao, of stone cross, that was left at the end of the River Congo, or River Zaire, in 1482.

You can see this at the Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa, or the Geographical Society of Lisbon, which you can find West of Rossio in downtown Lisbon.