Early Congolese history
Encyclopedia
Early Congo History covers most of the Congo River
basin occupied today by the Democratic Republic of the Congo
, the Republic of the Congo
, Angola
's Cabinda province and northern Angola. 'Congo' and 'Congolese' refer to this area.
Early Congo history began with waves of Bantu migrations
from 2000 BC to 500 AD moving into the basin from the northwest and covers the precolonial states absorbed or overthrown by the colonial powers. The Bantu migrations added to and displaced the indigenous Pygmy
populations into the southern regions of the modern Congo states. The Bantu imported agriculture and iron-working techniques from West Africa
into the area, as well as establishing the Bantu language family as the primary set of tongues for the Congolese.
Subsequent migrations from the Darfur
and Kordofan regions of Sudan
into the north of Congo, as well as East Africa
ns migrating into the eastern Congo
, added to the mix of ethnic groups.
in the beginning of the 5th century and then gradually started to expand southward.
Their propagation was accelerated by the transition from Stone Age
to Iron Age
techniques. The peoples living in the south and southwest were mostly San
and hunter-gatherer groups, whose technology involved only minimal use of metal technologies. The development of metal tools during this time period revolutionized agriculture
and animal husbandry
. This led to the displacement of the hunter-gatherer
groups in the east and southeast.
The 10th century marked the final expansion of the Bantu in West-Central Africa. Rising population soon made intricate local, regional and foreign commercial nets possible, forming networks that traded mostly in salt
, iron
and copper
.
along the banks of the Lualaba River
in Katanga
. This culture, known as the Upemba, would eventually evolve into the more significant Luba Empire, as well as the Kingdom of Lunda.
The process in which the primitive original Upemba society transitioned into the Luba kingdom was gradual and complex. This transition ran without interruption, with several distinct societies developing out of the Upemba culture prior to the genesis of the Luba. Each of these societies based the foundation of their society on that of the one which preceded it (much in the way that many aspects of Roman
culture were borrowed from the Greeks
). The 5th century saw this societal evolution develop in the area around present day Kamilamba at the Kabambasee, which was followed and replaced by a number of other cultures which were based around the cities of Sanga
and Katango
.
The region in which these cultures appeared is particularly rich in ores
and the civilization began to develop and implement iron
and copper
technology, in addition to trading in ivory
and other goods. The Upemba established a strong commercial demand for their metal technologies and were able to institute a long-range commercial net (the business connections extended over 1500 km, all the way to the Indian Ocean
). Additionally, the region was endowed with favorable agricultural conditions and a wealth of fish
and game.
Its strong economy
and food-base allowed the region to become extremely wealthy. So wealthy, in fact, that cities and centralized government based on a chieftain
system developed. The political institution of the chieftain became generally accepted and these rulers became increasingly powerful, especially at the end the of the 16th century.
and its tributaries, as well as climatic
conditions in general, play a monstrous role in shaping the lives of the inhabitants of the Congo. The rivers are and were tremendously important to regional trade and provide a vast natural network for such activities, in addition to providing a source of food and water (which is needless to say, abundant) to the population.
It must also be mentioned that the climate is a major force in the Congo, which is made up primarily of tropical rainforest
that sees some of the highest annual rainfall in the world. This high amount of rainfall makes it difficult to sustain agriculture
, and subsequently a large population because the soil
is simply too watered-down and prone to periodic floods (which can ruin crops, of course) to produce large quantities of food. For this reason, the population of the Congo has maintained a low population in addition to an extremely low population density
.
Also, much has been made about the large number of "primitive" hunter-gatherer groups that inhabit the Congo, especially the Pygmy population. However, the reason for this particular life-style being so prominent in the Congo is geographical
and climatic: the area is simply not capable of producing a large amount of food from agriculture, and as a result, a portion of the population has continued to hunt and gather because it is a much more sustainable way of life.
s was the Kongo Empire
. The Kongo was a highly developed state located primarily in the southwest portion of the modern Congo, and also occupying portions of northern Angola
and Cabinda
. At its greatest extent, the empire reached from the Atlantic Ocean
in the west to the Kwango River
in the east, and from the Point Noire in the north to the Loje River in the south.
The kingdom was headed by a king known as the Manikongo
, who exercised his authority over the six provinces that constituted the Kongo kingdom and the Bakongo (Kongo peoples). When the Kongo Kingdom was at its political apex in the 15th and 16th centuries, the King, who had to be a male descendant of Wene
, reigned supreme. He was elected by a group of governors, usually the heads of important families and occasionally including Portuguese officials. The activities of the court
were supported by an extensive system of civil servants, and the court itself usually consisted of numerous male relatives of the King. The villages were often governed by lesser relatives of the King who were responsible to him. All members of government were invested with their power under the auspices of a ritual specialist.The Manikongo personally appointed a kind of governor for each of the six provinces to oversee each from his capital, Mbanza-Kongo. The city is now known by the same name as the capital of an Angolan province, but was for a time renamed by the Manikongo to 'Sao Salvador' in an effort to adopt Portuguese culture.
In its prime, the Kingdom exacted taxes, forced labor, and collected fines from its citizens in order to prosper. At times, enslaved peoples, ivory, and copper were traded to the Europeans on the coast. The important harbors were Sonyo and Pinda. In addition to the six provinces, the Kongo kingdom also established a sphere of influence
in a number of outlying areas from which it was able to extract tribute
. The kingdom was also at the center of an extensive Central African trade network in which it traded and produced large quantities of ivory
, as well as manufacturing copperware, raffia cloth, and pottery, along with other natural resources
(The eastern region of the Congo [such as the province of Katanga
] is particularly rich in mineral
resources, especially diamond
s). These trade goods would also form, in addition to slaves, the backbone of the Kongo's trade with Europeans (primarily the Portuguese
), upon their arrival.
The aforementioned slave trade was to be a significant factor in bringing about the end of the Kongo Empire, as the elites of the empire allowed European slave traders to eliminate a significant percentage of the population.
When King Álvaro I, came to the throne in an environment of contestation in 1568, he immediately had to fight invaders from the east (who some authorities believe were actually rebels within the country, either peasants or discontented nobles) called the "Jagas". To do this, he had to enlist the aid of the Portuguese based at São Tomé, who sent an expedition under Francisco de Gouveia Sottomaior to assist. At the same time, however, Álvaro had to allow the Portuguese to establish a colony in his province of Luanda in the south of his country. Kongo provided the Portuguese with support in their war against the Kingdom of Ndongo, located in the interior east of Luanda
, when Portugal went to war with it in 1579. Eventually the Portuguese would gain control over most of the surrounding territory which led to increasing tensions with the Kongo.
At the Battle of Ambuila in 1665, the Portuguese forces from Angola
defeated the forces of king Antonio I of Kongo
; Antonio was killed with many of his courtiers and the Luso-African author Manuel Roboredo, who had attempted to prevent this final war. Nevertheless, the country continued to exist, at least in name, for over two centuries, until the realm was divided among Portugal
, Belgium
, and France
at the Conference of Berlin in 1884-1885.
, expanded into an Empire over neighbouring states on the upper left bank territories of the Lualaba River
. At its peak, the empire had about a million people paying tribute to its king. The Luba Empire's success was due in large part to its development of a form of a government
durable enough to withstand the disruptions of succession disputes and flexible enough to incorporate foreign leaders and governments. It was based on the twin principles of sacred kingship and rule by council. The Luba
model of governing was so successful, it was adopted by the Lunda Kingdom
and spread throughout Katanga
and northern Angola as well as northwestern Zambia
and its Luapula Province
.
who left his brother's Luba Kingdom and married a princess from an area in the south of Katanga. Their son, Mwaant Yav or Mwata Yamvo
formed the central Lunda Kingdom there with a population of about 175,000 and became its ruler from 1660 to 1665. His title and name was passed to his descendants and successors as rulers of the kingdom.
The Lunda kings became powerful militarily and then politically through marriage with descendants of the Luba kings. The Lunda people were able to settle and colonialize other areas and tribes, thus extending their empire through southwest Katanga into Angola
and north-western Zambia
, and eastwards across Katanga into what is now the Luapula Province
of Zambia. The empire became a confederation of a number of kingdoms or chieftainships which enjoyed a degree of local autonomy (as long as tributes were paid), with Mwata Yamvo as paramount ruler, and a ruling council (following the Luba model) to assist with administration.
In the 18th Century a number of migrations took place from the Lunda Empire as far as the region to the south of Lake Tanganyika
. The Bemba people
under Chitimukulu
migrated from the Lunda Kingdom to Northern Zambia
. At the same time, a Lunda chief and warrior called Mwata Kazembe set up an Eastern Lunda
kingdom in the valley of the Luapula River
.
(or Garanganze Kingdom) in Katanga
was short-lived, existing from about 1856 to 1891 under one king, Msiri, a Nyamwezi
(also known as 'Yeke') from Tabora
in Tanzania
who got himself appointed as successor to a Wasanga chief west of the Luapula River
by defeating the chief's Lunda enemies. Once installed he conquered the neighbouring tribes and expanded the chieftainship into a kingdom, taking over the western territory of Mwata Kazembe and subjugating tribes in the southwest, on the trading route to Angola. When King Leopold II of Belgium
and the British imperialist
Cecil Rhodes heard that the Yeke Kingdom controlled east-west trade and was rich in copper
and possibly gold
, they sent competing expeditions to try to obtain a treaty for the kingdom. The Stairs Expedition sent by Leopold under the flag of his Congo Free State
was the winner of this scramble for Katanga when it killed Msiri (putting his head on a pole as a 'lesson' to his people), and installed a successor who would sign Katanga over to Leopold. The chieftainship continues to this day under the title Mwami Mwenda ('Mwenda' was one of Msiri's names).
, or more accurately, the Kuba Federation, was a political entity (one comprising a collection of approximately twenty Bantu ethnic groups) that began to develop out of a number of decentralized, ethnically Bantu states (namely the Luba, the Leele, and the Wongo ethnic groups).
The federation’s capital was Nsheng, which is now modern Mushenge. The name “Kuba” is derived from the term used by the Luba (whose kingdom lay to the south of the Kuba) for the civilization.
Because of its relative remoteness in the southern Congo, Kuba was largely spared the turmoil of both European
and Arab
slave trades. As a result, the civilization was able to maintain itself until the 19th century. Also due mainly to its location, even after Belgium
officially established the Congo Free State
in 1885, the Kuba were able to sustain their federation, which comprised some 100,000 square kilometers and had a population of approximately 150,000 inhabitants.
The Belgians began attempting to gain the acceptance of the Kuba in the early 1880s; however, the gifts Belgium attempted to give were always rejected and king aMbweeky aMileng threatened to behead any foreign intruders. As a result of their justifiable fear of white foreigners, it was not until the African-American missionary William Sheppard
made contact with the Kuba that a foreigner would gain their acceptance. This was mainly due to his African blood and Sheppard was able to live amongst the Kuba for four months.
Eventually, after colonial officials were able to enforce their authority upon the Kuba near the end of the 19th century, the entire region became increasingly unstable. However, the well-organized Kuba fought relentlessly against the regime and the area was one of the main sectors of resistance to Belgium throughout its rule.
populations located mostly in the southern portions of the region.
Of particular note is that the populations of the Eastern regions of the precolonial Congo were heavily disrupted by constant slaving, mainly from Zanzibari slave dealers such as the infamous Tippu Tip
(though he would come after the Europeans' entrance onto the scene). The slave trade in this portion of Africa was primarily Arab
in nature (in contrast to the European or Atlantic Slave Trade
, which took place primarily in West Africa, the Arab slave trade
was located on the eastern coast of the continent), with captured persons being shipped off to the Middle East
or to holdings of Arabian
kingdoms for labor.
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
basin occupied today by the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, the Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
's Cabinda province and northern Angola. 'Congo' and 'Congolese' refer to this area.
Early Congo history began with waves of Bantu migrations
Bantu expansion
The Bantu expansion or the Bantu Migration was a millennia-long series of migrations of speakers of the original proto-Bantu language group...
from 2000 BC to 500 AD moving into the basin from the northwest and covers the precolonial states absorbed or overthrown by the colonial powers. The Bantu migrations added to and displaced the indigenous Pygmy
Pygmy
Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
populations into the southern regions of the modern Congo states. The Bantu imported agriculture and iron-working techniques from West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
into the area, as well as establishing the Bantu language family as the primary set of tongues for the Congolese.
Subsequent migrations from the Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
and Kordofan regions of Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
into the north of Congo, as well as East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
ns migrating into the eastern Congo
Congo Basin
The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin that is the drainage of the Congo River of west equatorial Africa. The basin begins in the highlands of the East African Rift system with input from the Chambeshi River, the Uele and Ubangi Rivers in the upper reaches and the Lualaba River draining wetlands...
, added to the mix of ethnic groups.
Bantu migration
Some historians think that Bantu peoples began settling in the extreme northwest of Central AfricaCentral Africa
Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
in the beginning of the 5th century and then gradually started to expand southward.
Their propagation was accelerated by the transition from Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
to Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
techniques. The peoples living in the south and southwest were mostly San
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
and hunter-gatherer groups, whose technology involved only minimal use of metal technologies. The development of metal tools during this time period revolutionized agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
. This led to the displacement of the hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
groups in the east and southeast.
The 10th century marked the final expansion of the Bantu in West-Central Africa. Rising population soon made intricate local, regional and foreign commercial nets possible, forming networks that traded mostly in salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
.
Upemba culture
In the 5th century, a society began to develop in the Upemba depressionLake Upemba
Lake Upemba is a lake in Bukama, Haut-Lomami District, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It, and nearby Lake Kisale, is surrounded by the Upemba Depression in Upemba National Park...
along the banks of the Lualaba River
Lualaba River
The Lualaba River is the greatest headstream of the Congo River by volume of water. However, by length the Chambeshi River is the farthest headstream. The Lualaba is 1800 km long, running from near Musofi in the vicinity of Lubumbashi in Katanga Province. The whole of its length lies within the...
in Katanga
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
. This culture, known as the Upemba, would eventually evolve into the more significant Luba Empire, as well as the Kingdom of Lunda.
The process in which the primitive original Upemba society transitioned into the Luba kingdom was gradual and complex. This transition ran without interruption, with several distinct societies developing out of the Upemba culture prior to the genesis of the Luba. Each of these societies based the foundation of their society on that of the one which preceded it (much in the way that many aspects of Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
culture were borrowed from the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
). The 5th century saw this societal evolution develop in the area around present day Kamilamba at the Kabambasee, which was followed and replaced by a number of other cultures which were based around the cities of Sanga
Sanga
Sanga or Sangha is a group of thirteen villages in the Dogon Country region of Mali, lying east of Bandiagara at the top of an escarpment. The most important villages are Ogol-du-Haut and Ogol-du-Bas. It is known as a centre for traditional religion with many temples and shrines, and as a base for...
and Katango
Katango
Katango were a synth-pop band formed in Auckland in the early 80's. They released 3 singles, all with video releases. They won the Shazam Golden Microphone competition in 1985, voted for by TV viewers....
.
The region in which these cultures appeared is particularly rich in ores
Orés
Orés is a municipality in the Cinco Villas, in the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Cinco Villas. It is placed 104 km to the northwest of the provincial capital city, Zaragoza. Its coordinates are: 42° 17' N, 1° 00' W, and is...
and the civilization began to develop and implement iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
technology, in addition to trading in ivory
Ivory trade
The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, Asian and African elephants....
and other goods. The Upemba established a strong commercial demand for their metal technologies and were able to institute a long-range commercial net (the business connections extended over 1500 km, all the way to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
). Additionally, the region was endowed with favorable agricultural conditions and a wealth of fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and game.
Its strong economy
Economic system
An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...
and food-base allowed the region to become extremely wealthy. So wealthy, in fact, that cities and centralized government based on a chieftain
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
system developed. The political institution of the chieftain became generally accepted and these rulers became increasingly powerful, especially at the end the of the 16th century.
Effects of geography and climate
Additionally, it must be mentioned that, as is this case today, the Congo RiverCongo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
and its tributaries, as well as climatic
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
conditions in general, play a monstrous role in shaping the lives of the inhabitants of the Congo. The rivers are and were tremendously important to regional trade and provide a vast natural network for such activities, in addition to providing a source of food and water (which is needless to say, abundant) to the population.
It must also be mentioned that the climate is a major force in the Congo, which is made up primarily of tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
that sees some of the highest annual rainfall in the world. This high amount of rainfall makes it difficult to sustain agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, and subsequently a large population because the soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
is simply too watered-down and prone to periodic floods (which can ruin crops, of course) to produce large quantities of food. For this reason, the population of the Congo has maintained a low population in addition to an extremely low population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
.
Also, much has been made about the large number of "primitive" hunter-gatherer groups that inhabit the Congo, especially the Pygmy population. However, the reason for this particular life-style being so prominent in the Congo is geographical
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
and climatic: the area is simply not capable of producing a large amount of food from agriculture, and as a result, a portion of the population has continued to hunt and gather because it is a much more sustainable way of life.
Kongo Empire
The dominant political force of the Congo region prior to and during the initial arrival of EuropeanEuropean ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s was the Kongo Empire
Kingdom of Kongo
The Kingdom of Kongo was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in what are now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of the Congo, and the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
. The Kongo was a highly developed state located primarily in the southwest portion of the modern Congo, and also occupying portions of northern Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and Cabinda
Cabinda (province)
Cabinda is an exclave and province of Angola, a status that has been disputed by many political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda. The province is divided into four municipalities - Belize, Buco Zau, Cabinda and Cacongo.Modern Cabinda is the result of a fusion...
. At its greatest extent, the empire reached from the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in the west to the Kwango River
Kwango River
The Cuango or Kwango is a transboundary river of Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the largest left bank tributary of the Kasai River in the Congo River basin. It flows through Malanje town in Angola...
in the east, and from the Point Noire in the north to the Loje River in the south.
The kingdom was headed by a king known as the Manikongo
Manikongo
The Manikongo or MweneKongo was the title of the rulers of the Kingdom of Kongo, a kingdom that existed from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries and consisted of land in present-day Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo...
, who exercised his authority over the six provinces that constituted the Kongo kingdom and the Bakongo (Kongo peoples). When the Kongo Kingdom was at its political apex in the 15th and 16th centuries, the King, who had to be a male descendant of Wene
WENE
WENE is a radio station broadcasting a Sports format. Licensed to Endicott, New York, USA, the station serves the Binghamton. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications and features programing from Premiere Radio Networks, Westwood One and Fox Sports Radio.-External links:...
, reigned supreme. He was elected by a group of governors, usually the heads of important families and occasionally including Portuguese officials. The activities of the court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
were supported by an extensive system of civil servants, and the court itself usually consisted of numerous male relatives of the King. The villages were often governed by lesser relatives of the King who were responsible to him. All members of government were invested with their power under the auspices of a ritual specialist.The Manikongo personally appointed a kind of governor for each of the six provinces to oversee each from his capital, Mbanza-Kongo. The city is now known by the same name as the capital of an Angolan province, but was for a time renamed by the Manikongo to 'Sao Salvador' in an effort to adopt Portuguese culture.
In its prime, the Kingdom exacted taxes, forced labor, and collected fines from its citizens in order to prosper. At times, enslaved peoples, ivory, and copper were traded to the Europeans on the coast. The important harbors were Sonyo and Pinda. In addition to the six provinces, the Kongo kingdom also established a sphere of influence
Sphere of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is a spatial region or conceptual division over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....
in a number of outlying areas from which it was able to extract tribute
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
. The kingdom was also at the center of an extensive Central African trade network in which it traded and produced large quantities of ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
, as well as manufacturing copperware, raffia cloth, and pottery, along with other natural resources
Natural Resources
Natural Resources is a soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1970 on the Gordy label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who"...
(The eastern region of the Congo [such as the province of Katanga
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
] is particularly rich in mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
resources, especially diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s). These trade goods would also form, in addition to slaves, the backbone of the Kongo's trade with Europeans (primarily the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
), upon their arrival.
The aforementioned slave trade was to be a significant factor in bringing about the end of the Kongo Empire, as the elites of the empire allowed European slave traders to eliminate a significant percentage of the population.
When King Álvaro I, came to the throne in an environment of contestation in 1568, he immediately had to fight invaders from the east (who some authorities believe were actually rebels within the country, either peasants or discontented nobles) called the "Jagas". To do this, he had to enlist the aid of the Portuguese based at São Tomé, who sent an expedition under Francisco de Gouveia Sottomaior to assist. At the same time, however, Álvaro had to allow the Portuguese to establish a colony in his province of Luanda in the south of his country. Kongo provided the Portuguese with support in their war against the Kingdom of Ndongo, located in the interior east of Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
, when Portugal went to war with it in 1579. Eventually the Portuguese would gain control over most of the surrounding territory which led to increasing tensions with the Kongo.
At the Battle of Ambuila in 1665, the Portuguese forces from Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
defeated the forces of king Antonio I of Kongo
António I of Kongo
António I Nvita a Nkanga was a mwenekongo of the Kingdom of Kongo who ruled from 1661 to his defeat and death at the Battle of Mbwila on October 29, 1665. He was elected following the death of King Garcia II...
; Antonio was killed with many of his courtiers and the Luso-African author Manuel Roboredo, who had attempted to prevent this final war. Nevertheless, the country continued to exist, at least in name, for over two centuries, until the realm was divided among Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the Conference of Berlin in 1884-1885.
Luba Kingdom
The Luba Kingdom arose out of the Upemba culture and was founded by King Kongolo around 1585. His nephew and immediate, Kalala IlungaKalala Ilunga
Kalala Ilunga was one of the emperors of Luba, an empire which spread over the province of Katanga into Zambia and Zimbabwe. Kalala Ilunga was the eldest son of Ilunga Mbili and nephew of King Kongolo Mwamba...
, expanded into an Empire over neighbouring states on the upper left bank territories of the Lualaba River
Lualaba River
The Lualaba River is the greatest headstream of the Congo River by volume of water. However, by length the Chambeshi River is the farthest headstream. The Lualaba is 1800 km long, running from near Musofi in the vicinity of Lubumbashi in Katanga Province. The whole of its length lies within the...
. At its peak, the empire had about a million people paying tribute to its king. The Luba Empire's success was due in large part to its development of a form of a government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
durable enough to withstand the disruptions of succession disputes and flexible enough to incorporate foreign leaders and governments. It was based on the twin principles of sacred kingship and rule by council. The Luba
Luba people
The Luba are one of the Bantu peoples of Central Africa. They are indigenous to the Katanga, Kasai, and Maniema regions which were historic provinces of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo...
model of governing was so successful, it was adopted by the Lunda Kingdom
Lunda Kingdom
The Kingdom of Lunda , also known as the Lunda Empire, was a pre-colonial African confederation of states in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, north-eastern Angola and northwestern Zambia. Its central state was in Katanga....
and spread throughout Katanga
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
and northern Angola as well as northwestern Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
and its Luapula Province
Luapula Province
Luapula Province is one of Zambia's nine provinces, and is located in the north of the country. The provincial capital is Mansa. Luapula Province was named after the Luapula River....
.
Lunda Kingdom
The birth of the Lunda Kingdom is traced back to Ilunga TshibindaIlunga Tshibinda
Ilunga Tshibinda was a Kingdom of Luba emperor and Lunda. Tshibinda Ilunga was the second son of Ilunga Mbidi and younger brother Kalala Ilunga....
who left his brother's Luba Kingdom and married a princess from an area in the south of Katanga. Their son, Mwaant Yav or Mwata Yamvo
Mwata Yamvo
Mwata Yamvo is the name of the 16th Century founding ruler of the Lunda Kingdom and the title given to all subsequent rulers or paramount chiefs of the Lunda people to the present day...
formed the central Lunda Kingdom there with a population of about 175,000 and became its ruler from 1660 to 1665. His title and name was passed to his descendants and successors as rulers of the kingdom.
The Lunda kings became powerful militarily and then politically through marriage with descendants of the Luba kings. The Lunda people were able to settle and colonialize other areas and tribes, thus extending their empire through southwest Katanga into Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
and north-western Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, and eastwards across Katanga into what is now the Luapula Province
Luapula Province
Luapula Province is one of Zambia's nine provinces, and is located in the north of the country. The provincial capital is Mansa. Luapula Province was named after the Luapula River....
of Zambia. The empire became a confederation of a number of kingdoms or chieftainships which enjoyed a degree of local autonomy (as long as tributes were paid), with Mwata Yamvo as paramount ruler, and a ruling council (following the Luba model) to assist with administration.
In the 18th Century a number of migrations took place from the Lunda Empire as far as the region to the south of Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
. The Bemba people
Bemba people
The Bemba belong to a large group of peoples mainly in the Northern, Luapula and Copperbelt Provinces of Zambia who trace their origins to the Luba and Lunda states of the upper Congo basin, in what became Katanga Province in southern Congo-Kinshasa...
under Chitimukulu
Chitimukulu
The Chitimukulu is the Paramount Chieftainship of the Bemba, the largest ethnic group in Zambia. The chieftainship is named after Chiti Mukulu , who in the 18th Century led the Bemba out from their original lands in the Lunda Empire of Mwata Yamvo in DR Congo to eventually settle the country...
migrated from the Lunda Kingdom to Northern Zambia
Northern Province, Zambia
Northern Province is one of Zambia's nine provinces. It covers approximately one fifth of Zambia in land area. The provincial capital is Kasama. The province is made up of 12 districts, namely Kasama , Chilubi, Isoka, Chinsali, Kaputa, Luwingu, Mbala, Mporokoso, Mpika, Mpulungu, Mungwi and Nakonde...
. At the same time, a Lunda chief and warrior called Mwata Kazembe set up an Eastern Lunda
Eastern Lunda
The Lunda people of the Luapula River valley in Zambia and DR Congo are called by others the Eastern Lunda to distinguish them from the 'western' Lunda people who remained in the heartland of the former Lunda Kingdom, but they themselves would use Kazembe-Lunda or Luunda with an elongated 'u' to...
kingdom in the valley of the Luapula River
Luapula River
The Luapula River is a section of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. It is a transnational river forming for nearly all its length part of the border between Zambia and the DR Congo...
.
Yeke Kingdom
The Yeke KingdomYeke Kingdom
The Yeke Kingdom of the Garanganze people in Katanga, DR Congo was short-lived, existing from about 1856 to 1891 under one king, Msiri, but it became for a while the most powerful state in south-central Africa, controlling a territory of about half a million square kilometres...
(or Garanganze Kingdom) in Katanga
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
was short-lived, existing from about 1856 to 1891 under one king, Msiri, a Nyamwezi
Nyamwezi
The Nyamwezi, or Wanyamwezi, are the second-largest of over 120 ethnic groups in Tanzania. They live in the northwest central area of the country, between Lake Victoria and Lake Rukwa...
(also known as 'Yeke') from Tabora
Tabora
Tabora is the capital city of Tanzania's Tabora Region with a population of 127,880 . Tabora region is one of the largest geographical regions of Tanzania.- History :...
in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
who got himself appointed as successor to a Wasanga chief west of the Luapula River
Luapula River
The Luapula River is a section of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. It is a transnational river forming for nearly all its length part of the border between Zambia and the DR Congo...
by defeating the chief's Lunda enemies. Once installed he conquered the neighbouring tribes and expanded the chieftainship into a kingdom, taking over the western territory of Mwata Kazembe and subjugating tribes in the southwest, on the trading route to Angola. When King Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
and the British imperialist
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
Cecil Rhodes heard that the Yeke Kingdom controlled east-west trade and was rich in copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and possibly gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, they sent competing expeditions to try to obtain a treaty for the kingdom. The Stairs Expedition sent by Leopold under the flag of his Congo Free State
Congo Free State
The Congo Free State was a large area in Central Africa which was privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Its origins lay in Leopold's attracting scientific, and humanitarian backing for a non-governmental organization, the Association internationale africaine...
was the winner of this scramble for Katanga when it killed Msiri (putting his head on a pole as a 'lesson' to his people), and installed a successor who would sign Katanga over to Leopold. The chieftainship continues to this day under the title Mwami Mwenda ('Mwenda' was one of Msiri's names).
Kuba Federation
The Kuba KingdomKuba Kingdom
The Kuba Kingdom was a pre-colonial Central African state bordered by the Sankuru, Lulua, and Kasai rivers in the southeast of what is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, or more accurately, the Kuba Federation, was a political entity (one comprising a collection of approximately twenty Bantu ethnic groups) that began to develop out of a number of decentralized, ethnically Bantu states (namely the Luba, the Leele, and the Wongo ethnic groups).
The federation’s capital was Nsheng, which is now modern Mushenge. The name “Kuba” is derived from the term used by the Luba (whose kingdom lay to the south of the Kuba) for the civilization.
Because of its relative remoteness in the southern Congo, Kuba was largely spared the turmoil of both European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
and Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
slave trades. As a result, the civilization was able to maintain itself until the 19th century. Also due mainly to its location, even after Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
officially established the Congo Free State
Congo Free State
The Congo Free State was a large area in Central Africa which was privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Its origins lay in Leopold's attracting scientific, and humanitarian backing for a non-governmental organization, the Association internationale africaine...
in 1885, the Kuba were able to sustain their federation, which comprised some 100,000 square kilometers and had a population of approximately 150,000 inhabitants.
The Belgians began attempting to gain the acceptance of the Kuba in the early 1880s; however, the gifts Belgium attempted to give were always rejected and king aMbweeky aMileng threatened to behead any foreign intruders. As a result of their justifiable fear of white foreigners, it was not until the African-American missionary William Sheppard
William Henry Sheppard
Reverend William Henry Sheppard was one of the earliest African Americans to become a missionary for the Presbyterian Church. He spent 20 years in Africa, primarily in and around the Congo Free State, and is best known for his efforts to publicize the atrocities committed against the Kuba and...
made contact with the Kuba that a foreigner would gain their acceptance. This was mainly due to his African blood and Sheppard was able to live amongst the Kuba for four months.
Eventually, after colonial officials were able to enforce their authority upon the Kuba near the end of the 19th century, the entire region became increasingly unstable. However, the well-organized Kuba fought relentlessly against the regime and the area was one of the main sectors of resistance to Belgium throughout its rule.
Other states
The Kongo and the Kuba were the largest political entities in the precolonial Congo area. However, there were numerous other, much smaller states scattered throughout the territory in the north and northeast, with Pygmies and other primarily hunter-gathererHunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
populations located mostly in the southern portions of the region.
Of particular note is that the populations of the Eastern regions of the precolonial Congo were heavily disrupted by constant slaving, mainly from Zanzibari slave dealers such as the infamous Tippu Tip
Tippu Tip
Tippu Tip or Tib , real name Hamad bin Muḥammad bin Jumah bin Rajab bin Muḥammad bin Sa‘īd al-Murghabī, , was a Swahili-Zanzibari trader. He was famously known as Tippu Tib after an eye disease which made him blind...
(though he would come after the Europeans' entrance onto the scene). The slave trade in this portion of Africa was primarily Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
in nature (in contrast to the European or Atlantic Slave Trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
, which took place primarily in West Africa, the Arab slave trade
Arab slave trade
The Arab slave trade was the practice of slavery in the Arab World, mainly Western Asia, North Africa, East Africa and certain parts of Europe during their period of domination by Arab leaders. The trade was focused on the slave markets of the Middle East and North Africa...
was located on the eastern coast of the continent), with captured persons being shipped off to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
or to holdings of Arabian
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
kingdoms for labor.