Kakongo: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|15th to 19th century coastal kingdom in west Central Africa}} |
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{{Refimprove|date=July 2007}} |
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{{Infobox country |
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'''Kakongo''' was a former small kingdom located on the Atlantic coast of Central [[Africa]], in the modern day [[Republic of Congo]] and [[Cabinda Province|Cabinda]], [[Angola]]. Although separated from other speakers of [[Kikongo]], the people speak a dialect of the Kikongo language and thus may be considered a part of the [[Bakongo]] ethnicity. However, today, the Kakongos are classified as part of the larger [[Lunda people|Lunda]]–[[Chokwe people|Chokwe]] group living in central Angola.<ref>Olson, James Stuart (1996) ''The Peoples of Africa: An ethnohistorical dictionary'' Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood]], Westport, Connecticut, [http://books.google.com/books?id=MdaAdBC-_S4C&pg=PA265 page 265], ISBN 978-0-313-27918-8</ref> |
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| conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Kakongo |
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| common_name = Kakongo |
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| image_flag = File:Royal_Banner_of_the_Kingdom_of_Kakongo_(c._1883).svg |
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| flag_type = Royal banner (c. 1883) |
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| event_start = |
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| year_start = 15th century |
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| event1 = Coast occupied by [[Portugal]] |
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| date_event1 = 1883 |
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| date_start = |
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| event_end = Incorporated into [[Portuguese Angola]] |
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| year_end = 1885 |
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| p1 = |
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| image_p1 = |
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| image_map = Congo Map by Stanley.jpg |
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| image_map_alt = |
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| image_map_caption = [[Henry Morton Stanley]]'s map of the area during his expedition down the Congo River |
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| capital = Kinguele |
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| common_languages = [[Kikongo]] |
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| religion = '''Official''':[[Kongo religion|Bukongo]] |
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| government_type = Monarchy |
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}} |
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'''Kakongo''' was a small kingdom located on the Atlantic coast of [[Central Africa]], in the modern-day [[Republic of the Congo]] and [[Cabinda Province]], [[Angola]]. Along with its neighboring kingdoms of [[Ngoyo]] and [[Kingdom of Loango|Loango]], Kakongo became an important political commercial center during the 17th through 19th centuries. The people speak a dialect of the [[Kongo language|Kikongo language]] and thus may be considered a part of the [[Kongo people|Bakongo]] ethnicity. Kakongo was a vassal of the [[Kingdom of Kongo]] for a part of its history. |
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==Early history== |
==Early history== |
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The earliest history of Kakongo is unknown, and oral traditions collected in the region in the |
The earliest history of Kakongo is unknown, and oral traditions collected in the region in the 19th and 20th centuries do not do much to elucidate.<ref>Phillipson, David W. (2005) ''African Archaeology'' (3rd edition) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, page 295, {{ISBN|978-0-521-54002-5}}</ref> In its present state, archaeology can only attest that the region was already in the [[Iron Age]] by the 5th century BC, and that complex societies were emerging in the general vicinity by the early centuries CE. |
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The kingdom is first mentioned in the titles of the King |
The kingdom is first mentioned in the titles of the King of Kongo [[Afonso I of Kongo|Afonso I]] in 1535, in which he notes that he was king over this region, as well as a number of others located along the north bank of the [[Congo River]].<ref>Martin, Phyllis M. (1972) ''The external trade of the Loango Coast, 1576-1870: the effects of changing commercial relations on the Vili Kingdom of Loango'' Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, page 31, {{OCLC|635840790}}</ref> This title has led historians to believe that Kakongo was once part of a federation of states that included Kongo and that may have formed around the late 14th century. Kakongo was, however, an independent state for all intents and purposes from the 16th century onward. Portuguese merchants, interested in the trade in copper, ivory, and slaves, began to establish factories in Kakongo in the 1620s, and Dutch and English merchants also visited the kingdom during the 17th century. Its capital was called Kinguele and was an inland town. |
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In the 1680s Kakongo had diplomatic relations with [[Soyo]] on the south side of the Congo River. It lost control of the island of Nzari a Kongo in the river to Soyo in about 1688.<ref>[[John K. Thornton]]. ''History of West Central Africa to 1850''. p. 202</ref> |
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Kakongo was, however, an independent state for all intents and purposes from the sixteenth century onward. Portuguese merchants, interested in the trade in copper, ivory, and slaves began to establish factories in Kakongo in the 1620s and Dutch and English merchants also visited the kingdom during the seventeenth century. |
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== |
==Commercial center== |
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Kakongo became a very important commercial center in the |
Kakongo became a very important commercial center in the 18th century, regularly visited by ships from England, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Its port of [[Cabinda (city)|Cabinda]] was a major hub that lay in a protected bay. [[Slavery in Africa|Slaves]] dominated the exports of the country, though most were simply transhipped from areas further south, mostly from the Kingdom of Kongo and the eastern provinces of Angola, such as [[Kingdom of Matamba|Matamba]]. |
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Important goods that were also traded included gunpowder, guns, knives, cotton cloths, glass beads, copper and iron bars. In 1775, French missionaries sought to convert the kingdom, along with its neighbors, to Christianity, hoping to reap the fruit of its long association with the neighboring, Christian, Kingdom of Kongo. The mission was largely unsuccessful but did make contact with a community of Christians from Kongo's province of [[Soyo]], living in the town of Manguenzo in the interior. The mission was ultimately abandoned. |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Iron Age cultures of Africa]] |
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[[Category:Countries in medieval Africa]] |
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[[Category:Countries in precolonial Africa]] |
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[[Category:History of the Republic of the Congo]] |
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[[Category:Former kingdoms]] |
[[Category:Former kingdoms]] |
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[[Category:Kingdom of Kongo]] |
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Revision as of 04:46, 7 September 2023
Kingdom of Kakongo | |
|---|---|
| 15th century–1885 | |
.svg) Royal banner (c. 1883) | |
 Henry Morton Stanley's map of the area during his expedition down the Congo River | |
| Capital | Kinguele |
| Common languages | Kikongo |
| Religion | Official:Bukongo |
| Government | Monarchy |
| History | |
• Established | 15th century |
• Coast occupied by Portugal | 1883 |
• Incorporated into Portuguese Angola | 1885 |
Kakongo was a small kingdom located on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, in the modern-day Republic of the Congo and Cabinda Province, Angola. Along with its neighboring kingdoms of Ngoyo and Loango, Kakongo became an important political commercial center during the 17th through 19th centuries. The people speak a dialect of the Kikongo language and thus may be considered a part of the Bakongo ethnicity. Kakongo was a vassal of the Kingdom of Kongo for a part of its history.
Early history
The earliest history of Kakongo is unknown, and oral traditions collected in the region in the 19th and 20th centuries do not do much to elucidate.[1] In its present state, archaeology can only attest that the region was already in the Iron Age by the 5th century BC, and that complex societies were emerging in the general vicinity by the early centuries CE.
The kingdom is first mentioned in the titles of the King of Kongo Afonso I in 1535, in which he notes that he was king over this region, as well as a number of others located along the north bank of the Congo River.[2] This title has led historians to believe that Kakongo was once part of a federation of states that included Kongo and that may have formed around the late 14th century. Kakongo was, however, an independent state for all intents and purposes from the 16th century onward. Portuguese merchants, interested in the trade in copper, ivory, and slaves, began to establish factories in Kakongo in the 1620s, and Dutch and English merchants also visited the kingdom during the 17th century. Its capital was called Kinguele and was an inland town.
In the 1680s Kakongo had diplomatic relations with Soyo on the south side of the Congo River. It lost control of the island of Nzari a Kongo in the river to Soyo in about 1688.[3]
Commercial center
Kakongo became a very important commercial center in the 18th century, regularly visited by ships from England, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Its port of Cabinda was a major hub that lay in a protected bay. Slaves dominated the exports of the country, though most were simply transhipped from areas further south, mostly from the Kingdom of Kongo and the eastern provinces of Angola, such as Matamba.
Important goods that were also traded included gunpowder, guns, knives, cotton cloths, glass beads, copper and iron bars. In 1775, French missionaries sought to convert the kingdom, along with its neighbors, to Christianity, hoping to reap the fruit of its long association with the neighboring, Christian, Kingdom of Kongo. The mission was largely unsuccessful but did make contact with a community of Christians from Kongo's province of Soyo, living in the town of Manguenzo in the interior. The mission was ultimately abandoned.
Notes
- ^ Phillipson, David W. (2005) African Archaeology (3rd edition) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, page 295, ISBN 978-0-521-54002-5
- ^ Martin, Phyllis M. (1972) The external trade of the Loango Coast, 1576-1870: the effects of changing commercial relations on the Vili Kingdom of Loango Clarendon Press, Oxford, England, page 31, OCLC 635840790
- ^ John K. Thornton. History of West Central Africa to 1850. p. 202