Angola: Portuguese, African polities and the slave trade (1482-1614) (continued)

As the demand for slaves soared Alfonso became concerned at the economic and social devastation the trade was causing to the kingdom. When his complaints to the Portuguese king went untended he attempted, unsuccessfully, to ban all trade with Portugal (Ellsworth 1999, 19). Ellsworth (1999, 19) claims that "slave extraction soared to 60 000 in the first two decades and to 345 000 from 1506-1575".

In view of the strained relationship with the Kongo kingdom, and in order to secure a supply of slave independent of the Alfonso, the Portuguese turned their attention south, to the Ndongo kingdom, engaging in illegal slave trade directly with the Mbundu. Hitherto the slave trade had passed exclusively through the Kongo port of Mpinda, but now passed increasingly through Portuguese trading posts on the southern coast, close to the Ndongo kingdom (Accord 2004, Ellsworth 1999, 20).

This direct trade stimulated the economic and political power of the Ndongo kingdom, enabling them to challenge the overlordship of the Kongo at a time when the Kongo was undergoing internal stresses from depopulation and civil unrest (Ellsworth 1999, 20-21). An indication of the instability that wracked the kingdom is found in the fact that no less than six kings reigned in the Kongo in the twenty-five years between the death of Alfonso I in 1543 and the accession of Alvaro I in 1568 (Gordon undated).

Angered by the activity of Portuguese traders and missionaries in the territory of his vassals, Alfonso's successor, Alvaro I, sent a punitive force to bring the Mbundu to heel in 1556. The invading army was routed with Portuguese aid and the Ndongo kingdom seized the opportunity to assert its independence (Library of Congress 1989b, 1989c, Columbia Encyclopedia 2001).

Portuguese relations with the Ndongo polity rapidly began to sour after 1560 as the kingdom attempted to assert itself; military conflicts became increasingly frequent (Library of Congress 1989c). This provided no respite for the Kongo, for a major upheaval (whether an external invasion or an internal revolt aided by foreign allies is unclear) led to the sacking of São Salvador, as M'banza Kongo had been renamed, and the exile of Alvaro I (Columbia Encyclopedia 2001, Library of Congress 1989c).

With Portuguese aid, and after five years of warfare, Alvaro was able to regain control of his kingdom. He and his successor, Alvaro II, managed to stabilize the Kongo kingdom and ward off Portuguese incursions until the latter's death in 1614 (Columbia Encyclopedia 2001, Library of Congress 1989b, 1989c).

Eventually, as the trade with the Mbundu increased, the Portuguese founded Luanda in 1576 (or 1576) and Benguela in 1587 to handle the traffic (Accord 2004, Ellsworth 1999, 20, History World undated). Luanda formed the basis for an ever more aggressive and bloody Portuguese penetration into the interior, specifically into the territory of the Mbundu. The importance of the slave trade to the Portuguese crown was indicated by the decision to take control directly of the Angola settlements by the Portuguese government in 1590 (Library of Congress 1989b, 1989c).

Portuguese penetration into the interior was met with constant resistance by the Ndongo kingdom, but the slow progress was rewarded with a constant stream of war captives to be shipped as slaves (Library of Congress 1989c).

References

ACCORD 2004 "Chronology" Accord 15, [www] http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/angola/chronology.php [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPEDIA 2001, "Kingdom of Kongo", Sixth Edition, [www] http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0828072.html [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

ELLSWORTH, KH 1999, "Racial and Ethnic Relations in the Modern World-System: A Comparative Analysis of Portuguese Influence in Angola and Brazil", Paper presented at the 1999 International Studies Assoc. Conference, February 19, 18-26 [www] http://www.public.asu.edu/~ellswork/isa1999.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

GORDON, BR UNDATED, "Central Africa" IN Regnal Chronologies, [www] http://my.raex.com/~obsidian/Centafr.html#Angola [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

HISTORY WORLD UNDATED, "History of Angola", [www] http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad33 [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1989b, "Kongo Kingdom" IN Country Study: Angola [www] http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ao0014) [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1989c, "Ndongo Kingdom" IN Country Study: Angola [www] http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ao0015) [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).