Bakongo Monarchs
A history of Bakongo monarchs.
Kingdom of Kongo
By the 13th century, the Congo Basin was organized as a balance of powers between federations of kingdoms. A mutual defense alliance was negotiated between the kingdoms of Mpemba Kasi and Mbata and affirmed with a marriage between Nimi a Nzima and Lukeni lua Nsanze. Their son Lukeni lua Nimi inherited leadership of the coalition, negotiated further alliances, and conquered territories to the south. He is considered the founder of the Lukeni kanda (house of Kilukeni).
The king of Kongo was sometimes titled as manikongo or mwenikongo.
Álvaro I seized power in 1568 amid a crisis triggered by the Jaga invasion. He founded the Kwilu kanda.
The Portuguese began trading with the Bakongo in late 15th century, and quickly came into armed conflict. Afonso I had attempted to establish positive relations, converted to Catholicism, and encouraged the spread of Catholicism in the kingdom. But Portuguese Angola had been established to the south to foster the slave trade. Prior to his election as king in 1622, Pedro II was duke of Mbamba and was known to harbor runaway slaves. Therefore the colonial government launched an invasion seeking to 'recapture' the refugees (but in fact to kidnap civilians into slavery). This invasion was soundly repelled and Pedro appealed to the Vatican and Spain for support. He also began to negotiate a military alliance with the Dutch.
Pedro founded the Kinkanga (house of Nsundi) and was succeeded by his son Garcia I in 1624, but after just two years Garcia was overthrown. Ambrósio I was elected king, restoring the Kwilu kanda to power. He was however also overthrown in 1631, with the young Álvaro IV crowned in his place. Álvaro was nearly overthrown immediately, but the Kilukeni rallied to his defense. He was nonetheless killed by poisoning in 1636. Álvaro V founded the Kimpanzu (Mpanzu kanda, house of Kimpanzu) and immediately set out to consolidate. The first attempted autocoup failed, but Álvaro was spared; the second ended in his death. The Kilukeni brothers who led the defense of Álvaro IV were now raised up; Alvaro VI reigned until 1941 after which Garcia II reigned until 1660. They founded the Kinlaza (Nlaza kanda, house of Kinlaza). The competition between the three (Kinkanga, Kimpanzu, and Kinlaza) characterize this era.
The Portuguese again invaded Kongo in the 1660s. The Battle of Mbwila in 1665 was a remarkable victory for them, as António I was killed in the fighting and had no clear successor. The Kongo Civil War ensued, chiefly a war of succession between the Kinlaza and Kimpanzu, but neighboring powers capitalized on the fragmentation. Importantly, most European powers refused to recognize Portuguese sovereignty outside the borders of Angola.
Kingdom of Loango
Not much is known about the kingdom of Loango. It may have been established by Njimbe, a vassal of Kongo who usurped power. It was a less powerful kingdom north of Kongo. The Vili (or Bavili) diaspora traces its heritage to this state.
French Equatorial Africa
France established French Congo in 1880 as a protectorate over the Bateke nation along the Congo River. The Berlin Conference approved of this colonization and also affirmed that Portugal did not have a claim to territory north of Angola, while the French could continue to claim the territory north of the Congo. The territories between them were granted to the International Association of the Congo under the absolute control of Leopold II.
The French meanwhile quickly expanded along the Ubangi and Chari river basins, and also conquered the slave kingdom of Orungu. These were reorganized as French Equatorial Africa along with Chad, which was not fully subdued until 1917.