Álvaro II Nimi a Nkanga was

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of Kongo from 1587 to 1614. He was one of Kongo's most powerful and important kings, who succeeded his father

Álvaro I Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrio ...

, but not until resolving a dispute with his brother. Both sides brought armies to São Salvador but to avoid bloodshed they agreed to single combat, won by Álvaro. Álvaro faced serious problems with other nobles besides his brother, and in 1590-91 was racked by a serious, though poorly documented civil war. In order to reestablish his authority, Álvaro had to accept the virtual independence of Miguel, the count of

Soyo Soyo (formerly known as ''Santo António do Zaire'') is a city, with a population of 200,920 (2014 census), and a municipality, with a population of 227,175 (2014 census), located in the province of Zaire in Angola, at the mouth of the Congo riv ...

. In order to recognize those nobles who had been loyal to him during this struggle, Álvaro began granting habits of the Order of Christ to his followers. Kongo kings continued this order in the Kingdom of Kongo (see Order of Christ (Kongo)) and granted knighthoods in it through the 19th century, which continues by pretenders to the throne. During Álvaro's reign, the capital city, São Salvador was recognized as the capital of the diocese of then Portuguese Congo and

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, and the first bishop was appointed, in 1596. However, because the kings of Portugal claimed the right of

Padroado The ''Padroado'' (, "patronage") was an arrangement between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Portugal and later the Portuguese Republic, through a series of concordats by which the Holy See delegated the administration of the local churches and gr ...

(patronage), they chose their own bishop. Constant struggles between the king and the bishop followed. Kongo's relations with

Portuguese Angola Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa). I ...

worsened during Álvaro's reign, and he complained bitterly about the behaviour of the governors to the King of Spain (then also ruling Portugal during the period of the

Iberian Union pt, União Ibérica , conventional_long_name =Iberian Union , common_name = , year_start = 1580 , date_start = 25 August , life_span = 1580–1640 , event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession , event_end = Portuguese Restoration War , ...

). In 1604–1608, Alvaro II sent an ambassador to

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

in the person of Emanuele Ne Vunda.Transactions of the Royal Historic Society "Representing Africa", p.112
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvaro 02 Of Kongo Manikongo of Kongo 16th-century births 1614 deaths 16th-century monarchs in Africa 17th-century monarchs in Africa

See also

References