Ambrósio I Nimi a Nkanga was a mwenekongo of the

Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo ( or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' ) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. At its gre ...

who ruled from (March 1626 to March 7, 1631.)

Rise to Power

Ambrósio I was the nephew of Álvaro III and as such was a member of the royal

House of Kwilu Kwilu, also known as the House of Kwilu (Portuguese: ''Coulo''), was a kanda or royal lineage of the Kingdom of Kongo. Origins Prior to the rise of the Kwilu kanda, the Kilukeni kanda or House of Lukeni had ruled Kongo since its inception aroun ...

. When Alvaro III died on May 4 of 1622, he had only a young son to leave as heir. Instead of putting an easily manipulated juvenile on the throne at a time when the Portuguese under the renegade governor João Correia de Sousa was threatening the country, the royal council elected the Duke of Mbamba as King Pedro II. This ushered in the short-lived royal House of Nsundi. King Pedro II was peacefully succeeded by his son Garcia I but the calm was not to last. In 1626, Garcia was overthrown by disgruntled nobles led by Manuel Jordão the Duke of Nsundi. At the request of the royal ladies of the court, many of whom fervent partisans of the House of Kwilu, Jordão had Ambrósio crowned as king restoring the Kwilu kanda to power.

Reign as King

King Ambrósio fell out with his benefactor after two years and accused him of eyeing the throne.Heywood, Linda M. and John K. Thornton: "Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Foundation of the Americas, 1585-1660", page 142. Cambridge University Press, 2007 The king quickly moved to and succeeded at removing Jordão from his post as Duke of Nsundi, having him exiled to an island on the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

. This would not be the end of Ambrósio's troubles, as his reign was beset by rumors of conspiracy and war mobilizations which culminated in a massive revolt. King Ambrósio I was overthrown and killed on March 7, 1631.Heywood, Linda M. and John K. Thornton: "Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Foundation of the Americas, 1585-1660", page 141. Cambridge University Press, 2007

Rise to Power

Reign as King

References

See also