António I Vita a Nkanga (or Mvita a Nkanga) was a

mwenekongo The Manikongo, or Mwene Kongo, was the title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo, a kingdom that existed from the 14th to the 19th centuries and consisted of land in present-day Angola, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Repu ...

of the

Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo ( kg, Kongo dya Ntotila or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' pt, Reino do Congo) was a kingdom located in central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the ...

who ruled from 1661 to his defeat and death at the

Battle of Mbwila Battle of Mbwila (also the Battle of Ambuila, Battle of Mbuila, or Battle of Ulanga) was a battle that occurred on 29 October 1665 in which Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitated king António I of Kongo ...

on October 29, 1665. He was elected following the death of King Garcia II. Like the former king, António I pursued a foreign policy focused on removing the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

from his region.

Policy against the Portuguese

Since 1620, Kongo and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

had been in a near-constant state of war with the only intervals coming after decisive

BaKongo The Kongo people ( kg, Bisi Kongo, , singular: ; also , singular: ) are a Bantu ethnic group primarily defined as the speakers of Kikongo. Subgroups include the Beembe, Bwende, Vili, Sundi, Yombe, Dondo, Lari, and others. They have lived ...

victories. After almost 30 years of decline in the face of BaKongo, Mbundu and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

military victories, the Portuguese had retaken their colonial possession in

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

while establishing a tenuous peace with their old enemies. Feeling threatened by Portugal's return on Kongo's southern border, António I sought to renew Kongo's war against the Portuguese with a new alliance similar to the one at the

Battle of Kitombo The Battle of Kitombo was a military engagement between forces of the BaKongo state of Soyo, formerly a province of the Kingdom of Kongo, and the Portuguese colony of Angola on 18 October 1670. Earlier in the year a Portuguese expeditionary force ...

. Unable to rely on the Dutch for assistance, he sent emissaries to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

but failed to procure an alliance. He also contacted Kongo's Mbundu allies in

Matamba The Kingdom of Matamba (1631–1744) was an African state located in what is now the Baixa de Cassange region of Malanje Province of modern-day Angola. It was a powerful kingdom that long resisted Portuguese colonisation attempts and was only in ...

and the semi-independent kingdoms of Dembos and Mbwila. On December 22, 1663, Alfonso VI of Portugal ordered Vidal Negreiros to take control of the Kongo copper mines, exploit the deposits and send the ore by ship to Lisbon. António I of Kongo responded by denying the existence of the mines and proclaiming that he "is in no way indebted to the King of Portugal". Vidal Negreiros prepares his army for battle and Antonio I responds with a vibrant call to war, the two met in Mbwila, along the Ulanga River. John K. Thornton, ''A History of West Central Africa to 1850'', Cambridge University Press, 2020, p. 182

Death at the Battle of Mbwila

The Portuguese got wind of these plans and were also pressing claims to sovereignty over the small kingdom of Mbwila. When a succession dispute between Mbwila's king (supported by Kongo) and his aunt (supported by Portugal) erupted, the rivals both came with armies to settle the dispute. At the

, the BaKongo suffered their worst military defeat. This resulted in the death of hundreds, which included King António had led a contingent of 400 swordsmen into the battle. King António I was decapitated during or shortly after the battle (his head buried with royal honours by the Portuguese), while his crown and sceptre were taken to Portugal as trophies.

Aftermath

King António died with no heir apparent. Many of the men who could have taken his place died or were captured at the battle, including his seven-year-old son. The ruling House of Kinlaza and the opposing

House of Kimpanzu The Kimpanzu were members of the Mpanzu kanda also known as the House of Kimpanzu, one of the lineages from which the kings of Kongo were chosen during the 17th century and following Kongo's reunification under Pedro IV. They are remembered in ...

fought furiously over the throne causing a devastating civil war. The heyday of the Kingdom of Kongo was at an end, and it would take forty years for the kingdom to be reunited.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonio 01 Of Kongo 17th-century births 1665 deaths Manikongo of Kongo Military personnel killed in action 17th-century African people

Policy against the Portuguese

Death at the Battle of Mbwila

Aftermath

See also

References