Manuel II or Manuel II Mpanzu a Nimi (???-1743) was ruler 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 ...

(1718–1743). He ruled in a period of "rotating lineages" as planned by his predecessor and was of the

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 ...

. He had once fought against Pedro during the recapture of São Salvador.

Rule in Mbamba Lovata

Manuel was the brother of

Daniel I Daniel I may refer to: * Daniel I of Armenia (ruled 347) * Archbishop Danilo I of the Serbian Orthodox Church (ruled 1271–1272) * Daniel of Moscow (1261–1303) * Daniel I of Kongo (ruled 1674–78) * Metropolitan Danilo I Petrović-Njegoš ( ...

, and when he was killed in the Sack of São Salvador, became the main

claimant to the Kongo throne. He retreated to Mbamba Lovata, where he established himself as the Awenekongo which became one of three main post-

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

states, the other two held by separate

Kinlaza The Kinlaza were members of the Nlaza kanda or House of Kinlaza, one of the ruling houses of the Kingdom of Kongo during the 17th century. It was one of the main factions during the Kongo Civil War along with the Kimpanzu and Kinkanga a Mvika ...

claimants to the throne of Kongo. In 1680, King Pedro III was ruling the rival kingdom of Lemba, where he claimed the Kongo throne in opposition to the

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 ...

partisans residing in Soyo's southern province of Luvota. Manuel had sworn vengeance and orchestrated a plot to kill Pedro III. Under the auspice of a truce, treacherously negotiated by the Prince of Soyo, Pedro III was lured into a trap expecting to make peace through marriage to a Kimpanzu noble. Instead, Manuel emerged from the Soyo wedding train dressed as a bride and shot Pedro III to death before escaping.Thornton, John K: "The Kongolese Saint Anthonty: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684-1706", page 79. Cambridge University, 1998 The particular episode in Kongo's history would become one of the sticking points keeping the nobility from finding lasting peace. After the assassination of Pedro III, Manuel fought to establish his claim over Kongo, which eventually culminated in a Battle for São Salvador, where he allied with Pedro Constantinho da Silva and his partisans who were once subordinates of Pedro IV. The forces of Pedro and Manuel clashed, but eventually, Pedro was victorious, leaving him in control of the capital and therefore de facto Manikongo of Kongo. Manuel did not give up his claim for 6 years and continued to rule a rival administration in Mbamba Lovata until an agreement between Pedro and Manuel in 1715 led to the re-establishment of the throne alternating between the Kinlaza and Kimpanzu houses.

Rule in São Salvador

When Pedro died in 1718, the agreement between the houses was honored, and Manuel was crowned as Manuel II of Kongo, moving his royal house to the city. He ruled until his death in 1743, when the throne passed to Garcia IV, who was of the House of Kinlaza.

References

1743 deaths Manikongo of Kongo {{Africa-royal-stub