Battle of Kitombo
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The Battle of Kitombo was a military engagement between forces of the
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 ...
state of Soyo, formerly a province 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 ...
, and the Portuguese colony of Angola on 18 October 1670. Earlier in the year a Portuguese expeditionary force had invaded Soyo with the intention of ending its independent existence. The Soyo were supported by the Kingdom of
Ngoyo Ngoyo was an Iron Age kingdom state of the Woyo ethnic group, located in the south of Cabinda (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola). Located on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, just north of the Congo River, it was f ...
, which provided men and equipment, and by the Dutch, who provide guns, light cannon and ammunition. The combined Soyo-Ngoyo force was led by Estêvão Da Silva, and the Portuguese by João Soares de Almeida. Both commanders were killed in the battle, which resulted in a decisive victory for Soyo. Few, if any, of the invaders escaped death or capture.


Background

The Portuguese had long traded with 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 ...
, mostly viewing it as a source of slaves. In 1665 a Portuguese army invaded the Kingdom and defeated its army 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 ...
. The engagement resulted in a crushing Portuguese victory ending in the death of the
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 ...
António I and most of the kingdom's nobility, the disbandment of its army and the installation of a Portuguese puppet ruler. Afterwards, Kongo erupted in a brutal civil war between the House of Kinlaza, which had ruled under the dead king, and 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 ...
.Thornton, John K: ''The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706'', page 69. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1998 Soyo, home to many Kimpanzu partisans, was eager to take advantage of the chaos. Within a few months of the national tragedy at Mbwila, the Prince of Soyo Paulo da Silva invaded the capital of São Salvador and installed his protégé,
Afonso II Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
on the throne. This happened again in 1669 with the placement of Álvaro IX on the throne.Gray, Richard: ''Black Christians & White Missionaries'' page 38. New Haven: Yale University, 1990 By this time both the Portuguese and central authority in Kongo were growing tired of Soyo's meddling. While the Kinlaza and others in Kongo lived in fear of a Soyo invasion, the governor of Luanda wished to curb the growing power of Soyo. With access to
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 ...
merchants willing to sell them guns and cannons plus diplomatic access to the Pope, Soyo was on its way to becoming as powerful as Kongo had been before Mbwila. King Rafael I of Kongo, driven by Soyo from his capital, fled to Luanda, where he sought Portuguese aid to restore him to the throne.Birmingham, David: ''Portugal and Africa'', page 61. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 1999 In return, he promised Portugal money, mineral concessions and the right to build a fortress in Soyo to keep out the Dutch.


Preparations

The governor of Luanda,
Francisco de Távora Francisco de Távora (1646–31 May 1710), designated 1st Count of Alvor, was a Portuguese noble of the second half of the 17th century and early 18th century. He was a military official, diplomat, and colonial governor, serving the Kingdom of P ...
, ordered a force of Portuguese, augmented by native allies such as the feared
Imbangala The Imbangala or Mbangala were 17th-century groups of Angolan warriors and marauders who founded the Kasanje Kingdom. Origins The Imbangala were people, possibly from Central Africa, who appeared in Angola during the early 17th century. Their ori ...
, into Soyo to crush the kingdom once and for all. It was led by João Soares de Almeida, with the most powerful colonial force that had been organised in Central Africa up until then. It included 400 musketeers, a rare detachment of cavalry, 4 light cannons, an unknown number of
levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...
bowmen, Imbangala auxiliaries and even some naval vessels. The then Prince of Soyo, Paulo da Silva, received word of the impending invasion and prepared his army to meet it. In a surprising show of post-Mbwila BaKongo unity, Soyo called on the kingdom of
Ngoyo Ngoyo was an Iron Age kingdom state of the Woyo ethnic group, located in the south of Cabinda (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola). Located on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, just north of the Congo River, it was f ...
for assistance.Thornton, John K: ''Warfare in Atlantic Africa 1500–1800'' page 112. London: Routledge, 1999 Ngoyo had at one time been at least nominally subordinate to the king of Kongo but had grown apart from the state during the 17th century. Ngoyo, which boasted a large fleet of shallow draught craft, sent many soldiers to its southern neighbour in anticipation of the attack. Few details exist on exactly how the campaign was fought. It was divided into two phases with the first being the
Battle of Mbidizi River The Battle of Mbidizi River was a military engagement in June 1670 between forces of the County of Soyo and those of the Portuguese colony of Angola during the Kongo Civil War. The engagement was part of a military campaign to break the power of ...
, a brief but bloody engagement north of the Mbidizi river in June. Afterwards the Portuguese advanced deeper into Kongo.


Battle

The decisive engagement of the campaign occurred near or at a wooded area called Nfinda Ngula near the large village of Kitombo in October. During the interval, both forces were able to reorganise and to replenish their supplies. The Soyo army used this time to re-equip themselves with more arms from their Dutch allies. The BaKongo forces regrouped at Nfinda Ngula, a densely forested area that had served Soyo well in their battles against Kongo during the invasions of Garcia II. The Soyo-Ngoyo army rallied around Estêvão Da Silva and his light artillery pieces. It proved difficult to access for the Portuguese artillery, allowing the allied force to use the Dutch light field pieces to good effect. They then charged and routed the Portuguese. The colonial army was comprehensively destroyed. The Portuguese not killed in the battle drowned attempting to flee across the river or were captured. Legend has it the captives were offered as white slaves to the Dutch. Its commander, de Almeida, died during the battle. The number of casualties among the Soyo forces are unknown.Thornton, John K: ''The Kongolese Saint Anthonty: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706'', page 197. Canbridge: Cambridge University, 1998


Aftermath and peace

The Battle of Kitombo was a humiliating defeat for the Portuguese and a boon for the state of Soyo. Portuguese Angola remained hostile to Soyo and Kongo, but they dared not venture back. Soyo and the House of Kimpanzu became even more powerful in the politics of the region, but never attained the wealth of pre-Mbwila Kongo as the Portuguese had feared. The next prince of Soyo used the state's Dutch contacts, specifically through Capuchin missionaries, to persuade the
Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
to intervene on their behalf. At the behest of the Soyo, the pope sent a papal nuncio to the King of Portugal who obtained an agreement recognising Soyo's independence and bringing an end to further attempts on its sovereignty.


See also

*
Kongo Civil War The Kongo Civil War (1665–1709) was a war of succession between rival houses of the Kingdom of Kongo. The war waged throughout the middle of the 17th and 18th centuries pitting partisans of the House of Kinlaza against the House of Kimpanzu. N ...
*
Battle of Mbidizi River The Battle of Mbidizi River was a military engagement in June 1670 between forces of the County of Soyo and those of the Portuguese colony of Angola during the Kongo Civil War. The engagement was part of a military campaign to break the power 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 ...
*
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 ...
*
History of Angola Angola is a country in southwestern Africa. The country's name derives from the Kimbundu word for king. Angola was first settled by San hunter-gatherer societies before the northern domains came under the rule of Bantu states such as Kongo an ...


References

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