The House of Água Rosada was the last ruling house of the Kingdom of Kongo during the 19th and 20th centuries. It was also one of the main factions during the Kongo Civil War along with the Mpanzu, Nlaza and Kinkanga a Mvika kandas.
Etymology
In Portuguese "Água Rosada" means ""Pink Water"", referring to 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 ...
.
Origins
The House of Água Rosada was established by
the
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
three sons of King Sebastião I of Kongo, who was a member of the
House of Kinlaza and his spouse was a member of the
House of Kimpanzu, meaning that the House was born with the union of parts of the Houses of Kinzala and Kimpanzu. Ultimately this meant they had the
same origin of the others and so the legitimacy to reign.
The three brothers were initially headquartered at the mountain fortress of Kibangu. During the Civil War all parties claimed kingship over Kongo (or what was left of it), but their power rarely spread outside their fortresses or the immediate surrounding areas.
The House came to predominance when
Pedro IV of Kongo
Pedro IV Nusamu a Mvemba. King of Kongo, ruled from 1695 to 1718, although his effective reign of Kongo was only from 1709. He is noted for restoring the country and ending the civil war that had raged since 1666. The career of Beatriz Kimpa Vi ...
reunified the realm in 1709, putting an end to 44 years of Civil War. Later he declared a doctrine of shared power by which the throne would shift (in due time) from Kinlaza to the Kimpanzu and back, while the Água Rosada appear to have continued as neutral in Pedro's fortress of Kibangu.
[Thornton, John K: "The Kongolese Saint Anthonty: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706", page 201. Cambridge University, 1998]
The House of Água Rosada produced 8
Manikongos including the last 5.
References
Sources
* Fernando Campos « O rei D. Pedro IV Ne Nsamu a Mbemba. A unidade do Congo », dans ''Africa. Revista do centro de Estudos Africanos'', USP S. Paulo 18-19 (1) 1995/1996 p. 159-199 & USP S. Paulo 20-21 1997/1998 p. 305-375.
* John K.. Thornton, ''The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684–1706'', Cambridge University, 1998.
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