Álvaro VI of Kongo, sometimes called Nimi a Lukeni a Nzenze a Ntumba (in the Kikongo language), was a ruler 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 ...

. He was the first member of the

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 k ...

kanda, and like his brother, Garcia II established the line in power. At the death of his predecessor, Alvaro IV an eleven year old candidate from the

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 ...

, was overthrown by the ambitious Daniel da Silva, Duke of ''Mbamba''. Alvaro VI and his brother Garcia defended the young king. In gratitude Alvaro V awarded the future Alvaro VI with the duchy of ''Mbamba'' in 1634. Alvaro IV died shortly after and was succeeded by his half brother, Alvaro V who was then himself poisoned. Jealous members of the house of Kwilu, led by Gregorio, a court noble tried to engineer a coup to defeat Alvaro VI and his brother Garcia, but failed, and they stormed the capital and installed Alvaro VI as king on 26 February 1636. Gregorio, in turn went eastward and recruited the Duke of Mbata to assist in a counterattack, which failed. He was descended through the female line of Anna Ntumba from King Afonso I. He was not supportive of Dutch comment in Soyo, and eventually forced the Count, Paulo to force them out. During his six-year reign he abandoned the marquisate of Makuta to the Count 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 ...

(in 1637) and fought with the Dutch in against the Portuguese at

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

. Álvaro died on January or February 22, 1641; his brother succeeded him as Garcia II of Kongo.

References

1641 deaths Manikongo of Kongo 17th-century monarchs in Africa Year of birth unknown {{Africa-royal-stub

See also

References