The Battle of Mbidizi River was a military engagement in June 1670 between forces of the County 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 ...

and those of the Portuguese colony of Angola during the

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 ...

. The engagement was part of a military campaign to break the power of Soyo in the region. The Portuguese won a decisive victory, inflicting heavy casualties and killing the Soyon leader.

Pre-Battle Situation and the Kongo Civil War

In 1665 the Kingdom of Kongo clashed with their one-time allies the Portuguese 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 Kong ...

. 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. 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 ...

. 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 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. Yale University, 1990 By this time both the Portuguese and the central authorities 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 was afraid of 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. Committing to the unthinkable, the weak central authority in Kongo asked Luanda to invade Soyo.Birmingham, David: "Portugal and Africa", page 61. Palgrave Macmillan, 1999 In return, Portugal was promised money, mineral concessions and the right to build a fortress in Soyo to keep out the Dutch.

Engagement

Responding to a plea by King Rafael I, a Portuguese colonial army from Luanda was dispatched to conquer Kongo's rebel province of Soyo in June 1670. The Count of Soyo Estêvão da Silva and his brother Prince Paulo da Silva moved with a force of BaKongo musketeers intermixed with heavy infantry holding the shields for which BaKongo soldiers were famous to meet the force.Thornton, John K: "Warfare in Atlantic Africa 1500-1800", page 121. Routledge, 1999 The armies met just north of the Mbidizi River. The Portuguese were immediately successful, just as they had been in earlier engagements against Kongo at Mbwila and Mbumbi. The Portuguese use of

grapeshot Grapeshot is a type of artillery round invented by a British Officer during the Napoleonic Wars. It was used mainly as an anti infantry round, but had other uses in naval combat. In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of ...

inflicted many casualties on the Soyo army and forced them to retreat. Paulo da Silva was among the dead. Enthused by their victory, the Portuguese captured the enemies' shields and marched further anticipating further combat at another location and hoping for a chance to show off their own talents in swordsmanship.Thornton, John K: "Warfare in Atlantic Africa 1500-1800", page 105. Routledge, 1999

Aftermath

The Portuguese advanced deeper into Kongo where they were met and defeated by Soyo 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 for ...

.Birmingham, David: "Portugal and Africa", page 61. Palgrave Macmillan, 1999

Pre-Battle Situation and the Kongo Civil War

Engagement

Aftermath

References

See also