Kingdom of Ndongo: Difference between revisions

The '''Kingdom of Ndongo''', 1515-1909, (formerly known as '''Angola''' or '''Dongo''', also [[Kimbundu languages|Kimbundu]]: <span lang="kmb" dir="ltr">'''Utuminu ua Ndongo''', '''Utuminu ua Ngola'''</span>), formerly known as '''Angola''' or '''Dongo''', was an early-modern African state located in the highlands between the [[Lucala River|Lukala]] and [[Cuanza River|Kwanza Rivers]], in what is now [[Angola]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Austin |first=Beth |date=2018 |title=1619: Virginia's First Africans |url=https://hampton.gov/DocumentCenter/View/24075/1619-Virginias-First-Africans?bidId= |access-date=May 9, 2023 |website=Hampton History Museum}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Samuel |first=isaac |title=The kingdom of Ndongo and the Portuguese: Queen Njinga and the dynasty of women sovereigns (1515-1909) |url=https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/the-kingdom-of-ndongo-and-the-portuguese |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=www.africanhistoryextra.com |language=en}}</ref>

The [[monarchy|Kingdom]] of Ndongo is first recorded in the sixteenth century. It was one of multiple vassal states to [[Kingdom of Kongo|Kongo]], though Ndongo was the most powerful of these with a king called the ''[[Ngola (ruler)|Ngola]]''.

Little is known of the kingdom in the early sixteenth century. "Angola" was listed among the titles of the King of Kongo in 1535, so it iswas likely that it was in somewhat subordinate to Kongo. Its own oral traditions, collected in the late sixteenth century, particularly by the Jesuit [[Baltasar Barreira]], described the founder of the kingdom, [[Ngola Kiluanje]], also known as Ngola Inene, as a migrant from Kongo, chief of a Kimbundu-speaking ethnic group.<ref name=":3" />

==Social and politicalPolitical structure==

In 1518, Ngola Kiluanji of the Kingdom of Ndongo sent an embassyambassadors to Portugal{{citation, needed|date=Novemberrequesting 2020}}that askingCatholic forpriests missionariesvisit andhis (indirectly)kingdom forto recognitionlearn asmore independentabout ofthe KongoEuropean invaders.{{citation<ref needed|datename=November":2" 2020}}/> A Portuguese mission arrived in Ndongo in 1520, but local disputes and perhaps Kongo pressure forced the missionaries to withdraw. [[Afonso I of Kongo]] took the missionaries to Kongo and left his own priest in Ndongo.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

Around 1556, Ndongo sent another mission to Portugal seeking military assistance and offering to be baptized, even though Portuguese officials at the time were unsure of the religious sincerity at the time. In 1901, historian [[E.G. Ravenstein]] claimed that this mission was the result of a war between Kongo and Ndongo, in which Ndongo won and claimeddeclared its independence, which was also claimed by historian [[Jan Vansina]] in 1966 and then others, but this appears to have been a misreading of the original sources. Ndongo may well have seen the mission as a sort of declaration of independence since Kongo's response to the 1518 mission suggests that it still maintained sufficient control to prevent it from being an independent move.

The second Portuguese mission arrived at the mouth of the [[Cuanza River]] in 1560, headed by [[Paulo Dias de Novais]], grandson of the famous explorer [[Bartolomeu Dias]], and including several [[Jesuit]] priests including [[Francisco de Gouveia]]. This mission also failed, and Dias de Novais returned to Portugal in 1564, leaving Gouveia behind.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

By the time of the third mission in 1571, the [[list of kings of Portugal|King of Portugal]] [[Sebastian I]] had decided to charge Dias de Novais with the conquest and subjugation of the "Kingdom of Angola",<ref name=":3">Heywood, Linda M. & Thornton, John K. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=S42CypbRTlQC&pg=PA82 Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the foundation of the Americas, 1585-1660],'' p. 73-79, 82. Cambridge University Press, 2007.</ref> authorizing him to govern the region, bring in settlers, and build forts. Dias de Novais arrived in [[Luanda]] by arrangement with Kongo's king [[Álvaro I]] in recompensecompensation for Portugal's assistance against the [[Jaga (Kongo)|Jaga]]. Quilongo, the king of Angola, renewed the connection with Portugal in 1578.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hXFkAAAAcAAJ&q=%22anna+xinga%22+dongo&pg=PA241|title=Nuovo dizionario scientifico e curioso sacro-profano.|last=Pivati|first=Giovanni Francesco|year=1746|pages=241}}</ref> Unable to conquer any territory on his own,{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} Dias de Novais made alliances with both Kongo and Ndongo, serving as a mercenary army.

In 1579, Portuguese merchants who had settled in Kongo, led by [[Francisco Barbuda]], advised [[Njinga Ndambi Kilombo kia Kasenda]] that Portugal intended to take over his country. Acting on this intelligence and advice, Njinga Ndambi tricked the Portuguese forces into an ambush and massacred them at his capital.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

The following war that followed witnessed a Kongo invasion, which was narrowly defeated in 1580, and a Portuguese offensive up the Kwanza riverRiver, resulting in the founding of their fort at [[Massangano]] in 1582. A number ofSeveral sobas switched their allegiance to Portugal, and soon many of the coastal provinces weresoon joined to the colony. By 1590, the Portuguese decided to attack the core of Ndongo and sent an army against Kabasa itself. Ndongo, however, had recently sealed an alliance with nearby [[Matamba]], and the Portuguese force was crushed. Following this defeat, Ndongo made a counteroffensive, and many of the formerly pro-Portuguese sobas returned to Ndongo. But Portugal managed to retain much of the land they had gained in the earlier wars, and in 1599, Portugal and Ndongo formalized their border.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

During the early seventeenth century, an uneasy peace was held between Portugal and Ndongo. The Portuguese continued their expansion along the Kwanza, founding the presidio of Cambambe in 1602 and attempted, whenever possible, to meddle in Ndongo's politics, especially as it concerned Ndongo's tenuous hold on Kisama and other lands south of the Kwanza River. In the course ofDuring their activities in the region south of the Kwanza, the Portuguese came into contact with the [[Imbangala]], a rootless group of nomadic raiders who were ravaging the country. In 1615, the temporary Angolan governor [[Bento Banha Cardoso]] encouraged some Imbangala to cross the river and enter Portuguese service, and with their help, he expanded the colony along the Lukala River, north of Ndongo.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

In 1617, the new governor [[Luis Mendes de Vasconcelos]], after first rejecting the use of Imbangala troops, committed himself to the alliance and began aggressive campaigns against Ndongo. Thanks to the help of Imbangala bands commanded by Kasanje, Kasa, and others, he was able to invadeinvaded Ndongo, sacksacked the capital, and forced King Ngola Mbandi to take refuge on the island of Kindonga in the Kwanza River. Thousands of Ndongo subjects were taken prisoner, and Mendes de Vasconcelos sought unsuccessfully to create a puppet government to allow Portuguese rule.

Mendes de Vasconcelos' successor, João Correia de Sousa, tried to make peace with Ndongo,. and inIn 1621, Ngola Mbandi sent his sister, [[Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba|Nzinga Mbandi]] to Luanda to negotiate on his behalf. She negotiated a peace treaty in which Portugal agreed to withdraw its advance fort of Ambaca on the Lukala, which had served as a base for the invasion of Ndongo, return a large number of captive ''ijiko'' to Ndongo, and force the Imbangala bands who were still ravaging Ndongo to leave. In exchange, Ngola Mbandi would leave the island and, reestablish himself at the capital, and become a Portuguese vassal, paying 100 slavesenslaved people per year as tribute.

However, João Correia de Sousa became involved in a disastrous war with Kongo and, in the aftermath, was expelled from the colony by angry citizens. His temporary successor, the bishop, was unable to execute the treaty, and it was then left to the new governor, Fernão de Sousa, to settle matters when he came in 1624.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Portugal's failure to honor its treaty took a toll on Ngola Mbandi,. and inIn desperation, he committed suicide, leaving the country in the hands of his sister [[Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba|Nzinga]], who was to serve as regent for his minor son, then in the protective custody of the Imbangala leader Kaza, who had left Portuguese service and joined with Ndongo. Nzinga, however, only briefly served as regent, and had the young son murdered and succeeded to the throne as ruling queen. Some European sources call her Anna Xinga.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hXFkAAAAcAAJ&q=%22anna+xinga%22+dongo&pg=PA241|title=Nuovo dizionario scientifico e curioso sacro-profano.|last=Pivati|first=Giovanni Francesco|year=1746|pages=241}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dapper |first1=Olfert |title=Naukeurige Beschrijvinge der Afrikaensche Gewesten |date=1686 |location=Amsterdam |page=369}}</ref>

Father Giovanni took this opportunity to reopen negotiations with Nzinga, whose legitimacy he questioned. He refused to return the Ijiko, and insisted that Njinga first acknowledge Portuguese sovereignty. Although Nzinga was prepared to do this, she would not leave the island until her fullcomplete control was established and the Ijiko returned. When the Portuguese refused, Nzinga encouraged them to run away and enter her service.{{Clarify|date=May 2019}} The dispute over the Ijiko led to war in 1626, and. Sousa's army was able to oust Nzinga from Kidonga, but not to capture her.

Sousa felt confident enough at this point to declare Nzinga deposed and convened some sobas who had supported her to re-elect as new king Hari a Kiluanji, lord of the rocky fortress of Mpungo a Ndongo (or [[Pungo Andongo]]) in 1626,. butStill, he died in the [[smallpox]] epidemic that broke out as a result of the war, and was replaced by [[Filipe Hari a Ngola]].

Nzinga refused to recognize Hari a Ngola, claiming that he was of slave origin and not eligible to reign. She reoccupied Kindonga and began mobilizing the support of all the sobas opposed to Hari an Angola and Portuguese rule, leading to a second war with Portugal. Sousa's army defeated Nzinga again in 1628, once again forcing her to flee the islands. Nzinga narrowly escaped capture, at one point having to descend into the Baixa de Cassange on ropes with only a few hundred of her followers remaining.

Desperate, Nzinga joined her forces with the Imbangala band of Kasanje, who forced her to accept a humiliating position as wife and give up her royal regalia. Nevertheless, she was able to win one of his supporters, subsequently known as Nzinga Mona (or Nzinga's son), away and rebuild her army. MUsingUsing this support, Nzinga moved northward and captured the Kingdom of [[Matamba]], which became her base, even as she sent a detachment to reoccupy the Kindonga Islands, now sacred because her brother's remains were buried there.

Filipe I served the Portuguese loyally in the following decades, even when the Portuguese made a separate peace with Nzinga in 1639. His troops were the largestmost significant component inof the army the Portuguese used to make conquests and to consolidate their rule in the Dembos area to the north. When the [[Dutch Brazil|Dutch invaded Brazil]], Filipe served against them, forming the bulk of the forces that defended the rump colony at [[Masangano]], though he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Nzinga's army with its Dutch allies in 1647 at the [[Battle of Kombi]].

Following the expulsion of the Dutch, however, Filipe began to feel that the Portuguese were not giving him his full due. He became involved in disputes with them over his subordinates and jurisdiction, even as his forces marched into disastrous wars in Kisama and the Dembos. His son and successor was equally disappointed, especially following the Portuguese treaty with Ndongo, which recognized Nzinga as queen of Ndongo and Matamba in 1657, leaving him feeling dishonored as the only ruler of Pungo a Ndongo. InTherefore, in 1670, therefore he revolted, and after a long siege, his fortress fell to the Portuguese army in 1671, thus effectively ending Ndongo as an independent kingdom.

The Ndongo army did not rely on arms such as shields for defense. insteadInstead, its personnel were trained to be agile in order to be able to dodge arrows, javelins, and lance thrusts. On offenceoffense, the army was trained in [[fencing]].<ref name="Thorn Arts">{{harvp|Thornton |1999|p=105}}</ref> This Central African [[martial arts]] was referred to as ''Sanguar''.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CayyJJg0KIsC&pg=PA133&dq=sanguar+Ndongo&hlpg=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi08IOb_-j8AhUsRaQEHVyfBEYQuwV6BAgIEAc#v=onepage&q=sanguar%20Ndongo&f=falsePA133|last1= Svinth|first1= Joseph |year=2003|title=Martial Arts in the Modern World|page=133|publisher=[[ Greenwood Publishing Group]] |isbn= 9780275981532 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=47bVbCRcEJ4C&pg=PT33&dq=sanguar+Ndongo&hlpg=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi08IOb_-j8AhUsRaQEHVyfBEYQuwV6BAgNEAc#v=onepage&q=sanguar%20Ndongo&f=falsePT33 |last1= Talmon-Chvaicer|first1= Maya |year=2010|title=The Hidden History of Capoeira: A Collision of Cultures in the Brazilian Battle Dance|page=19|publisher=[[ University of Texas Press]] |isbn= 9780292773585}}</ref> It was described by a [[Jesuit]] witness in the 1570s as;<ref name="Thorn Arts"/><ref name="Ango war">{{cite journal |last=Thornton |first=John K. |authorlink=John Thornton (historian) |title=The Art of War in Angola, 1575–1680 |year=1988 |journal=[[Comparative Studies in Society and History]] |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=360–378 |doi=10.1017/S0010417500015231 |s2cid=144152478 }}</ref>

Professional forces trained for war in the army were referred to as ''quimbares''.<ref name="Ango war"/> Before the war against Portugal in the late 16th century, Ndongo could hire Portuguese mercenaries such as the forces of Paulo Dias de Novais in 1575.<ref name="Thorn musk"/> There also existed special forces referred to as the "Flower of Angola" from 1585 who fell solely under the auspices of the King.<ref>{{harvp|Thornton |1999|p=115}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4whuEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA677&dq=flower+of+angola+ndongo&hlpg=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj_x86Gi-n8AhVThv0HHf0iDOIQuwV6BAgFEAc#v=onepage&q=flower%20of%20angola%20ndongo&f=falsePA677 |last1= Fischer|first1= David Hackett|author-link= David Hackett Fischer |year=2022|title=African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals|page=677|publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]] |isbn=9781982145095}}</ref> Prominent weapons in service of the army included swords and [[battle axe]]s.<ref>{{harvp|Thornton |2020|p=87}}</ref> Ndongo developed its [[musketeers]] starting from the 16th century. In 1585, the army deployed 40 musketeers against Portugal.<ref name="Thorn musk">{{harvp|Thornton |1999|p=115108}}</ref> Queen [[Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba|Nzinga]] fielded 3 Dutch [[artillery]] pieces around 1648 in a failed [[siege]] of a Portuguese stronghold at [[Muxima]].<ref>{{harvp|Thornton |2020|p=170}}</ref>

Ndongo's army was organized into mass units by name ofcalled ''mozengos'' or ''embalos'' and further, divided into sub [[military formation|formations]] made up of a centrecenter and two wings. The military force could be redivided once more into units called ''lucanzos'' that were tasked forwith special operations. In battle, the ''gunzes'' detachment laid out the initial attacks.<ref>{{harvp|Thornton |1999|p=107}}</ref> During campaigns, the Ndongo army could build field [[fortifications]] mostly made of wood. According to the research of historian Thornton;, in the 1585 campaign against Portugal, the army "constructed four or five forts 'of wood and straw after their fashion' each a day’sday's journey apart to cover their retreat."<ref>{{harvp|Thornton |1999|p=110}}</ref> Ndongo possessed, in addition, a naval force of rivercraftsrivercraft. In 1586, the navy employed 8 "great canoes" across the [[Lucala River]] with, each possessing some personnel of 80–90 people.<ref>{{harvp|Thornton |1999|pp=112–113}}</ref>

TheNdongo's history ofis Ndongo isprimarily known largely through the writings of Portuguese missionaries, administrators, and travelers. Much of this work was gathered in the monumental collection of original sources, in the original languages{{clarify|date=March 2015}}<!--what would the "original languages" of Portuguese missionaries, administrators and travelers be?-->

by António Brásio. In addition, several Italian Capuchin missionaries, especially Giovanni Antonio Cavazzi and António da Gaeta, wrote book-length descriptions of the country in the mid-seventeenth century when it has split into Nzingha's half and Hari a Kiluanji's half. However, the Capuchin's work included detailed recountings of oral tradition.

* the [[First Africans in Virginia|First Africans in the American colonies]], including:

* [http://nzinghaofangola.tripod.com/ Nzingha, Queen of Ndongo (1582--1663)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709112329/http://nzinghaofangola.tripod.com/ |date=2019-07-09 }}