FH 3 King Alvaro

In 1482, Portuguese navigator Diogo Cao was exploring the west coast of Africa when he came to the mouth of Congo River and sailed inland, becoming the first European to visit Kongo.  He would return in 1485, and an alliance was formed with the kings of Kongo and Portugal.    The two countries exchanged ambassadors, and some royal sons of Kongo were sent to study at the University of Lisbon.   This was around or immediately before Columbus sailed to the Americas the first time.

At this time Kongo was a strong nation with a good economy, which may be why Portugal chose to establish an alliance rather conquer or raid the villages.   The Bakongo mined and smelted iron ore and worked it into weapons, tools, ornaments and musical instruments.  They were knowledgeable in the lost-wax method of molding copper statues, fetishes and jewelry.  They wove beautiful fabric from the raffia palm, which the Portuguese at first mistook for velvet and brocade.  They also made another type of cloth from tree bark.  They used palm fronds to weave baskets and mats and they processed palm fibers to make ropes and fishing and hunting nets.  They made pottery, were skilled at wood and ivory carving and used cowry shells as money.

 The Bakongo cultivated yams and bananas, gathered wild fruits and kept goats, pigs and cattle.  They used baskets, harpoons and nets to fish the rivers of the area.  They enjoyed music and dance and were accomplished in both.  They did not keep clocks or calendars nor did they have the wheel. 

 Although an alliance between Kongo and Portugal seemed beneficial to the Africans in the beginning, it ultimately proved otherwise.  Wars and the escalation of the slave trade would  eventually topple Kongo and most neighboring kingdoms.

Information Source:  The River Congo, Peter Forbath, Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA 1977

N'Kele is descended from the Kongo people