How The Underdevelopment Of Kongo?

Enoch Kim

African History

HIS-261-001

Prof. Abdin Chande

Europe’s Underdevelopment of Kongo In the west-central Africa, one of the most important kingdoms to rise was the kingdom of Kongo. The origin of the state is traced to Bantu migrants, who settled within the region of Kwango River to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the lower Congo River to the north. This region in which Kongo rose, was particularly beneficial for the expansion of a kingdom as there were plenty of fertile soil with rainfall as well as sources of copper, iron, and salt that was within easy trading distances. These resources aided in the development of Later Iron Age skills, production of a surplus of food, manufacturing crafts, fishing, and trade allowing

Vatican documents indicated that the head of the Kongo state was supreme and absolute master of his realm and that none dared to oppose him. The documents also describe how the palace was well decorated, guarded by armed guards, and attended by musicians with drums and ivory trumpets. The queen also lived lavishly, having her own attendants accompany her wherever she traveled. These description of the kingdom of Kongo show that prior the arrival of Europeans, Kongo was once a place of wealth and power.

So what happened to this once powerful kingdom that existed during the 14th and 15th century? The disappearance of the kingdom of Kongo known in the past may have been caused by the European interactions that occurred. Through interactions with the Portuguese, civil wars developed within Kongo, the ruling ideology of Kongo changed, and most important of all, slave trade in Kongo increased like never before. Combined together, this may have led the once great kingdom of Kongo into its

The conquering of its neighbors led to attacks from rivals, which allowed the Jaga to overthrow the kingdom for a brief period. Furthermore, the distinction between freeborn Kongos and foreign born slaves were disappearing. This was due to how freeborn Kongos once had protection from enslavement, but disappeared as there was becoming a lack of slaves during the seventeenth century. Freeborn Kongos would start enslaving their rival freeborn Kongos as slaves and sell them off to foreign merchants. This led to large internal strife and social disorder, as well as a diminishing productivity in the lands. This would have ultimately caused Kongo to fall from its height of power into a shadow of its former glorious self.

References

Kevin Shillington, History of Africa (NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)

David Birmingham. "Speculations on the Kingdom of Kongo." Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana 8 (1965). http://www.jstor.org/stable/41403565.

John Thornton. “Early Kongo-Portuguese Relations: A New Interpretation.” History in Africa 8 (1981): 183. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3171515.

Linda M. Heywood, "Slavery and Its Transformation in the Kingdom of Kongo: 1491-1800." The Journal of African History, 50 (2009): 11. Accessed May 5, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40206695.

Nathan Nunn, “The Long-Term Effects of Africa’s Slave Trades.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 123 (2008).: 143. Accessed May 8, 2016.