King Nzinga Mbemba Affonso

These two short letters were composed by King Nzinga Mbemba Affonso, the king of the Congo who had a trading relationship with Portugal. He wrote this document in 1526 after he realized the negative influences it was having on his kingdom. Affonso notes how poor the people are treated when the Portuguese come to take them away. Affonso wants the king of Portugal to realize “And to avoid such a great evil we passed a law so that any white man living in our Kingdom...Your Highness has in it, since we know that it is in your service too that these goods are taken from our Kingdom otherwise we should not consent to this” (Affonso). He wishes that the king be aware of the injustices and to change them.
In the early 16th century, the Scientific Revolution and a cleric named Nicolaus Copernicus was trying to understand the universe. Henry VIII is king of England and has not yet declared his married to Catherine of Aragon invalid. The Peasants’ War was still waging on during the construction of these letters. Loads of events were taking place in Europe during Affonso’s letter which could allow the king of Portugal to “brush it off” due to demanding issues that would benefit him more.
Affonso desperately wants his kingdom to quit being exploited, because the Europeans are gaining all the money and the Congolese

are being stripped away from their homes. Affonso agreed to allowing merchants and missionaries into his land, but instead the Portuguese are kidnapping the people and selling them poor goods. He proposes that if the slaves are captives or free men, they should be freed and that white men should remain faithful to the previous agreements. If the changes are not made, Affonso states, “But if the white men do not comply with it they will lose the aforementioned goods.... otherwise we should not consent to this” (Affonso). He writes effectively with a serious tone of voice in the second letter, commanding that adjustments be made immediately.
After readers read and access the two letters written by King Affonso, they begin to question how the king of Portugal reacted to them.

Did he realize how poor the system was and wanted to fix it, did he disregard both letters and not take Affonso seriously, or did he encourage the merchants and missionaries to continue the abuse or even increase the intensity of it? It is nearly impossible to know the exact thoughts of the king. Historians do learn however, that Affonso did support the slave trade as long as it only involved prisoners of war and people that he had no use for. He is only alarmed when his own people are taken into the slave trade. Affonso

writes,
...which are brought here by your people, and in order to satisfy their voracious appetite, seize many of our people, freed and exempt men, and very often it happens that they kidnap even noble-freed and exempt men, and very often it happens that they kidnap even noble-men and the sons of noblemen, and our relatives, and take them to be sold to the white men who are in our Kingdoms; and for this purpose they have concealed them; and others are brought during the night so that they might not be recognized (Affonso).
If it was not for the wealthy members of Affonso’s Kingdom being taken into the slave trade, the likelihood of these letters being written is not high. The poor and people unable to provide anything to society would not be drastic and important compared to the nobles. This document provide insight on the overwhelming gaps between the wealthy and poor. It also gives even more examples of corruption and horrid treatment those who end up being enslaved.