João I of Kongo

João I of Kongo, alias Nzinga a Nkuwu or Nkuwu Nzinga, was ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo between 1470-1509. He was baptized as João in 3 May 1491 by Portuguese missionaries.
==Early reign==
King Nzinga a Nkuwu was the fourth or fifth ruler of Kongo.Oliver, Roland and Anthony Atmore: "Medieval Africa, 1250-1800", page 167. Cambridge University Press, 2001 He was married to Queen Nzinga a Nlaza, a first cousin.Thornton, John: "Elite Women in the Kingdom of Kongo: Historical Perspectives on Women's Political Power", page 442. The Journal of African History, Vol. 47, 2006 She had a son by the king named Nzinga Mbemba. She would later help him become king of Kongo after her husband's death.	Under the reign of Nzinga a Nkuwu, Kongo had grown to 100,000 square kilometres and contained a very centralised government.Thornton, John: "Elite Women in the Kingdom of Kongo: Historical Perspectives on Women's Political Power", page 438. The Journal of African History, Vol. 47, 2006
==Arrival of the Portuguese==
In 1483, a Portuguese caravel captained by Diogo Cão reached the estuary of the Congo River and made contact with subjects of the king.Oliver, Roland and Anthony Atmore: "Medieval Africa, 1250-1800", page 168. Cambridge University Press, 2001 Cão sailed back to Portugal carrying a party of Kongo emissaries. On arrival in Lisbon, the emissaries were baptized and placed in a monastery before returning to the king in 1491.Oliver, Roland and Anthony Atmore: "Medieval Africa, 1250-1800", page 169. Cambridge University Press, 2001
Along with the emissaries came Portuguese priests, masons carpenters and soldiers plus European goods. The ships anchored at Mpinda and after a brief halt to baptise the governor of Soyo, uncle to the manikongo, the procession went on to the capital where they were greeted by the king and 5 of his leading nobles.
===Baptisms and Later Relations===
On 3 May 1491, the king of Kongo was baptised along with his family.Oliver, Roland and Anthony Atmore: "Medieval Africa, 1250-1800", page 170. Cambridge University Press, 2001 Initially, only the king and his nobles were to be converted, but the queen demanded to be baptised. Kongo's royal family took the names of their Portuguese counterparts, thus Joäo, Eleanor (or Leanor in some instances) and Afonso.Hilton, Anne: "Family and Kinship among the Kongo South of the Zaire River from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries", page 197. The Journal of African History, Vol. 24, No. 2, 1983 A thousand subjects were detailed to help the Portuguese carpenters build a church, meanwhile the Portuguese soldiers accompanied the king in a campaign to defend the province of Nsundi from BaTeke raiders. The European firearms were decisive in the victory and many captives were taken.
==Later life==
Most of the Portuguese later departed with slaves and ivory while leaving behind priests and craftsmen. After this cultural honeymoon, the king's profession of the Catholic faith proved short lived. His life ended in 1509. He was succeeded by his son via the Queen, Afonso I.
==References==
==See also==
*Kingdom of Kongo
*List of Rulers of Kongo
*History of Angola
*Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba
Category:15th-century births
Category:1509 deaths
Category:Manikongo of Kongo
Category:History of Angola
Category:Republic of the Congo Roman Catholics
Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism
Category:Kongolese royalty
Category:15th-century African people
Category:16th-century African people
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