Kongo

# Kingdom of Kongo

The Kingdom of Kongo, or as it's more commonly known Kongo, is a state in Central Africa. Kongo gained its independence from the Portuguese as part of the Interior Decolonization Program in August of 1956. The Kongo is based in the Congo Basin's largest city of Kinshasa. It is one of the region's major regional powers.

## Portuguese Protectorate

In 1834, the Portuguese would pressure the Kongo to abolish the slave trade. The immediate loss of the slave trade would see the Kongo's wealth and prestige begin to fade. The fading prowess of the Kongo would give rise to local clan power that would eventually lead to civil war after the death of KIng Afonso I. The Portuguese would establish a protectorate over the Kingdom of Kongo in 1859 when Pedro V ended the civil war and secured control over the region from Álvaro XIII and his allies. The Kongo would accept a Portuguese garrison to help stabilize Pedro's domain in São Salvador.

Following increasing costs from the colonization of the interior, Portugal withdrew their garrison in 1866. The withdrawl of the garrison hurt Pedro's authority, increasing regionalism and local clans, thus, degrading the Crown's authority. In 1888, with Portugal's rapid expansion into Katanga, Pedro reaffirmed the Kongo's position as an vassal state. The Kongo's semi-independence allowed it to enjoy relative stability and self rule. The city of Fernando De Cidade (now Kinshasa) was founded under this area and became a key port bringing newfound wealth to the Kingdom. Yet, for all the improvements, the Kongolese people were becoming increasingly discontent with the Portuguese and the Royal Family. Many clans broke with the Kongo and took up arms against the Portuguese. The Kongolese Revolt of 1914 saw Portugal successfully defeat the rebels. Becuase the Manikongo was not able to control their citizens the Portugese would strip the Kingdom of its autonomy, despite the Royal family remaining loyal. On June 10th, Manuel III would be dethroned.

## Colonial Era

The colonial era saw the Kongo continue to be modernized. Portugal would construct a series of railways in the territory as well as continuing to build up Fernando De Cidade as a major port for the transport of materials. The economy was primarly focused on rubber, palm oil, and mining. The quality of life dropped dramatically with the direct Portuguese administration, as they governed with a "money first" policy. The first university in the Kongo was opened in Fernando De Cidade in 1917 called Manuel University, named after Manuel II of Portugal. The Portuguese period would continue to see modernization at the expense of cheap Kongolese labor. Compared to Katanga, the area of the Kongo had relatively direct Portuguese control as a result of the Revolt of 1914.

The Kongolese began to chafe at the Portugese control. In 1948 Portugal would unveil their Interior Decolonization Program. Anger over the slow pace of the Program lead to the Guarda Colonial Kongolesa Mutiny. On July 12th, 1951 angry members of the Colonial Guard would seize sections of Fernando De Cidade and begin ransacking the city. White Europeans were chased out of the city and Portugal had to respond with force. The mutiny would lead to widespread unrest in the Kongo, forcing Portugal to scale up the Interior Decolonization Program. In an effort to retain some influence, Portugal would turn to the exiled claimants of the Kongolese throne. Pedro VII Afonso would be named the new Manikongo of the Kongo. Portugal finally granted the Kongo its independence on August 17th 1956.

## Independence

António III Afonso would be the next Manikongo following Pedro VII's death in 1955. António III would sign a friendship treaty with Portugal on September 21st. It would guarantee Portuguese Companies rights to operate within the Kongo and continue to respect Portuguese property rights. The Independence Era saw the Kongo transform into a kleptocracy. The Kongo's elite saw massive gain from corporations, who exploited the regions resources. The Kongo's government would be dominated by people from the Kongolese ethnic group. This increased dissatisfaction in the Katanga region where the Kongolese weren't a majority. The dissatisfaction would lead to the Workers' Strike in Lubumbashi on March 21st 1963. The Kongolese Government would bring in military forces, resulting in the suppression.

The Kongo would rapidly see an increase in debt, due to overextended funds and corruption. The continued strain on government finances lead the Kongolese government to hike taxes on the European corporations in the Kongo. This dissatisfied the corporations, mainly the British, Katangese United Mining Organization (KUMO). Despite the measures, Kongolese fiscal reserves continued to dry up. Kongo delayed troop payments leading to Joseph-Désiré Mobutu and his troops starting a tiny mutiny to receive payment. To get the mutineers back in line, the government would send General Maurice Mpolo. However, General Mpolo was a closeted Republican and upon meeting with the mutineers declared his support for the mutiny. The Government decided to respond with force. This started the Katangan Succession,

## War in Katanga

On paper, the Exército Real Kongolês (Royal Kongolese Army), numbering 45,000 should've easily been able to defeat the mutineers calling themselves the Guarda Republicana de Katanga (Katangese Republican Guard), only numbering 12,000. Yet, the Royal Army was far worse off then reported because of systematic corruption. The Royal Army poorly failed to initially dislodge the Republican Guard from Lubumbashi on February 14th. The failed assault disorganized the Kongolese and allowed the Guard to overwhelm the Royalists. The Royal Army continued to lose ground. After the Battle of Mwene-Ditu, the Katangan province was effectively separated form the Kongo, and front lines solidified.

## Modern Era

The loss of Katanga led to a collapse of the Kongolese economy and a political crisis. Thankfully, Portugal bailed out the Kongo's finances, and the Kongo continued to house Portuguese assets from the defunct Companhia de Mineração e Comércio Kongolesa (Kongolese Mining and Trade Company). The remnants of CMCK merged with the Navegação no Rio Congo e Empresa de Transporte (Congo River Navigation and Shipping Company) and their subsidiary Empreendimentos Africanos (African Ventures Inc.) to form the Companhia de Navegação e Mineração Kongolesa. The foundation of the large Portuguese CNMK became the largest corporation in the Kongo and helped ease the fallout, but it was still devastating.

The Katangan Succession saw the Kongolese align more with the Portuguese as their benefactors. Kongo began to launch anti-corruption campaigns and began to try and modernize the Government; however, they face massive push back from traditional power brokers and the military establishment. Joseph Kasa-Vubu's ABAKO (Aliança de Bakongo) would launch a movement to destabilize the Kongo and force social change. The rise of ABAKO would lead to a political crackdown. Consequently, the Republican Movement in the Kongo would be forced underground into hiding. Yet, ABAKO remains, only now, hiding in the shadows. It couriers for favor amongst the Katangese Republicans and the North Congo to gain support. In a bid to reform the Military, the promising Léonard Mulamba was made chief of staff, however, the pace of reform is slow. The Kingdom of Kongo now sits devastated with two regional players preparing to ponce at a sign of weakness. The Pan-Africanist North Congo speaks of a National Revolution, while Katanga still remains angry and plotting over their recent succession.

## Economy

The economy of the Kongo is based almost entirely on unskilled labor. Many work on resource extraction jobs, whether they be rubber, mining, or palm oil. There is some shipping jobs on the Congo River, as well as some factory jobs in Kinshasa. The Portuguese Companhia de Navegação e Mineração Kongolesa controls most of the shipping and a lot of the mining industry. The Industry is dominated by foreign businesses with the massive Portuguese monopoly Companhia de Navegação e Mineração Kongolesa controlling over 50% of the country's entire capital. Despite being a free market, the Kongolese economy is fairly noncompetitive and suffers as a result.

## Military

The Kongolese army is the Exército Real Kongolês (Royal Kongolese Army). The Royal Army was formed on September 9th from the Guarda Colonial Kongolesa. Despite recent reforms, the Royal Army is deeply corrupt and nepotistic. The Royal Army is equipped with mainly Portuguese rifles and has military advisors from Portugal. The Marinha Real Kongolesa (Royal Kongolese Navy) is relatively small with only 15 ships. 9 are river gunboats, 2 are torpedo boats, lastly the last 4 are destroyers. The navy is mainly 1940s technology sold to the Kongolese by Portugal. The Força Aérea Real Congolesa (Royal Kongolese Air Force) is small with around 200 airplanes. Most are imported from Portugal and are relatively outdated.

## Culture

The vast majority of the Kongolese people are Christian, and a minority holds indigenous beliefs. Roman Catholicism is state religion and the religion of the Royal Family. The area around Kinshasa is heavily influenced by the West, mainly Portugal and Britain. However, the rural area still remains almost completely culturally unaffected. This is reflected in the musical scene where Jazz is popular in Kinshasa and Boma, yet, in rural regions, traditional music dominants. The Kongo's largest ethnic group is Kongolese.

## Government

The Kongo's government can best be described as a semi-feudal state. While the Kongo has a nominally independent unicameral legislature, it is staffed by direct royal appointments. This makes it a almost completely dependent institution on the Manikongo's faith. The legislature can rule on all laws and it's head is a Prime Minister. The current Prime Minister is Albert Ndele. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Manikongo, and the Parliament confirms them (it is a mere formality because the Parliament is all appointed by the Manikongo).

The reigning Manikongo acts as the executive body and is the nominal head of the military. The power of the Manikongo is quite broad and there are very little constitutional checks on their authority. The Judicial Branch is appointed by the Manikongo and confirmed by the Legislative branch, but because the legislative is de facto just an extension of the Manikongo's authority, the Judicial is completely controlled by the Manikongo.

The Judicial mainly rules on civil and criminal cases. The courts can technically rule on laws, however, the courts never go against the Manikongo. What makes the Kongo Semi-Feudal is the high level of devolution between the government and local rulers. The Kongo gives traditional tribes a lot of leeway and local governors a fair bit of leeway too. The only real requirement for a tribe or government to fulfill is the paying of taxes. This almost makes a vassal like situation where local rulers can act with a large bit of autonomy from the government.

## Politics

The Kongolese system is a web of corruption that mainly spans from the ruling União da Independência e da Tranquilidade (Union of Independence and Tranquillity). The UIT is the party of the Manikongo. It is dominated by her supporters and suppresses opposition to her. The UIT is split into two internal camps. The UIT-Tradicionalistas (Traditionalists) and the UIT-Dissidente (Dissident). The Traditional camp seeks to uphold the current order of nepotism and "enlightened despotism" while the Dissidents were radicalized to push for social change by the corruption exposed during the Katangan Succession. The Dissident faction is a small clique around the Prime Minister, Albert Ndele. Albert Ndele was mostly sidelined since his appointment, but he became galvanized by the failure of the Kongolese government during the Katangan Succession. Ndele's faction advocates for technocratic and meritocratic reforms in the Kongo. The reformist movement is too weak to push through change yet, but too strong for the Manikongo to dismiss the wayward Ndele.

The only other legal political party is the Partido Popular Nacional Cristão (Christian National People's Party) led by Mpinga Kasenda. Kasenda studied at Kimwenza University. While at the Catholic university, Kasenda would be exposed to Peruvian Carlism, as a result, the PPNC takes heavy influence from Peruvian Carlism in its extreme catholic views and monarchical loyalty. The PPNC is tolerated because of the PPNC's loyalty to the Manikongo.

Despite the legal restrictions imposed on republican movements, some organizations continue to act underground within Kongo. Joseph Kasa-Vubu's Aliança de Bakongo (Alliance of Bakongo) is the largest of these groups. ABAKO was forced underground following the Katangan Sucession, but they stiil remain a major force. The smaller of the republican movements is the Frente Republicana de Salvação para o Kongo (Republican Salvation Front for the Kongo). FRSAK is the Katangese National Republican Rally's sister organization. They coordinate resistance with the Katangese government against the Kongolese state.

## Foreign Affairs

The Kingdom of Kongo enjoys a strong relationship with Portugal. Portugal has been the Kongo's largest benefactor since independence. The relationship has allowed for large scale Portuguese Investment in the state at the price of being heavily intertwined with what Lisbon wants. Kongo has harsh relations with all of its African Neighbors.