What did Afonso’s 1514 letter reveal?
- Kongo already had slaves and slave markets.
- Slaves were war captives used to reward nobles and trade with Portugal.
- Afonso used slavery to consolidate authority and fund European imports.
How did Afonso control the trade?
He maintained a royal monopoly, restricted enslavement of freeborn Kongos, and condemned Portuguese priests buying women for sexual exploitation.
What was Afonso’s 1526 complaint?
He protested unscrupulous Portuguese traders who enslaved his subjects and undermined his legitimacy, asking Portugal to ban slave merchants from Kongo.
Why was Sao Tomé significant?
Its sugar plantations required slaves, making it a commercial hub for Portuguese traders.
Kongo became economically dependent on Sao Tomé, causing conflict over trade duties.
How did Sao Tomé worsen slavery?
Merchants bypassed Afonso’s control, trading directly with local chiefs and Ndongo, spreading slave markets beyond royal oversight.
How did slaves function as currency?
Slaves replaced money in international transactions, while nzimbu shells remained for domestic use.
Why did freeborn Kongos become enslaved?
- Rising foreign demand (Brazil, Spanish Indies).
- Decline in foreign captives.
- Elites pawned or sold freeborn subjects to meet trade obligations.
What crimes led to enslavement?
Disobedience, theft, adultery, witchcraft, or insulting nobles.
Whole villages could be enslaved for collective guilt (e.g., Ulolo 1653 after killing a missionary).
How did civil wars worsen slavery?
Factional rivals enslaved opponents and their families.
Kings used slave armies for defence and power struggles.
What happened after the Battle of Mbwila (1665)?
Kongo’s defeat led to state collapse; laws protecting freeborn Kongos vanished, and mass enslavement followed.
What was the outcome by 1709?
After Pedro IV’s purge of Beatriz Kimpa Vita’s followers, over 30,000 Kongos were exported.
Anarchy persisted; elites kept large slave retinues, and factions enslaved rivals freely.
