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1300
The Congo Empire
The Empire of Congo first started in 1310. It stretched over many present day countries including, Gabon, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The empire was located South of the Congo River. There was a large population, the population was between 18 million and 20 million. The empire was very successful, the success of the empire went on for many years after it first started. Many problems the empire faced were when they had first contact with the Portuguese in later years. -
1400
Kongo Kingdom
The Kongo kingdom was founded by Lukeni lua Nemi, south of the Congo River. Two of the most powerful provinces at the time were Soyo and Mbata, and the capital was Mbanza Kongo. The surrounding area of the capital was very closely set, Much more packed together than other towns in the kingdom. Since it was set up in this way, the king could withhold great power by making sure everything he needed was close by. In the 1500s Kongo's borders were extended and Portugal and Kongo became unified. -
1500
Major Slave Trade in the Congo Empire
After the Portuguese arrived in 1482 problems began to occur within the region. One of the biggest problems they faced was slave trading. Other countries, mainly Portugal, would come in and take people captive. After removing them from their homes, a majority of the slaves were reportedly shipped off to Brazil. After a while of the trading a few of the region's leaders came together and devised a plan, they wrote a letter to the king of Portugal begging him to stop. -
1574
Portuguese Military Expansion
The Portuguese were in politics with the Kongo, although they had a falling out. The falling out was because of the slave trade controversy. Due to this, the Portuguese found a new alliance. One of these new alliances was the Ndongo Kingdom. This alliance led to the Portuguese forming a colony near Luanda, which later led to wars with Ndongo. These wars then gained considerably more territory for the Portuguese, and the expansion was mostly over by 1670. -
Ana Nzinga Becomes the Queen of Central Africa
In 1626 Ana Nzinga became queen of Ndongo which is in central Africa. The reason for her becoming queen is because her brother committed suicide. Her brother committed suicide because of the Portuguese slave trade concessions. This was very sad. Ana Nzinga was fighting against the Portuguese, so they couldn't expand their slave trade in central Africa. There were too many slave trades and invasions, so she fought against Portuguese invasion and slave raids for 30 whole years. -
Atlantic Slave Trade
They had many enslaved people. This was a global slave thing, and at the time there were around 12 million African slaves. The slaves were transported and traded across the Atlantic ocean. In 1713 Spain and Britain wanted to trade slaves with each other. In return, they would supply them with 4,800 slaves per year. This rotation would go on for 30 years. There was a contract for this slave trade, and it was provided by the south sea company. The British queen had almost 25% of the slave stock. -
Belgium Invades Central Africa
In 1870, the country of Belgium invaded the region. After invading the area Belgium enacted their colonization plan. They wanted to create a civilized environment but do it in a way they could maintain their power over the people. A couple years later Belgium officially declared the region to be under its control. After they officially took control, secret internal government slave trade began. This new and more elaborate form of slave trade brought havoc among the people. -
Belgium Apologizes
In the year 2002, Belgium finally extended an apology to the region. They apologize for the years of governmental slave trade after the invasion back in the 1800s. One of the other big things they apologized for was the killing of a leader. Because back in the late 1990s they assassinated Patrice Lummumba, the Republic of Congo’s prime minister. They apologized only after years of being under public inspection for crimes against this region of Africa.