Kinkanga

The Kinkanga, usually known as the Kinkanga a Mvika or House of Nsundi, was a royal kanda formed by King Pedro II, which ruled the Kingdom of Kongo from 1622 to 1631. While King Pedro II (ruled 1622-24) and his son Garcia I (ruled 1624-1626) were the only other member of the faction or kanda to rule, it retained powerful members in provincial offices in the 1650s up until its destruction in the 1670s. Despite this loss in prominence, they were remembered in tradition and are evoked in a proverb, still current in the 1920s Nkutama a mvila za makanda "Kinlaza, Kimpanzu ye Kinlaza makukwa matatu malambila Kongo" (Kinkanga, Kimpanzu and Kinlaza are the three stones on which Kongo cooked)

The compromise candidate

Since 1567, the House of Kwilu had ruled Kongo. When its king, Álvaro III, died in 1622, he had no heir old enough to assume the throne. The electors decided to grant the throne to Pedro II Nkanga a Mvika, the Duke of Mbamba. In Portuguese documents, the ruling house of King Pedro II is called Nsundi for the duchy the founding king's father ruled. The line of kings from the House of Kwilu virtually ended overnight (Ambrósio I being the lone exception from 1626 to 1631).

Split with Portugal

The ascension of the House of Nsundi meant the end of what had become a tenuous relationship between Kongo and Portugal. The once close allies had fallen out over slaving and trade rights toward the end of the 16th century. The ambitious governor of the Portuguese colony in Luanda claimed that the king had given asylum to runaway slaves while Duke of Mbamba. Furthermore, he also claimed the right to appoint kings of Kongo. This led to a Portuguese invasion of Kongo the very year of King Pedro II's rise. The gross miscalculation of the Portuguese resulted in the king leading a force which crushed the invasion at the Battle of Mbandi Kasi.

Diplomacy with the Dutch

After the disastrous war, the Portuguese sought peace with the House of Nsundi and calm was restored for a little while. Meanwhile, Pedro II harbored plans to remove the Portuguese from his region altogether and sought Dutch assistance to this aim. It would be up to another ruling house; however, to see these plans through.

Garcia I

Garcia I succeeded his father as head of the house in 1624, but when he was overthrown by Manuel Jordão, the Duke of Nsundi in 1626, he fled to Soyo. There he was protected by the Count Paulo of Soyo for many years, as he had been appointed by Pedro II. As a result Soyo formed a close bond with the house. A number of other appointees by Pedro II or Garcia remained in their offices even as other houses ruled Kongo. In 1656, members of the house that held office in São Salvador and the Marquis of Mpemba tried to overthrow Garcia II, and were defeated and the kanda was destroyed as a separate entity in 1678.

Rulers of the Kingdom of Kongo

Awenekongo of the Kilukeni kanda (1390–1567)	Lukeni lua Nimi Nanga of Kongo Nlaza of Kongo Nkuwu a Ntinu of Kongo João I of Kongo Afonso I of Kongo Pedro I of Kongo Diogo I Nkumbi a Mpudi Afonso II of Kongo Bernardo I of Kongo Henrique I of Kongo

Awenekongo of the Kwilu kanda (1567–1622)	Álvaro I of Kongo Álvaro II of Kongo Bernardo II of Kongo Álvaro III of Kongo

Awenekongo of the Nkanga a Mvika kanda (1622–1626)	Pedro II of Kongo Garcia I of Kongo

Mwenekongo of the Kwilu kanda (1626–1636)	Ambrósio I of Kongo Álvaro IV of Kongo

Awenekongo of the Kimpanzu kanda (1636)	Álvaro V of Kongo

Awenekongo of the Kinlaza kanda (1636–1665)	Álvaro VI of Kongo Garcia II of Kongo António I of Kongo

Civil War Awenekongo (1665–1678)	Afonso II of Kongo and Nkondo Álvaro VII of Kongo Álvaro VIII of Kongo Pedro III of Kongo Álvaro IX of Kongo Rafael I of Kongo Afonso III of Kongo Daniel I of Kongo

Post-Civil War states	Kibangu (1669–1709) Garcia III of Kibangu André I of Kibangu Manuel I of Kibangu Álvaro X of Kibangu Pedro IV of Kongo Lemba (1669–1716) Pedro III of Kongo João II of Lemba Mbamba Lovata (1678–1715) Manuel of Lovata

Awenekongo after the recapture of São Salvador (1709–1891)	Pedro IV of Kongo Manuel II of Kongo Garcia IV of Kongo Manuel II of Kongo Garcia IV of Kongo Nicolau I of Kongo Afonso IV of Kongo António II of Kongo Sebastião I of Kongo "Pedro V" Álvaro XI of Kongo José I of Kongo Afonso V of Kongo Álvaro XII of Kongo Alexio I of Kongo Joaquim I of Kongo Henrique II of Kongo Garcia V of Kongo André II of Kongo André III of Kongo Álvaro XIII of Kongo Pedro V of Kongo

Awenekongo after 1881 vassalage treaty with Portugal (1891–1914)	Álvaro XIV of Kongo Henrique III of Kongo Pedro VI of Kongo Manuel Nkomba of Kongo Manuel III of Kongo

Pretenders to the Kongo throne since 1914	Alvaro XV of Kongo Pedro VII of Kongo António III of Kongo Isabel Maria da Gama, Q of Kongo (regent) Pedro VIII of Kongo Isabel Maria da Gama of Kongo (regent)

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Kinkanga

The compromise candidate

Split with Portugal

Diplomacy with the Dutch

Garcia I

See also