Place: Mbanza Kongo, Angola
Weather: Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms, 71/85F.
Route: From Luanda 518 km NNE on EN100.
Significance: Between the 14th and 19th centuries the largest kingdom in Southern Africa was the Kingdom of Kongo. Mbanza Kongo was its capital. The kingdom pre-dated European colonialism and was significantly impacted by it. It is one of the many examples of an African state that was at first contorted to the Europeans' influence and finally dissolved by Portugal when the people rose up against their colonial rulers. Kongo was a major source of enslaved people, especially to Portuguese colonies such as Brazil. The kingdom was very centralized, with a monarchy passed down by familial succession.
A neighborhood in Mbanza Kongo today (from whc.unesco.org)
Ruin of Cathedral built after the arrival of the Portuguese (from whc.unesco.org)
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