Afonso, King of Kongo

King Afonso of Kongo encouraged trade of goods and war-captive slaves with Portugal, but neither he nor his father realized how powerful the European trade was all over the world. King Afonso started loosing his authority over the nation because of the introduction of the Portuguese, and wrote and appealed desperately to their King, Joao III, to help him regain control over the situation. In three of his letters from the mid 1520’s, it becomes evident how he struggled to keep the control over the trade involving Portugal and Kongo. He first tried to regulate the trade and slavery market, but when it did not have an effect he resorted to banishing it all. In the third letter from King Afonso it becomes evident that he had lost most his power over the nation and was reduced to asking Joao III for medical supplies.

The following section is from an undated letter sent to King Joao III, where Afonso addressed issues he had with trade.

“…and Goncalo Pires our chief freighter who should investigate if the mentioned goods are captives or free men, and if cleared by them there will be no further doubt nor embargo for them to be taken and embarked. “

This is evidence that Afonso was loosing power over the European slave trade with Kongo, and he was attempting to restore his authority by creating a new law regarding the export of slaves. Clearly slave trade was acceptable in Kongo but on different terms than in Europe. With the help of Portuguese firearms Afonso had expanded his kingdom and taken war prisoners. It was socially accepted in Kongo to use them as slaves where needed. In the sentence the King talked about the slaves as pieces of common goods- not people. When Afonso and his father pushed to introduce Portuguese trade and religion in the late 1400’s/early 1500’s , they saw no harm in trading with their war-captives because it was Kongo customs. Around twenty years later, the demand of slaves had become so high that the Portuguese took slave capturing into...