How Did Kongo Want To Abolish Slavery

In the 1500s, there was a thriving African empire known as the Kingdom of Kongo. This kingdom was located in central Africa, which is where Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo reside. The Kingdom of Kongo was a place of fertile farmland, thriving markets, and mines. Until the Portuguese came and started to riot on their land. The Portuguese people depopulated the Kongo by turning most people into slaves. Of course, the people of Kongo did not accept the fact that other kingdoms were taking their people to sell them. This is why the Kingdom of Kongo does not accept cultural change in slavery.

The people of Kongo wanted to abolish slavery in the region because other kingdoms were starting wars to kidnap slaves, destroying property and resources along the way. They have fought in wars and created laws to abolish the slave trade. But the Portuguese don’t care about the laws, and they keep wrecking the kingdom’s population. Source 2 stated, “the slave trade caused direct loss of life through warfare [and] fighting caused indirect loss of life through destruction of crops and food storage areas, and the spread of diseases.” Colonialism in the Congo: Conquest, Conflict, and
The kidnappings wiped out most of the Kingdom of Kongo, leading to a gradually declining social and economic collapse According to source 3, the king of Kongo himself, King Nzinga Mbemba, wrote a letter to the Portuguese. He wrote “Merchants are taking every day our natives, sons of the land and the sons of our noblemen and vassals and our relatives.” This means that the Portuguese are taking important people from Kongo like merchants, rich citizens, and many other people. Because this letter was written by a former king of Kongo, this source is reliable. King Nzinga Mbemba’s letter was about convincing the Portuguese to support their people and the trade. This letter shows the relationship between Portugal and