Kongo by Melanie

Founded by the Bakongo Tribe in the 14th century, the Kongo people lived in West Central Africa near the Atlantic Ocean and the Kongo River. This tribe had an interesting yet violent history. In these paragraphs you will learn about the Bakongo Tribe and its peaceful as well as dangerous past.

The Bakongo Tribe made the most of their surroundings. One of the benefits of living by oceans and rivers is that there are more animals to hunt, so the Kongo People always had food. They also fished for food or ate their domesticated animals if there wasn’t enough game to hunt.

The rivers and oceans were also helpful for transportation by boat. People came by boat to the Kongo Kingdom to trade with the Kongo people. The Europeans and Portuguese traded with them for copper, ivory, and slaves in for jewelry and clothing. The Europeans also brought Christianity and new weapons to the Kongo Kingdom.

The Portuguese originally had a good relationship with the Kingdom of Kongo, but over time, that friendship changed because the Portuguese got greedier and more interested in making money off of the Africans instead of helping them. The slave trade provided the most money for the Portuguese. The Kongo Kingdom’s nearness to the Atlantic Ocean made it the perfect place to capture slaves. Slaves were taken from their prison cells and shipped back to Europe in exchange for goods. When the Europeans got greedier and wanted more slaves, they started convincing innocent people to commit crimes so they would go to prison. This ultimately gave the Europeans more slaves. The population in the Kongo Kingdom decreased and they got weaker, but the Europeans kept on demanding more slaves. When the Kongo Kingdom finally said “no” the Europeans found another way to get slaves from them by attacking and declaring war. The Portuguese started taking people and forcing them to become slaves. From the 1650’s to the 19th century, ten millionslaves were taken from Africa. Out of the eight different parts of Africa that the slaves were taken from, Kongo lead with thirty nine percent, contributing to the million people that were taken. The slaves were sent to sugar, coffee, cotton, and coco plantations. They also worked in the rice fields, construction, mines, and servants in houses.

Before the Kongo Kingdom fell apart, they had a fairly well-organized society. At the top of the Social Hierarchy was the Mani-Kongos or Kings, who ruled the Kongo Kingdom. The next most powerful groups were the Provencial Governers and the Aristocatic. After them came the Village Chiefs, who were in charge of individual villages. The lowest place in the Social Hierarchy were the Villagers, who paid all of the taxes and, in turn, got gifts from the Mani-Kongo.

As you can plainly see the Kongo people survived despite attacks on their country and people. They had a wealth of natural resources, survival techniques and a well-organized society. Despite the troubles in their past they have survived and remain an important part of West Africa.

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