Of the domestic wars corned on by the King, we know next to nothing. Angola and Matamba seem to have been virtually independent in his day, though the island of Luandu, with its valuable cowry-fishery, was held by him and his successors until 1649. He conquered, however, Mpanzu-alumbu (Mpangu-lunga?)[329] on the lower Kongo, a district inhabited by a predatory tribe.[330] That his successes in these “wars” were due to his Portuguese mercenaries and their fire-locks is a matter of course.
Don Affonso died in 1540, or soon afterwards, leaving behind him a son, D. Pedro, who succeeded him, and three daughters.[331]
D. Pedro and his Successors, 1540-1561.
Pedro I had been educated in Portugal, and is described by Cavazzi as a wise prince who had inherited all the virtues of his father, and was a great friend of the missionaries. His reign was apparently a short one,[332] and he was succeeded by a cousin, D. Francisco, who only reigned two or three years, and left the kingdom to a son,[333] D. Diogo.[334] Duarte Lopez describes this prince as a man of noble mind, witty, intelligent, prudent in council, an upholder of the missionaries, and at the same time a great warrior who, in the course of a few years, conquered many of the neighbouring countries. His “wars” certainly did not enlarge the borders of his kingdom, and the only war we know of ended in disaster. The Portuguese at S. Salvador, jealous of the growing commercial importance of Luandu, had persuaded the King to send an army against Ngola Mbandi, they themselves furnishing an auxiliary corps. The Kongoese, in spite of this, were defeated on the river Dande (about 1556); and Ngola not only appealed to Portugal for protection, but also allied himself with the Jagas, with whose aid he invaded Kongo (in 1558).
Nor were the relations of D. Diogo with the missionaries quite as friendly as Lopez would lead us to believe. As early as 1549, D. Diogo complained of the overbearing conduct of the Jesuits who had arrived in that year in the company of D. João Baptista, the Bishop of S. Thomé;[335] the priests, on their side, accused the King of having shown little respect to the bishop, and of having ordered them to be pulled out of their pulpits, when they denounced his vices and those of his people.[336] The Jesuits may have been over-zealous in the performance of what they conceived to be their duty, and too prone to meddle in politics; but they seem to have led clean lives, which cannot be said of all of their clerical brethren. When D. Gaspar Cão,[337] the Bishop of S. Thomé and Kongo, a man who took the duties of his office seriously, visited S. Salvador, these priests openly defied his authority. But after several of the recalcitrant priests had been deported to Portugal, whilst others had left voluntarily with such wealth as they had been able to amass, discipline was re-established.[338]
A Reign of Anarchy, 1561-1568.
When Diogo died, about 1561, the Portuguese residents endeavoured to secure the throne for one of their own creatures, and caused the duly elected favourite of the people to be assassinated. As a result, the people of S. Salvador rose upon the Portuguese, many of whom were killed, not even priests being spared. The accounts[339] of this period of disorder are too confused to enable us to be certain even of the names of the reigning kings. D. Affonso II, a son (probably illegitimate) of D. Diogo, ascended the throne of his father, but was murdered by his brother, D. Bernardo, who appears to have been the candidate favoured by the Portuguese. He at once sent Father Estevão de Laguos on an embassy to Queen Catherine of Portugal, who, in a letter dated June 26th, 1562,[340] congratulated him upon his accession, whilst gently chiding him for the murder of his brother. This King was evidently friendly disposed towards the Portuguese; and Antonio Vieira, a negro, who had visited Portugal as member of an embassy, when writing to Queen Catherine in April 1566,[341] suggested that he might be induced to allow the mines of copper and tin to be worked. D. Bernardo is stated by the Duke of Mbamba to have fallen in a war with the Anzicas, “in defence of Christianity and the Fatherland.” He was succeeded by D. Henrique, a brother of D. Diogo, who, after a short and troubled reign, died of a wound received in a battle, either against some revolted vassals,[342] or fighting the Anzicanas.[343] He was the last king of the original dynasty, for Alvaro I, his successor, was only a step-son.
D. Alvaro I and the Ayaka, 1568-1574.[344]
D. Alvaro, immediately on his accession, sent an embassy to Portugal, to apologise for the massacre of many Portuguese during the reigns of his predecessors, which he excused on the ground of the vices and abuses of the clergy. These excuses were apparently accepted in Portugal, fortunately for D. Alvaro, for the very next year the dreaded Ayaka[345] invaded his kingdom by way of Mbata; and, being worsted, the King fled with his adherents to the Hippopotamus Island,[346] on the lower Kongo, where they suffered many hardships, and whence he appealed piteously to the Portuguese for help. This help was not denied him. Francisco de Gouvea, corregedor of S. Thomé, in 1570, hastened to his aid with six hundred Portuguese, expelled the Ayaka, reinstated the King in his capital, and built a wall round S. Salvador for greater security. The King fully recognised the value of the service that had been rendered him, for Paulo Dias de Novaes told Garcia Mendes[347] that he acknowledged himself a vassal of Portugal;[348] and as neither gold or silver had been discovered in his country, he agreed to pay a tribute in njimbos, which he actually did for a few years.