This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Álvaro II of Kongo is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
Álvaro II Nimi a Nkanga was king of Kongo from 1587 to 1614. He was one of Kongo's most powerful and important kings, who succeeded his father Álvaro I, but not until resolving a dispute with his brother. Both sides brought armies to São Salvador but to avoid bloodshed they agreed to single combat, won by Álvaro.
Álvaro faced serious problems with other nobles besides his brother, and in 1590-91 was racked by a serious, though poorly documented, civil war. In order to reestablish his authority, Álvaro had to accept the virtual independence of Miguel, the count of Soyo. In order to recognize those nobles who had been loyal to him during this struggle, Álvaro began granting habits of the Order of Christ to his followers. Although the Portuguese crown complained to the Pope about this, claiming that the King of Portugal, as Grand Master of the Order was the only one to grant such habits, in fact, Kongo kings would establish this order (see Order of Christ (Kongo Empire)) and continued to knight their followers in it right through the nineteenth century.
During Álvaro's reign, the capital city, São Salvador was recognized as the capital of the diocese of Congo and Angola, and the first bishop was appointed, in 1596. However, because the kings of Portugal claimed the right of Patronage, they chose their own bishop. Constant struggles between the king and the bishop followed.
Kongo's relations with Portuguese Angola worsened during Álvaro's reign, and he complained bitterly about the behaviour of the governors to the King of Spain (then also ruling Portugal during the period of the Iberian Union).
| Preceded by Álvaro I |
Manikongo 1587–1614 |
Succeeded by Bernardo II |
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (November 2006) |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 9 November 2008, at 09:10.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Álvaro II of Kongo".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.