A Re-Interpretation of the Kongo-Portuguese War of 1622 According to New Documentary Evidence

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Periodical article

Title:	A Re-Interpretation of the Kongo-Portuguese War of 1622 According to New Documentary Evidence
Authors:	Thornton, John Mosterman, Andrea
Year:	2010
Periodical:	The Journal of African History (ISSN 0021-8537)
Volume:	51
Issue:	2
Pages:	235-248
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Central Africa Portugal Netherlands Angola
Subjects:	colonial wars historical sources manuscripts Kongo polity 1600-1699
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/40985072
Abstract:	This paper sheds light on an important document in the Dutch Archives which casts new light on the Kongo-Portuguese War of 1622, usually seen as a signal defeat for Kongo. This document shows that, after the Portuguese victory over Kongo at the Battle of Mbumbi, there was a second battle in which Kongo forces were victorious, and they in fact began the process of reoccupying lands the Portuguese had absorbed in earlier expansion. In addition, the document reveals the origins of a plan, conceived in Kongo, to form an alliance with the Dutch in order to attack Luanda and drive the Portuguese from Angola, a plan that was realized not in 1624 but in 1641. A transcription and translation of the text of the document (by Andrea Mosterman) concludes the paper. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]