Kongo, kingdom of Kongo (Kongo dia Ntotela) in Kikongo language, is the former state of Western and Central Africa, founded by Manikongo (The King Nimi a Lukeni) in the 14th century. After one century in the state stretched from the Congo River in the North to the Loje River in the South and from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to beyond the Kwango River in the East. Numerous smaller independent states to the South and East paid tribute to it. Kongo was ruled by the manikongo, and it was divided into six provinces, each administered by a governor appointed by the king.
When an explorer Portuguese Diogo Cão, visited the kingdom in 1482, the manikongo was reignited, Nzinga Nkuwu, he was favorably impressed with Portuguese culture. In 1491, Portuguese missionaries, soldiers, and artisans were welcomed at Mbanza, the capital of the kingdom. The missionaries soon gained converts, including Nzinga Nkuwu (who took the name João I), and the soldiers helped the manikongo defeat an internal rebellion.