Diego Câo

The navigator Portugais, he has been sent two times (1482 and 1484) to Discoveries by D. João II.  In 1481, Diogo Cão, a Portuguese explorer, visited the kingdom, and the reigning manikongo, Nzinga Nkuwu, 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. The next manikongo, Afonso I (reigned 1505–43), was raised as a Christian and attempted to convert the kingdom to Christianity and European ways. However, the Portuguese residents in Kongo were primarily interested in increasing their private fortunes (especially through capturing Africans and selling them into slavery), and, despite the attempts of King Manuel I of Portugal to channel the efforts of his subjects into constructive projects, the continued rapaciousness of the Portuguese played a major part in weakening the kingdom and reducing the hold of the capital (renamed São Salvador) over the provinces. After the death of Afonso, Kongo declined rapidly and suffered major civil wars. The Portuguese shifted their interest southward to the kingdom of Ndongo and helped Ndongo defeat Kongo in 1556.