M'banza-Kongo

Province

M'banza Congo ( alternative spellings M'Banza Congo, Mbanza Koongo, Mbanza Congo etc. ) is a city in Angola, with about 25,000 inhabitants and the capital of the province of Zaire. It lies in the northwest of the country, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

History

M'banza Congo was the capital of the Congo Empire. Her name means royal Congo or Congo Town. The city is known for the ruins of a cathedral built in the 16th century, the view some Angolans to be the oldest church in Africa.

After the battle of Ambuila ( 1665) and the resulting destruction of the Congo Empire by Portugal and the subsequent civil war was M'banza Congo in 1678 abandoned in 1705 but settled again by Kimpa Vita and their followers. From 1570 until the end of Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, the city was simply called in Portuguese " São Salvador do Congo" or (mostly) São Salvador.

Swell

  • Provincial capital in Angola
  • Zaire Province
  • Former capital (Africa)
  • Place in Africa
Battle of Mbwila
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