King Nzinga Mbemba Affonso

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These two short letters were composed by King Nzinga Mbemba Affonso, the king of the Congo who had a trading relationship with Portugal. He wrote this document in 1526 after he realized the negative influences it was having on his kingdom. Affonso notes how poor the people are treated when the Portuguese come to take them away. Affonso wants the king of Portugal to realize “And to avoid such a great evil we passed a law so that any white man living in our Kingdom...Your Highness has in it, since we know that it is in your service too that these goods are taken from our Kingdom otherwise we should not consent to this” (Affonso). He wishes that the king be aware of the injustices and to change them. In the early 16th century, the Scientific Revolution and a cleric named Nicolaus Copernicus was trying to understand the universe. Henry VIII is king of England and has not yet declared his married to Catherine of Aragon invalid. The Peasants’ War was still waging on during the construction of these letters. Loads of events were taking place in Europe during Affonso’s letter which could allow the king of Portugal to “brush it off” due to demanding issues that would benefit him more. Affonso desperately wants his kingdom to quit being exploited, because the Europeans are gaining all the money and the Congolese …show more content…

Did he realize how poor the system was and wanted to fix it, did he disregard both letters and not take Affonso seriously, or did he encourage the merchants and missionaries to continue the abuse or even increase the intensity of it? It is nearly impossible to know the exact thoughts of the king. Historians do learn however, that Affonso did support the slave trade as long as it only involved prisoners of war and people that he had no use for. He is only alarmed when his own people are taken into the slave trade. Affonso

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