Background information on Kongo kingdom
Founded in approximately in 1390 by Lukeni Lua Nimi, the Kongo Kingdom developed into an African powerhouse during the fourteenth and fifteenth century. The people of the kingdom originated from Bantu speaking farmers polytheists and eventually involved into Portuguese influenced Christians. During the kingdom rule there were six main provinces, but the two main provinces were the Soyo and Mbata province.Each province contributed to the total kingdom population of two million, one of the highest populations in Africa during the time. Every one of the two million citizens belonged to a specific social class. The three main classes of the social hierarchy included: the aristocrats, free slaves/villagers, and slaves. The hierarchy was very rigid and was structured so people could only marry in their class. This system caused problems especially considering free slaves could never reach their dream of becoming rich and powerful, like the aristocrat class. This problem was not ultimately the main cause of the Kingdom fall, but did contribute to the decline. For more information on the decline of the Kongo Kingdom, and other relevant facts about the kingdom, one can view the page links above.