Geography was important to the development of the Kongo Empire because it affected the empire’s location, seclusion and resources. Naturally the Kongo Empire developed from the place where it was originally started .The empire wasn't able to leave the area because it was surrounded by impassible barriers. There was the ocean to the west, a desert to the north, jungle to the east, and mountains to the south. Geography did affect where the cities were located. In those times to have a major city it needs to be by a river, so the Kongo Empire built its capital near the Congo River. The capital needed to also be defendable. It was built in the jungle in the Congo River basin. Finally it needed access to a surplus of food. For that reason the capital was built in the jungle, near the fertile plains, in the Congo River basin. The next place where geography affected the Kongo Empire’s development was in the seclusion factor. Because the empire had natural borders on all sides, it was safe from early invaders, but it had no interaction with most of the world. That was until the Portuguese arrived. If the empire had more interaction with the outside world, the Portuguese might not have been able to affect the kingdom in such a negative way. The last reason geography was important to the development of the Kongo Empire was because it determined the empire’s resources. Since the capital was built near fertile plains, which are great farmland, one of their major resources was food grown from farms on the plains. The farms grew millet and sorghum. Another one of the Kongo Empire’s food source was fish from the ocean. The Kongo Empire was located near the Atlantic coast, which gave an excellent supply of saltwater fish. For other food besides millet, fish, and sorghum, the citizens of Kongo hunted and gathered in the jungle. Besides food resources, the Kongo Empire had two valuable resources. They had copper from the mountains, and Ivory from the jungle. These resources caused major disputes upon the arrival of the Portuguese in the late 1400s. Without its' location, the Kongo kingdom would have been a completely different kingdom with a very different history.
-Eric Rothman
