Garcia II of Kongo
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Garcia Afonso II Nkanga a Lukeni a Nzenze a Ntumba ruled the Kingdom of Kongo from 23 January 1641-1661 sometimes considered Kongo's greatest king for his religious piety and his near expulsion of the Portuguese from Angola
Early Life
Garcia and his brother Álvaro Nimi were born in the early seventeenth century. Both brothers attended the Jesuit college at São Salvador (modern Mbanza Kongo) soon after it was opened in 1620 where they studied with the Jesuit priest João de Paiva. They joined the lay brotherhood of St. Ignatius while students. During his youth, Garcia obtained the nickname Kipaku (Quipaco) of uncertain meaning. When King Álvaro V was threatened by Daniel da Silva, Duke of Mbamba in 1634 the brothers came to the king's aid. Garcia was particularly valiant during the desperate battle which took place in the County of Soyo as the royal army was backed up against the river. Garcia was rewarded for his bravery by being named Marquis of Kiova, a small territory on the south bank of the Congo River, while his brother was promoted to Duke of Mbamba. However, in 1636 Álvaro V sought to remove the brothers and kill them, and in defense they managed to defeat and behead the king. Álvaro was then crowned King Álvaro VI and named Garcia as Duke of Mbamba.Taking the Throne
On 22 January 1641 Álvaro died in mysterious circumstances, and before the election could be held Garcia moved forces from Mbamba to the capital and forced them to declare him king. He almost immediately faced a crisis, however, for within a few weeks Paulo, the Count of Soyo and long time ally died and was replaced by his rival and Garcia's enemy Daniel da Silva. At the same time that this happened, the Dutch armada invaded and took Luanda. Kongo had a long term pact to assist the Dutch in driving the Portuguese out of Angola, and he immediately moved his armies south to assist. In 1642 he received an embassy from the Dutch and signed an alliance and agreement, only refusing to permit them to send him a Calvinist preacher, insisting that he was a Catholic and would not permit it.
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