Latest / The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History / The Christian King Who Fought the Slave Trade: Kongo's Afonso I
Transcript
- Lucas: So today I want to take us to Central Africa in the late 15th and early 16th centuries — to the Kingdom of Kongo. Most people don't realize that this was one of the first African kingdoms to embrace Christianity, and its kings were writing letters to the Portuguese crown in fluent Portuguese, quoting the Bible. But there's a dark irony underneath. Luna: Oh, I've heard the name Kongo before — wasn't it one of the earliest places where Christianity took hold in Africa? Lucas: Exactly right. In 1491, King Nzinga a Nkuwu was baptized, and his son, who became King Afonso I, was a devout Christian. He built churches, welcomed missionaries, and even sent his own son to study in Lisbon. But the Portuguese were there for more than souls — they wanted slaves. And that put Afonso in an impossible position. Lucas: You know, this kind of story is exactly why listener support matters so much for this show. We spend hours digging into archives and translating primary sources — like Afonso's letters — and it's all ad-free because of people who contribute at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. If you've been following along with these conversations, your support keeps them coming. Luna: Yeah, it's great that we can go deep into these lesser-known histories without any commercial interruptions. Definitely worth it. Lucas: So when Afonso became king in 1506, he inherited a kingdom that was already being destabilized by the slave trade. He tried to regulate it — he insisted on a system where only captured prisoners of war or criminals could be sold, not free subjects. But the Portuguese merchants ignored those rules. Luna: Did he confront them directly? Lucas: He did something remarkable. He wrote directly to King Manuel I of Portugal — letters that still survive today. In one, he says the traders are 'taking many of our free and exempt people' and that his kingdom is becoming 'depopulated' because of it. He even threatened to break off relations if the abuses continued. Lucas: But here's the thing — Kongo itself was also participating in the slave trade. Afonso's court relied on Portuguese goods, and the slave trade brought revenue. So he wasn't calling for abolition; he wanted control. He wanted the Portuguese to trade only through his appointed officials and to stop kidnapping his people. Luna: Right, so it's a nuanced position — he's a Christian king trying to protect his subjects, but he's also entangled in the system. Lucas: Exactly. And unfortunately, his pleas fell on deaf ears. The Portuguese crown was far more interested in the profits from São Tomé and later Brazil. Afonso's letters became more desperate, and by the 1520s, he was writing about how the slave trade was 'causing a great uproar in the land.' He even turned to the Vatican for help, but got little. Lucas: After Afonso's death in 1542, the kingdom slowly declined. The slave trade intensified, and internal factions — some backed by Portugal — tore Kongo apart. By the 17th century, it was a shadow of its former self. Luna: So his story really shows the limits of what one ruler could do against the whole Atlantic system. Lucas: Absolutely. And it's a reminder that African resistance to the slave trade took many forms — not just armed rebellion, but diplomacy, letters, and appeals to shared faith. Afonso's letters are some of the earliest African voices we have on the slave trade, and they're heartbreaking because you can hear his frustration and his genuine sense of betrayal. Luna: It's incredible that those documents still exist. Where can people read them? Lucas: Some are in the Portuguese national archives, and there are translations in academic books. I'd recommend John Thornton's work on Kongo — he's done a lot to bring these letters to light. But for now, I think it's important to remember that the Atlantic slave trade wasn't just Europeans imposing on passive Africans — it was a complex, tragic entanglement where some African leaders tried to push back, often with everything they had. Luna: Thanks for sharing that story. It puts a more human face on this massive historical tragedy. Lucas: My pleasure. Next time, we'll look at another angle — maybe the role of African women in the slave trade, or the impact on the interior kingdoms. But for now, I hope you'll reflect on King Afonso I and his lost fight.