Nzinga Nkuwu << ehn ZIHNG ah ehn KOO woo >> (?-1506) was the ruler of the kingdom of Kongo in west-central Africa. His subjects believed he was God in human form.
After the first Portuguese trading ships came to Kongo in 1485, Nzinga Nkuwu welcomed trade with Portugal and established a friendly relationship with the Europeans. Portugal sent carpenters, farmers, traders, and other specialists to Kongo. But eventually the Europeans became more interested in developing the slave trade than in aiding the Kongolese.
After Christian missionaries came to Mbanza, Kongo’s capital, Nzinga Nkuwu accepted Christianity as one of Kongo’s religions. He was baptized in 1491 and took the name John I, or João, the name of Portugal’s king. However, he gave up Christianity around 1495 because of disputes in his court between supporters and opponents of Christianity. Nzinga Mbemba, Nzinga Nkuwu’s son, gained power shortly after Nzinga Nkuwu’s death in 1506. Nzinga Mbemba was a Christian supported by the Portuguese and took the name Afonso I.
See also Kongo.
