Garcia II Nkanga a Lukeni a Nzenze a Ntumba, also known as Garcia Afonso for short, ruled the Kingdom of Kongo from 23 January 1641 to 1660; he is sometimes considered Kongo's greatest king for his religious piety and his near expulsion of the Portuguese from Angola. 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. 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 longtime 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 the Portuguese colony of 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. Garcia died in 1660, leaving his second son António I of Kongo to succeed him. |
Reigned as | In Country | From | To | Coins Issued | |
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Manikongo Garcia II Nkanga a Lukeni a Nzenze a Ntumba (King Garcia II) | Kongo | 23 January 1641 | 1660 |
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