DYNAMICS OF TRADE AND TRAFFIC IN THE KINGDOM OF CONGO 16TH CENTURY: ANALYSIS OF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE AFRICAN MISSIONARY MONUMENT

Abstract

The research seeks to understand the dynamics of trade and slave trafficking and the political-diplomatic relations established between the Portuguese Crown and the kingdom of Congo during the reign of Mani Congo D. Afonso I (1506-1543) and the Portuguese kings D. João II , D. Manuel I and D. João III through correspondence exchanged during this period. We also seek to analyze the role of Catholicism in this relationship, the slave trade in the kingdom of Congo and the institutional measures adopted by D. Afonso I in order to safeguard the rights and traditional customs of free subjects. D. Afonso I's dependence on the coveted products that came from Portugal, including liturgical materials for masses, European-style clothing, weapons, horses, as well as missionaries and traders, opened the kingdom of Congo to the international slave trade . These products would create constraints in the Congo that D. Afonso I could hardly get rid of.