Historical African kingdom, on the upper Kwango River in what is now Angola.
Founded in 1620 by a group from Lunda, its people became known as the Imbangala. By the mid-17th century, it had a thriving trade with the states of the interior and with Portuguese traders. Its monopoly of inland Portuguese-African trade lasted until 1850, when Ovimbundu opened alternative routes and markets. Occupied by the Portuguese, Kasanje was incorporated into Portuguese Angola in 191011.