KAKONGO

former African state, founded about the 15th century on the Atlantic coast between the kingdoms of Loango (north) and Ngoy (south). It extended from what is now central Cabinda eastward into Congo (Kinshasa). The main town was Malemba, a port that grew in importance after 1700 as a centre for the export of slaves; port facilities were expanded from that time to handle increasing numbers of French, English, and Portuguese trading ships. The offices of governor of the harbour and minister of trade and Europeans rivaled the crown in prestige and authority. Slavery transformed the social and political structure: status came to depend on the number of slaves owned, and free non-nobles either fell into slavery or rose to the nobility. The increasingly strong nobles asserted their autonomy, reducing the king to a figurehead. After the 1830s they dropped any pretense of adhering to a unified state, and the Kakongo monarchy ceased to exist.