Battle of Ambuila
| date | October 29, 1665 |
|---|---|
| place | Ambuila, Congo |
| output | Victory of the Portuguese. Defeat of the Kingdom of the Congo. |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 380 musketeers, archers, infantry | 450 musketeers, 2 light artillery pieces, infantry |
| losses | |
|
unknown |
unknown |
The Battle of Ambuila or Battle of Mbwila of October 29, 1665 was the decisive battle between Portugal and the Kingdom of the Congo . It ended with the death of Mani-Congo António I and the final breakup of the empire into individual provinces belonging to Portugal.
The conflict between the two countries over the slave trade , which was undermining Congolese society, had been simmering for almost a century and a half at that time, but the final trigger of the battle was a declaration by António I that all treaties concluded with Portugal would be invalid and that the territories annexed by Portugal would be returned be.
The Portuguese gathered and their allies near the city of Luanda (in present-day Angola ). Led by Luis Lopes de Sequeira , a soldier of mixed Portuguese-African origin, the Portuguese forces grouped around 450 musketeers and two light artillery pieces .
The Congolese army, on the other hand, consisted of 380 musketeers, archers and a large, albeit irregular, army. António carried the State Archives and the State Treasury with him to prevent a usurper from taking his place in his absence from the capital.
The Portuguese army defeated the Congolese army, beheaded António, many of his courtiers (including the Luso-African writer and chaplain Antónios Manuel Roboredo ) and took final control of the country. The head of Mani-Congo was ceremonially buried by the Portuguese in a chapel in the Bay of Luanda, and the crown and scepter of the Congo were sent to Lisbon as trophies.