Christian Missions in Early Colonial Kongo, 1860–1910: A History of Appropriation and Political Schism

Throughout the nineteenth century, the kings of Kongo sent requests to Portugal for Catholic priests to visit their court.  The work of priests was essential for the well-being of the kingdom and hence the legitimization of royal power.  As European colonial pressures gained momentum in Kongo around 1880, the kingdom was suddenly well supplied with Christian missionaries: first the British Baptist Missionary Society built a station in Mbanza Kongo, to which Portugal responded with the establishment of a permanent state-funded Catholic mission in the Kongo capital.  This paper looks at the expansion of missionary activities in Kongo in the early colonial period, with particular attention to the role played by Kongolese intermediaries and the impact of the two missions on local political dynamics.  It is shown that the success of the missionary enterprise depended on the political influence of the king and on the work of African catechists.  In turn, the kings in Mbanza Kongo managed to extend their reputation in Kongo through their association with both Christian missions.  However, as more and more people were drawn within the orbit of the new Christian movement, political divisions started to emerge. Regions, villages and even the court at Mbanza Kongo were split between Protestant and Catholic factions, reshaping the fault lines along which political conflict in Kongo was traditionally played out.