Álvaro VII of Kongo

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| name = Álvaro VII

| title = Mwene Kongo

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| reign = December 1665 – June 1666

| predecessor = Afonso II of Kongo and Nkondo

| successor = Álvaro VIII

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Álvaro VII (Mpanzu-a-Mabondo) (b. 1631 - d. 1666) was king of the Kingdom of Congo from 1665 to 1666.{{Cite web |title=Angola Traditional states |url=https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Angola_native.html |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=www.worldstatesmen.org}}

When the death of Antonio I at the Battle of Mbwila (October 29, 1665) was announced, Álvaro, a relative of the dead sovereign and a member of the Kinlaza lineage, was proclaimed king.{{Cite web |last=Kessler |first=P. L. |title=Kingdoms of Africa - Angola / Kongo Kingdom |url=https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsAfrica/AfricaAngola.htm |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=The History Files |language=en}}

The new king sent a trusted Capuchin, Friar Girolamo of Montesarchio, to make peace with the Portuguese in to Luanda, Angola, in Christmas 1665. But the friar was waylaid by a rebellion in Mbamba, and only returned to the capital in June 1666, where he found Álvaro VII already dead; in the meantime, the powerful Count of Soyo, Paulo da Silva, had marched on São Salvador (the capital of the kingdom), killed the king and proclaimed Álvaro VIII in his place.{{Cite journal |last=Thornton |first=John K. |date=1982 |title=The Kingdom of Kongo, ca. 1390-1678. The Development of an African Social Formation (Le royaume du Kongo, ca. 1390-1678. Développement d'une formation sociale africaine) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4391812 |journal=Cahiers d'Études Africaines |volume=22 |issue=87/88 |pages=337 |issn=0008-0055}}

See also

References

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Category:Manikongo of Kongo

Category:17th-century monarchs in Africa

Category:1666 deaths

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