- Located in Central Africa along the Congo River, Kongo began itsrise in the 1300s and by the 1400s was a strong centralized state.- The expansion of maritime trade routes brought the arrival of thePortuguese in 1482, Kongo's first contact with Europeans, which had far-reaching consequences.- A commercial relationship emerged between the two, as did diplomatic relations.- Kings of Kongo converted to Christianity and encouraged their subjects to do the same.- The Portuguese sought gold, ivory, and slaves from the Kongolese. They conducted slave raids and negotiated with Africans to secure slaves.- Kings of Kongo appealed to the Portuguese to stop the slave trade. With the need for a steady labor supply to work the labor-intensive sugar mills of Brazil, the Portuguese refused. Armed conflict arose, and the Kongolese were easily defeated.

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