Cuanza River Campaign

Cuanza River Campaign
	Part of Colonization of Angola
	; Cuanza River
Date	May 1580 – ??
Location	Along the Cuanza River, Angola
Result	Inconclusive
Belligerents
Kingdom of Portugal Supported by:; Kingdom of Kongo;	Kingdom of Ndongo; Ambundu
Commanders and leaders
Paulo Dias de Novais; Baltasar Barreira	Ngola
Strength
290-300 soldiers; 2 galleys; 1 caravel; Several smaller vessels	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Two-thirds of the 300 soldiers killed by disease	Many thousands killed

The Cuanza River Campaign was a military campaign between the Kingdom of Portugal, supported by the Kingdom of Kongo, and the Kingdom of Ndongo and the Ambundu.

Background

Previously, Paulo Dias de Novais had miraculously won a siege in Anzele led by the Ngola forces, composed of 12,000 men. After the siege, the Ngola warriors sought to make peace with the governor, which he declined, as he already planned to attack them again with a larger force, with the support of the king of Congo.^[1]

In May 1580, Paulo Dias de Novais organized an expedition along the Cuanza River, deploying 290-300 soldiers, along with two small ships and several smaller vessels. The purpose was to achieve a quick conquest that would open the way to the supposed Cambambe mines.^[1]

Campaign

Despite initial successes, soon Paulo Dias de Novais faced problems such as diseases, harsh weather, and resistance from local leaders. Father Barreira in Luanda, upon learning of the governor's difficulties, set out on his way to the capital of the Kongo on September 24, 1580, to remind the king's promise and to hasten the arrival of his help.^[1]

Meanwhile, due to lack of supplies, the soldiers began to loot everything they found, leaving everyone frightened by the atrocities they were committing. This created fear and some sobas came to ally themselves with the Portuguese, one of them was Mushima Quitangombe. And they advanced with the Cambambe mines as their goal. On November 1, 1580, they arrived near Cambambe. The Portuguese troops camped in Mocumbe for two years, during which two-thirds of the 300 soldiers died, largely due to illness.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Leitão, José. "A Missão no Reino de Angola" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2020-12-07.

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[:1-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Leitão, José. "A Missão no Reino de Angola" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2020-12-07.

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