1 Manillas from the Kingdom of Congo
The first Europeans (Portuguese, Diogo CĂŁo) came to the Kingdom of Congo in 1483. The Congolese King Nzinga Nkuwu and six notables were baptised in 1491. Nzinga Nkuwu adopted the Christian name JoĂŁo (I). King JoĂŁo I (died in 1506) and was followed by Affonso I. King JoĂŁo I could only offer the Portuguese ivory and raphia fabrics. The copper from the Kingdomâs centre was not of a high enough quality to be successfully traded with Europeans. Dom Affonso I was the Nsundi ruler from about 1485 until JoĂŁo's death in 1506. As the successor to JoĂŁo I, he retained access to this regionâs copper mines (Mindouli-Boko Songo, see Map 1), so that between 1506 and 1511 he could also export 5,200 copper bracelets (manillas) to King Manuel I of Portugal (Hilton 1985:50â55, BrĂĄsio 1952, vol.I: 294â323). Early references to manilla occurrence and use in the Kingdom of Congo can be found in the âMonumenta Missionaria Africanaâ published by BrĂĄsio, especially in volume I âAfrica ocidental (1471â1531)â, in which the Portuguese missionariesâ correspondence is documented.
Herbert (1984:140â143), Hilton (1985:54â55), and DuprĂ© & Pinçon (1997:50) probably wrote about this situation with reference to BrĂĄsio, but usually only using the term copper rings. In the Portuguese texts published by BrĂĄsio in 1952, however, manjlhas are clearly mentioned.
For this the following text excerpts:
1) BrĂĄsio, AntĂłnio (1952, vol. I) Only the passages mentioning manillas are listed here:
â p. 294, document 83: âCarta do Rei do Congo, a. d. Manuel I (05-10-1514)â â âLetter of the King of Congo to King Manuel I of Portugal from 05/10/1514â
â p. 295: NĂłs emtĂŁ os mĂŁdamos e lhe demospera elles ambos e pera Gonçalo Royz myll e quynhentos manylhas e çento e cynquoenta espriuos. â We sent them now and gave him [meaning the Fernando de Mello]7 for both [the Portuguese King?] and Gonçalo Roiz 1,500 manillas and 150 slaves.8
â p. 297: [âŠ] e os mĂŁdĂĄmos eo dito navyo de FernĂŁ de Mello e mĂŁdĂĄmos ao dito FernĂŁ de Mello pera Nos compar o dito socoro, que avyamos mester, oytoçentas manjlhas e cyncoent espriuos pera elle e pera sua molher e çyncoemta manjlhas pera o seo fylho trynta e pera o captitam e espriuam vynte, [âŠ] â [âŠ] and we sent them in the ship of FernĂŁo de Mello and we instructed the FernĂŁo de Mello said to buy us the help that we had to have, 800 manillas and 50 slaves for him and for his wife and 50 manillas for his son, 30 for the captain and 20 slaves, [âŠ]
â p. 301: [âŠ] e mĂŁdĂĄuamos hĆ©a carta a suallteza e outra pera Rainha dona Lyanor, pollos quaes nosos parentes mĂŁdĂĄuamos (a) elle sete centos manjlhas e muytos espriuos e papaga yos [âŠ] â [âŠ] and we sent one Letter to His Highness and another to Queen Eleanor, whereby our relatives gave him 700 manillas and many slaves and parrots [âŠ]
â p. 303: [âŠ] e mĂŁdamos ao dito FernĂŁ de Mello mjll manjlhas e certos espriuos e de nĂłs ao ditto estruam Jusarte vinte espriuos e trezentas manjlhas, por que nos dizia que era sobrynho suallteza [âŠ] por que elle nos dizia que se mĂŁdasemos a suallteza manjlhas ou espriuos, suvallteza que averya memoorja [âŠ]. Em tam mĂŁdamos cĂ” elle a Joam Fernandez con quatro certs (centas) manjlhas pera VĂłs e vynte espriuos pera em Portugal nos coprar allguĆ© vistydo, por amdarmos vistido como seluaje. O quall FernĂŁ de Mello, tĂŁto que ho navio cheguou Ă Jlha lhe tomou ametade das manjlhas e nouem espriuos e Nos ficaram honze e das manjlhas mĂŁdou as por escrauros e mĂŁdou que desem trynta manijlhas porc ada espriuo." â [âŠ] and sent to the said FernĂŁo de Mello 1,000 manillas and some slaves and to us said EstevĂŁo Jusarte 20 slaves and 300 manillas, for he had told us that he was the nephew of His Highness. [âŠ] for he said that if we sent to His Highness manillas or slaves, then His Highness would remember. [âŠ] So we sent JoĂŁo Fernandez through him 400 manillas for you and 20 slaves to buy clothes for us in Portugal, so that we were not dressed like savages. That FernĂŁo de Mello, as soon as the boat reached the island of SĂŁo TomĂ©, took from him half of the manillas and 9 slaves, and left us eleven slaves, and he caused them to give thirty manillas for each slave.
â p. 305: [âŠ] e mĂŁdamos ao dito FernĂŁo de Mello duzemtas manjlhas e sençenta espriuos [âŠ] â [âŠ] and sent to the FernĂŁo de Mello 200 manillas mentioned and also 600 slaves [âŠ].[âŠ] e mĂŁdamos duzentas manjlhas pera Vos e çertos espriuos e pera o dito Pedro Afomso leuar a Portugall e Nos cĂ”prar lĂĄ alguĆ© vistido. â [âŠ] we sent 200 manillas for you and some slaves for the mentioned Pedro Afomso, so that he took her to Portugal and bought us clothes there.
O quall navio tanto que Ă ylha cheguou, FernĂŁ de Mello Nos tomou amatade das manjlhas e espriuos [âŠ] â As soon as the ship reached the island (SĂŁo TomĂ©) FernĂŁo de Mello took half of the manillas and slaves from [âŠ]
- p. 521, Document 153: âCarta de D. JoĂŁo III ao Rei do Congo (Fins de 1529)â â âLetter from D. JoĂŁo III to the King of the Congo Empire (late 1529)â
â p. 526f: [âŠ] se uos bem pareçer seja asy, porem a my(m) nam me pareçe hommrra vosa ne de voso Reyno, por quem ais de louuar lhe hĂ© tirarese cadanno de Comgo x escrauos e dez mjill manjlhas e outros tamtos demtes de marfym, que dizer se (que) jĂĄ e Comgo nĂŁ hĂĄ resguate nhuĆ©, ne vay somete hĆ©u navyo cadanno; asy cĂ” ysto e o all seja como vĂłs quiserdes. â [âŠ] if it seems so to them, then it should be, but it does not seem to me the honour of your king, because more than praiseworthy 10,000 slaves and 10,000 manillas and just as much ivory (teeth) were withdrawn from the Congo each year. To say that there is no salvation in the Congo, not even a ship goes every year, so that's how you want it.
A translation of the original Portuguese text into English can be found at Newitt (2010:152â153):
However, it does not seem to be to the honour of you or your kingdom because it would be more praiseworthy to draw each year from the Congo 10,000 slaves and 10,000 manillas and as many tusks of ivory [âŠ].
Randles (1968:178) summarises these notes of BrĂĄsio as follows:
DĂšs 1514, 2300 manilles de cuivre sont exportĂ©es de lâembouchure du Congo. Ce cuivre provient des fameuses mines de Bembe qui deviendront, dĂšs le dĂ©but du XVIIe siĂšcle, lâobjet de la convoitise des Portugais de Luanda. â Since 1514, 2,300 copper manillas have been exported through the mouth of the Congo. This copper came from the famous copper mines of Bembe, which since the beginning of the XVII. Century were the desire of the Portuguese in Luanda.
2) Herbert, Eugenia W. (1984:140):
In 1506 the King of Congo, Don Afonso, sent 500 manillas of copper to King Manuel I of Portugal [âŠ]. [âŠ] Manuel I quickly recognised the wealth [âŠ]. In 1516 he sent an emissary to learn more about such local trade goods as copper, ivory and slaves [âŠ]. By the next decade relatively large quantities [of copper manillas] were being shipped north to the Guinea coast, probably to Benin in particular, which clung to its preference for copper manillas. The linchpin in this regional trading system was the island of SĂŁo TomĂ©9.
Fernando de Mello, the São Tomé way station governor, played a less than trustworthy role in this trade, as can be seen in the previous quotes.
Further information about copper manillas from the Kingdom of Congo are added here by Herbert from BrĂĄsiosâ âMonumenta Missionaria Africanaâ. (see also page 12).
3) Hilton, Anne (1985:54):
The copper from within the nuclear kingdom [of Congo ] was poor and in the mid-seventeenth century, it was unacceptable on the European market. The Mindouli-Boko Songo (see Map 1) copper however, was of excellent quality, dominating the interregional copper trade of that century. All the early sixteenth-century copper was exported in the form of manilla armrings and this was the characteristic form of the Mindouli-Boko Songo10 exports.
4) Cuvelierâs sources were:
a. Paiva Manso, Leon Maria Jordan, Visconde de: Historia do Congo: obra postuma. Documentos. Lisboa 1877
b. Historia do Reino do Congo. Manuscrit No 8080, F. G. de la BibliothĂšque Nationale du Lisbonne
c. Cavazzi, Giovanni Antonio: Istoria Descrittione deâ tre Regni Congo, Matamba et Angola. Milano 1690
Cuvelier, Joseph (1946):
â p. 108: [âŠ] en lâannĂ©e 1506 [âŠ] Dom Affonso (Mbemba Nzinga) fit des prĂ©sent...