Late Middle Ages · Africa · Exploration

1483

Portuguese Reach the Kongo

1483

Diogo Cao's caravel entered the mouth of the Congo River and exchanged gifts with envoys of the Manikongo. Within a few years the Kongo king would request missionaries, Portuguese books, and Portuguese wives for his nobility. Africa and Europe entered one of the earliest, and strangest, transatlantic diplomatic relationships. The Kongo kingdom's sophisticated political structure impressed Portuguese observers and complicated their assumptions about African societies.

More from 1483 Late Middle Ages

In context

Also in 1483 (5 other events on record)

Raphael Born in Urbino · Europe · Culture
Princes in the Tower Disappear · Europe · Politics
Edward IV Dies Suddenly · Europe · Politics
Richard III Crowned at Westminster · Europe · Politics
Death of Louis XI · Europe · Politics

Before and after in Africa

Before: 1482: Kongo Kingdom Encounters Christianity
After: 1486: Diogo Cao Dies on African Coast

Before and after in Exploration

Before: 1482: Diogo Cao Reaches the Congo River
After: 1484: Columbus Petitions Portuguese Court

Era

Late Middle Ages (1301–1500), one of 874 events from that era on Saeculum.