Portuguese arrived in Angola in 1482 and began to control the coastal areas through treaties and wars. This eventually led to a slave trade, making Angola a major source of slaves for the Americas. The Kongo and Ndongo Kingdoms were powerful before Portuguese imperialism. The Kongo Kingdom was the Kongon people moving south from the Congo River. The Ndongo Kingdom consisted of the Mdbundu people. In 1575, Portugal established a colony in Luanda, the capital of Angola, and invaded Ndongo, using military and Jesuit missionaries to spread Christianity. Converting African leaders became a political strategy to strengthen an alliance between the leaders and the Portuguese. This was also used to diminish the relationship between the leaders and the
