Álvaro I of Kongo

Álvaro I Nimi a Lukeni lua Mvemba was a Manikongo (Mwene Kongo), or king of Kongo, from 1568 to 1587, and the founder of the Kwilu dynasty.

Biography Álvaro's father was an unknown Kongo nobleman who died, leaving his mother to remarry to King Henrique I. When Henrique I died fighting on the eastern frontier, he had left Álvaro as his regent. According to Duarte Lopes, Kongo's ambassador to Rome in 1584-88, Álvaro had taken up the kingship by common consent. However, there do appear to have been others who wished to be king, and some scholars, notably Francois Bontinck, proposed that Álvaro's rule was seen as an usurpation. The invasion of the Jagas, which took place shortly after Álvaro became king, is sometimes seen as a protest against this usurpation. Other scholars, however, doubt the connection between the Jaga invasion and a dynastic crisis.

The Jagas, however, did create a major problem for Álvaro, who had to abandon the capital of Mbanza Kongo, and flee to an island in the Congo River. From that place, he sought help from Portugal to restore him to the throne and expel the Jagas.

In 1587, he was succeeded by his son Álvaro II.