| Conventional Long Name: | Kingdom of Kansanje |
| Common Name: | Kansanje |
| Era: | Early Modern, Late Modern |
| Government Type: | Elective monarchy |
| Year Start: | 1620 |
| Event End: | Incorporation into Portuguese Angola |
| Year End: | 1912 |
| P1: | Imbangala |
| S1: | Portuguese Angola |
| Flag S1: | Flag of Portugal.svg |
| Leader1: | Kalanda ka Imbe |
| Leader2: | Ngwangwa |
| Year Leader1: | c. 1620 |
| Year Leader2: | 1911-1912 |
| Title Leader: | King of Kasanje |
| Stat Year1: | 1680 |
| Stat Pop1: | ~300,000 |
| Today: | Lunda Norte Province |
| Footnote A: | Population estimate is possibly exaggerated. |
The Kasanje Kingdom (1620–1910), also known as the Jaga Kingdom, was a Central African state. It was formed in 1620 by a mercenary band of Imbangala, which had deserted the Portuguese ranks. The state gets its name from the leader of the band, Kasanje, who settled his followers on the upper Kwango River. The Kasanje people were ruled by the Jaga, a king who was elected from among the three clans who founded the kingdom.[1]
In the 1650s the intellectuals of Kasanje developed a largely fiction history that sought to give meaning and stability to the state.[2] This history claimed a Zimbo and Tendo Andumba, and their daughter Tendo Anduma as the founding force of the nation.[3]
By the 1650s Kasanje had been making war with many of its neighbors for quite some time. These included Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba, and also areas called Lubolo, Beebe, Haku and Sango.[4]
Kasanje also had relations with the Yaka Kingdom of the Yaka people. Nbangu a Kutana kwa Mbuku, whose father was the King of Yaka, was for a time a prisoner in Kasanje but later was freed and established more peaceful relations between the states.[5]
In the 1650s Kasanje had six major languages as a result of recent conquests. The conquests continued in this decade with significant taking of areas in Bembe in 1657.[6]
On the south Kasanje bordered a domain called Muzumbu a Kalungu which controlled an area between the Kwanza River and the headwaters of the Cunene River. It appears that Kasanje captured some of the territory of Muzumbu a Kalungu.[7]
There were many Portuguese merchants who operated in Ksanje by the 1650s.[8]
In 1680, the Portuguese traveller António de Oliveira de Cadornega estimated the kingdom had 300,000 people, of whom 100,000 were able to bear arms. However, it is noted that this claim may be exaggerated.[1] The kingdom of Kasanje remained in a constant state of conflict with its neighbours, especially the kingdom of Matamba, then ruled by queen Nzinga Mbande. The Imbangala state became a strong commercial center until being eclipsed by Ovimbundu trade routes in the 1850s. Kasanje was finally incorporated into Portuguese Angola in 1910–1911.
The kings of Kasanje are listed below based on a compilation of several different contemporary king lists by Joseph C. Miller.[9]
| King name | Dates | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zimbo | c. 1500s? | Existence disputed | |
| Donji[10] | Husband of Mussasa | ||
| Mussasa | Mother of Tembandumba | ||
| Tembandumba | c. 1500s? | Existence disputed | |
| Kulembe | 1560s? | ||
| Kinguri | 1560s? | ||
| Kalanda ka Imbe | c. 1600s | Met by the English traveler Andrew Battel, 1601-1603 | |
| Kulashingo | c. 1610-1616 | Became allies with the Portuguese, c. 1612-1616 | |
| Kasanje ka Kulashingo | c. 1616-1620s | ||
| Kasanje Kingdom founded c. 1620 | |||
| Kalunga ka Kilombo | c. 1630s-1650 | ||
| Ngongo a Mbande | c. 1650-1680 | Known personally by the missionary Cavazzi | |
| "Dom. Pascoal Machado" | 1680 | Killed in an attack from Matamba and Mbundu armies | |
| Kingwangwa kya Kima | c. 1680-1681 | Usurper; possibly identified as "Luiz Dala" | |
| Kitamba kya Keta | 1681-1690? | Possibly identified as "Luiz Dala" | |
| Mwanya a Kasanje | c. 1690s? | ||
| Kiluanje kya Ngonga | c. 1690s-1700s? | ||
| Kinguri kya Kasombe | c. 1700s? | ||
| Kitumba kya Kalunga | c. 1710s | ||
| Kambamba ka Kinguri | c. 1720s? | ||
| Kasanje ka Kiluanje | c. 1730s? | ||
| Lubame lwa Kipungo | c. 1739-1750s? | ||
| Ngunza a Kambamba | c. 1750-1770 | Extremely powerful | |
| Lukala lwa Njinje | Early 1770s? | ||
| Kalunga ka Luhame | Mid 1770s? | ||
| Kitumba kya Wanga | Late 1770s-Early 1780s? | ||
| Kisweya kya Kambamba | Mid 1780s? | ||
| Kitamba kya Shiba | c. 1785-1792 | ||
| Malenge a Ngonga | 1792-c. 1810 | Defeated by Félix Velazco Galiano, commander of Pungo Andongo, in 1805 | |
| Kitumba kya Ngonga | c. 1810-1820 | ||
| Kansanje kya Kambolo | c. 1820s | ||
| Kihengo kya Kambolo | Early 1830s | ||
| Kamasa ka Kiwende | Mid 1830s | ||
| Mbumba a Kinguri | c. 1840-1850 | Expelled by a Portuguese expeditionary force in 1850 | |
| Kalunga ka Kisanga | 1850 | Ruled as a Portuguese vassal; assassinated in late 1850 by Mbumba a Kinguri loyalists | |
| Kambolo ka Ngonga | 1851-1856 | Known as "Dom Fernando Accacio Ferreira" to the Portuguese | |
| Kamweje ka Kalunga | 1856-1857 | Died under mysterious circumstances | |
| Mbumba a Kinguri | 1857-1873 | 2nd reign, probably arranged Kamweje ka Kalunga's death. Kingdom embroiled in civil war after his death | |
| Civil War, 1873-1883 | |||
| Malenge a Kitumba | 1873 | Killed in battle | |
| Kwango | 1883-1885 | Swore fealty to Luis I of Portugal | |
| Kasanje ka Kalanyi | 1888 | Had little authority, upon death a political stalemate lasted until 1896 | |
| Kinguri kya Kiluanje | 1896 | Also known as Mushabata; immediately expelled and another stalemate occurred until 1911 | |
| Ngwangwa | 1911-1912 | Defeated both warring factions; led a failed revolt against the Portuguese in 1912 that led to the end of the kingdom | |
Kasanje is located on the upper Kwango River in what is now Angola.[11]