Kongo has been transformed by the eighteenth…

Kongo has been transformed by the eighteenth century from a unitary state into a number of smaller entities that recognize the king but for all practical purposes are independent.

Fragmented though they are, these Kongo states still resist Portuguese encroachments.

Although they will never again be as significant as during Angola's early days, the Bakongo will play an important role in the nationalist and independence struggles of the twentieth century.