Garcia II

Timeline

1. 1634–1641Mbanza · AngolaAlong with his elder brother Alvaro he rose on military merit during the reign of Alvaro V, being enfeoffed Marquis of Kiowa and later serving as Duke of Mbanza. In 1636 the brothers defeated and replaced Alvaro V; the elder took the name Alvaro VI, while he held the southern stronghold and accumulated capital for the succession struggle.
2. 1641–1648Mbanza Kongo · Mbanza KongoHis brother died in January 1641, and he marched from Mbanza to the capital to claim the throne. The Dutch promptly occupied Luanda, and he sent troops to honor the anti-Portuguese pact, signing an alliance with the Dutch in 1642 but refusing to accept Calvinist pastors. At the same time he fell out with the new Count of Soyo, Daniel da Silva, and royal power began to be challenged by coastal provinces.
3. 1648–1660Mbanza Kongo · Mbanza KongoIn 1648 Salvador Correia de Sá recaptured Luanda from Brazil, the Dutch withdrew from Angola, and Kongo lost its external counterweight. Garcia II turned to presenting credentials to the Roman Curia while coping with the rise of local nobles in Soyo and Mbanza and disputes over slave-trade revenues; central authority continued to decline.