Expansion of Portuguese Slave Trade in Angola

Timeline

1. 1663–1664Matamba (Njinga's late-period base) · AngolaQueen Njinga died in 1663, loosening the anti-Portuguese resistance alliance she had built; Portugal took the opportunity to strengthen ties with local collaborators and factions in the Congo civil war, expanding channels for capturing and purchasing slaves inland.
2. 1665–1668Luanda · AngolaLuanda's port, warehousing, and slave market facilities continued to expand throughout the decade; the governor's office and the system of chartered merchants (such as pombeiro intermediaries) were perfected, and slaves were shipped via the 'Middle Passage' to Bahia and elsewhere in Brazil, forming an institutionalized export chain.
3. 1666–1670Inland Angola and the Congo border region · CongoThe Congo Kingdom civil war (mid-1660s) and the Lunda Empire's eastward expansion brought more war captives and debtors into the slave markets; Portuguese merchants, African intermediaries, and local polities accelerated the trafficking of people amid military conflict, and by the late 1660s Angola had become one of the most active sources of the Atlantic slave trade.