The Kingdom of Kongo (Kongo: Kongo Dya Ntotila or Wene wa Kongo; Portuguese: Reino do Congo) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Southern of Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. At its greatest extent it reached from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Kwango River in the east, and       from the Congo River in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. The kingdom consisted of several core provinces ruled by the Manikongo, the Portuguese version of the Kongo title Mwene Kongo, meaning "lord or ruler of the Kongo kingdom", but its sphere of influence extended to neighbouring kingdoms, such as Ngoyo, Kakongo, Loango, Ndongo, and Matamba, the latter two located in what is Angola today. From c. 1390 to 1862, it was an independent state. From 1862 to 1914, it functioned intermittently as a vassal state of the Kingdom of Portugal. In 1914, following the Portuguese suppression of a Kongo revolt, Portugal abolished the titular monarchy. The title of King of Kongo was restored from 1915 until 1975, as an honorific without real power. The kingdom's army consisted of a mass levy of archers, drawn from the general male population, and a smaller corps of heavy infantry, who fought with swords and carried shields   for protection. Portuguese documents typically referred to heavy infantry, considered nobles, as fidalgos in documents.[citation needed] The bearing of a shield was also important, as Portuguese documents usually 

called the heavy infantry as adargueiros (shield bearers). The shields of the heavy infantry extended from the knees unto the neck of the soldier but this force lacked armor. Most shield bearers bore a "scimitar-shaped longsword" as described by military historian Wayne Lee. Shield bearers were limited by number and approximately 1000 were deployed in most Kongo armies. Some archers, especially those in eastern Kongo, used poison arrows. There is weak evidence to suggest revenue assignments paid and supported them. A large number, perhaps as many as 20,000, stayed in the capital. Smaller contingents lived in the major provinces under the command of provincial rulers. Kongo imported European arms such as swords into the military. In 1583, soldiers of the Mbamba province were armed with longswords similar to that of the Slavonians. Portuguese emissary Duarte Lopez believed this sword "could cut a slave in two." After 1600, civil war became far more common than inter-state warfare. The government instituted a draft for the entire population during wartime, but only a limited number actually served. Many who did not carry arms instead carried baggage and supplies. Thousands of women supported armies on the move. Administrators expected soldiers to have two weeks' worth of food upon reporting for campaign duty. Logistical difficulties probably limited both the size of armies and their capacity to operate for extended periods. Some Portuguese sources suggested that the king of Kongo fielded armies as large as 70,000 soldiers for a 1665 Battle of Mbwila, but it is unlikely that armies larger than 20–30,000 troops could be raised for military campaigns. Troops were mobilized and reviewed on Saint James' Day, 25 July, when taxes were also collected. Subjects celebrated this day in honor of Saint James and Afonso I, whose miraculous victory over his brother in 1509 was the principal significance of the holiday in the Kongo.

The House of Água Rosada was the last ruling house of the Kingdom of Kongo during the 19th and 20th centuries. It was also one of the main factions during the Kongo Civil War along with the Mpanzu, Nlaza and Kinkanga a Mvika kandas. In Portuguese "Água Rosada" means ""Pink Water"", referring to the Congo River. The House of Água Rosada was established by the three sons of King Sebastião I of Kongo, who was a member of the House of Kinlaza and his spouse was a member of the House of Kimpanzu, meaning that the House was born with the union of parts of the Houses of Kinzala and Kimpanzu. Ultimately this meant they had the same origin of the others and so the legitimacy to reign. The three brothers were initially headquartered at the mountain fortress of Kibangu. During the Civil War all parties claimed kingship over Kongo (or what was left of it), but their power rarely spread outside their fortresses or the immediate surrounding areas. The House came to predominance when Pedro IV of Kongo reunified the realm in 1709, putting an end to 44 years of Civil War. Later he declared a doctrine of shared power by which the throne would shift (in due time) from Kinlaza to the Kimpanzu and back, while the Água Rosada appear to have continued as neutral in Pedro's fortress of Kibangu. The House of Água Rosada produced 8 Manikongos including the last 5.