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A year before Columbus set sail for America, an African king was baptized and converted his kingdom into a Catholic nation that lasted nearly 370 years. King Nzinga a Nkuwu, ruler of Kongo, located in what is now northern Angola, decided to become a Christian not long after Portuguese mariners reached his shores in 1483.

He was baptized in May 1491, became João I Nzinga a Nkuwu, and many of his noble followers followed suit. But when he died, two brothers contested the throne, one of whom, Afonso Mvemba a Nzinga, represented a Christian party and the other, Mpanzu a Kitama, opposed both Afonso and Christianity.

Read more at TheRoot

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