In this excerpt, which included three letters from King Afonso of Congo to King João of Portugal, Portugal’s deep influence on world trade poured out of these primary document sources. King Afonso, who converted to Christianity early on through his reign, mentioned in each of his letters the turmoil of his kingdom and pleaded for King João to have mercifulness towards him just as any Christian believer would.
In the first letter, Afonso was surprised to see another one of João’s ships in his port and from this, he believed trade between the two nations to still exist and asks him for more wine and fluor for communion. Then, he states the increasing economic turmoil of his country because one, the Portuguese set up their own businesses for trade, which was against Congo law, and two, Congo natives observed this practice and began to desire their own independence from their government. However, this economic turmoil can be seen, but not measured due to the rise of slavery and population decrease. His final requests are for no more merchants to be sent to his land, hoping that João would take care of these matters, and for educators to be sent instead, so that his people could gain more insight into Christian beliefs.
This first letter sets the tone for the following letters and conveys the main complications, including
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As they were the first to learn of the sea routes to Asia through the Mediterranean Sea, they were also the first to be considered courageous enough to reach the coasts of Africa. This document serves to be important because it is a primary resource to be recognized for evidence of an existing trade world between two different continents. There is also proof that sheds light on the slave trade, which is not a complete European action, but rather an ensemble of many different countries and