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Lac du Flambeau Public Library

Lord of the Kongo: a novel

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Publisher:
Simon & Schuster
Publication Date:
[1996]
Language:
English

Description

A decade before Columbus set sail for the New World, Portuguese explorers seeking a route around the southern tip of Africa to the Indies discovered the Kongo. To their astonishment, the vast, rich land, many times bigger than Portugal, was ruled by a fierce warrior tribe, highly sophisticated and wealthy enough to scorn the trade goods the Portuguese had brought with them for barter with the natives and as presents to their chiefs.
Based on real historical events, Lord of the Kongo is the story of a young Portuguese page and cabin boy, Gil Eanes, whose gift for languages, boundless curiosity, and true grit win him the friendship of Mbemba, one of the two sons of the ManiKongo, the great king.
Sent by his captain on a dangerous journey inland to visit the fabled capital of the Kongo and pay his respects to the king, Gil is stranded when his ship sails without him and survives by his wits in the dangerous world of Kongo court politics, eventually fathering a son by the beautiful Nimi, one of the ManiKongo's princesses, and winning the trust of her brother Mbemba, whose fascination with the written word and with the teachings of Catholicism is already leading him on a remarkable journey that will pit him against his warrior half-brother in a clash for the throne, divide the kingdom into warring factions, and eventually, with the return of the Portuguese in greater numbers, turn Mbemba into King Affonso I, the black Catholic ruler of a Portuguese puppet kingdom, the covert purpose of which is to provide slaves for the newly discovered Portuguese territories in South America.
In the end, Gil's friendship with Mbemba and Mbemba's curiosity about the European world begin the cycle of tragedy that will destroy Gil, his son Kimpasi (who becomes a Portuguese-educated Catholic priest), and everything Gil cherishes about the land that has become his home. This cycle of civil war, dynastic struggle, and undisguised slaving, all played out amid the burning pyres of the Inquisition, will eventually depopulate the Kongo and turn it into the "Heart of Darkness" it became.

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ISBN:
9780684809519
UPC:
780684809519

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Grouping Information

Grouped Work ID9e78b3e3-8d38-a1fb-7ba2-0c4914bbab0d
Grouping Titlelord of the kongo
Grouping Authorpeter forbath
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2024-12-01 14:58:45PM
Last Indexed2024-12-14 05:22:46AM

Solr Fields

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Forbath, Peter
author_display
Forbath, Peter
available_at_lacduflambeau
Lac du Flambeau Public Library
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Lac Du Flambeau Adult Fiction
display_description
A novel on Portugal's 15th Century colonization of the Kingdom of the Kongo in Africa, based on real events. It is told through the eyes of Gil, a sailor-boy stranded when the ship which discovered the kingdom leaves without him. When the Portuguese return years later--spreading slavery and the Inquisition--the adult Gil is torn between friendship to a black prince and duty to his country.
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Books
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Book
id
9e78b3e3-8d38-a1fb-7ba2-0c4914bbab0d
isbn
9780684809519
itype_lacduflambeau
BOOK - HARDCOVER
last_indexed
2024-12-14T11:22:46.013Z
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-1
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Fiction
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Fiction
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FIC FOR
owning_library_lacduflambeau
Lac du Flambeau Public Library
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Lac du Flambeau Public Library
primary_isbn
9780684809519
primary_upc
780684809519
publishDate
1996
publisher
Simon & Schuster
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Africa -- Discovery and exploration -- Portuguese -- Fiction
Discoveries in geography -- Fiction
Friendship -- Fiction
Historical fiction
Kongo (African people) -- Fiction
Kongo Kingdom -- History -- Fiction
Portugal -- Colonies -- Africa -- Fiction
Race relations -- Fiction
Young men -- Fiction
title_display
Lord of the Kongo : a novel
title_full
Lord of the Kongo : a novel / by Peter Forbath
title_short
Lord of the Kongo
title_sub
a novel
topic_facet
Colonies
Discoveries in geography
Discovery and exploration
Friendship
History
Kongo (African people)
Portuguese
Race relations
Young men
upc
780684809519

Solr Details Tables

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record_details

Bib IdFormatFormat CategoryEditionLanguagePublisherPublication DatePhysical DescriptionAbridged
ils:.b20342706BookBooksEnglishSimon & Schuster[1996]510 pages : map ; 24 cm

scoping_details_lacduflambeau

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