Kuito

Kuito lies on the Bié plateau of central Angola, in the country of the Ovimbundu kingdom of Viye. Grasslands and river valleys cross these highlands, whose position made them a meeting place for routes leading east into the interior and west towards the Atlantic. Viye was one of several neighbouring kingdoms that controlled passages across the plateau.

During the eighteenth century, Viye grew into an important trading power. Caravans connected it with Benguela and Luanda, although travellers taking the western route had to cross other Ovimbundu territories and pay their rulers for passage or protection. Portuguese military campaigns from the 1770s did not prevent the kingdom from emerging as a major centre of inland commerce and a refuge for merchants from the Portuguese territories.