Mbanza Mbata

Mbanza Mbata was the capital of Mbata, one of the provinces of the Kongo kingdom. Its name marks it as a mbanza, the seat of a ruler and his household. The province lay east of Mbanza Kongo and held a distinctive place in the kingdom's political traditions. Nearby Ngongo Mbata became another important centre in the region.

In 1514 King Afonso I described the ruler of Mbata as having a role in confirming his right to the throne. Later traditions preserved a different account of the province's place in the succession, showing how its remembered relationship with the royal house changed over time. In the seventeenth century Ngongo Mbata flourished nearby, leaving traces of houses and a stone church; it was a separate settlement from the provincial capital.