Quilongues

Quilongues lies in the highlands behind Benguela, on the routes between the Atlantic coast and southern Angola's interior. Its name also appears as Quilengues, and describes a country of local chiefdoms rather than a single great kingdom. Herding and cultivation sustained its communities amid the hills and valleys of the plateau.

From the seventeenth century, its rulers and people encountered the expanding trade centred on Portuguese Benguela. Enslavement, conflict and resistance marked the region's history. By the late eighteenth century, ivory also moved north through Quilengues towards the coast. Portuguese authorities sought to extend their control over local rulers, including by imposing tribute in food and captives. Among the local rulers was the soba of Socoval, whose authority extended over a substantial part of the region.