Demography and History in the Kingdom of Kongo, 1550–1750

Bibliographic Data

ID8979734
AuthorsJohn Thornton (0000-0003-2312-8042), John K Thornton (0000-0001-8760-2634, corresponding author)
Year1977
Volume18
Issue4
Pages507-530
Publication date1977-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of African History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8537 • E-ISSN: 1469-5138
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0021853700015693
OpenAlexW2164777881
LanguageEN
Citations received50
References cited9

It has long been generally supposed that the kingdom of Kongo suffered a severe decline in population due to the civil wars of the seventeenth century and the slave trade. These figures are derived from literary estimates made by travellers and missionaries of the time. New estimates of population can be obtained by combining the statistics of baptisms left by the missionaries who lived in Kongo with a reconstruction of the age structure of the kingdom. Use of these estimates permits more exact calculations for the period 1650–1700, which suggest a much lower population level—about 500,000—than the commonly accepted figure of two million. This discovery suggests that the postulated population disaster did not occur; instead, it seems that levels of population remained relatively stable, growing slightly throughout the period in question. In addition to revising estimates of population, it has been possible to use the available statistics to throw light on the age structure and vital rates that prevailed in Kongo in the late seventeenth century, as well as to examine certain factors that have impinged on population

Biology · Census · Demographic analysis · Demographic history · Genealogy · Geography · Historical demography · Kingdom · Period (music · Population · Population growth · Population statistics · Research methodology · Sociology · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Demography · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History

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