Diogo Cão, shortly after making his initial contact with the Kongo Kingdom of northern Angola in 1483, had established links farther south with Ndongo—an African state less advanced than Kongo that is made up of Kimbundu-speaking people.

Their ruler, who is tributary to the manikongo, is called the ngola a kiluanje.

It is the first part of the title, its pronunciation changed to "Angola," by which the Portuguese refer  to the entire area.

Throughout most of the sixteenth century, Portugal's relations with Ndongo are overshadowed by its dealings with Kongo.

Some historians, citing the disruptions the Portuguese caused in Kongo society, believe that Ndongo benefited from the lack of Portuguese interest.

It is not until after the founding of Luanda in 1576 that Portugal's exploration into the area of present-day Angola rivals its trade and commerce in Kongo.

Furthermore, it is only in the early seventeenth century that the importance of the colony Portugal has established comes to exceed that of Kongo.

Although officially ignored by Lisbon, the Angolan colony is the center of disputes, usually concerning the slave trade, between local Portuguese traders and the Mbundu people, who inhabit Ndongo, but by mid-century, the favorable attention the ngola receives from Portuguese trade or missionary groups angers the manikongo, who in 1556 sends an army against the Ndongo Kingdom.

The forces of the ngola defeat the Kongo army, encouraging him to declare his independence from Kongo and appeal to Portugal for military support.

In 1560 Lisbon responds by sending an expedition to Angola, but in the interim the ngola who had requested Portuguese support had died, and his successor takes captive four members of the expedition.

After the hostage taking, Lisbon routinely employs military force in dealing with the Ndongo Kingdom.

This results in a major eastward migration of Mbundu people and the subsequent establishment of other kingdoms.

Following the founding of Luanda, Paulo Dias carries out a series of bloody military campaigns that contribute to Ndongo resentment of Europeans.

Dias founds several forts east of Luanda, but—indicative of Portugal's declining status as a world power—he is unable to gain firm control of the land around them.

Dias dies in 1579 without having conquered the Ndongo Kingdom.

Dias's successors make slow progress up the Cuanza River, meeting constant African resistance.

By 1604 they reach Cambambe, where they learn that the presumed silver mines do not exist.

The failure of the Portuguese to find mineral wealth changes their outlook on the Angolan colony.

Slave taking, which had been incidental to the quest for the mines, now becomes the major economic motivation for expansion and extension of Portuguese authority.

In search of slaves, the Portuguese push farther into Ndongo country, establishing a fort a short distance from Massangano, itself about one hundred and seventy-five kilometers east of Angola's Atlantic coast.

The consequent fighting with the Ndongo generates a stream of slaves who are shipped to the coast.

Following a period of Ndongo diplomatic initiatives toward Lisbon in the 1620s, relations degenerate into a state of war.