Siege of Anzele

Siege of Anzele
	Part of Colonization of Angola
Date	1580
Location	Anzele, Angola
Result	Portuguese victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Portugal	Kingdom of Ndongo
Commanders and leaders
Paulo Dias de Novais	Ngola
Strength
60 Portuguese; 200 Africans	12,000 men

The siege of Anzele took place in 1580 and was a military conflict between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of Ndongo.

Background

Paulo Dias de Novais, with weak and reduced forces, abandoned the Cuanza and took refuge in Anzele, in a fort, built between the Bengo and Cuanza rivers, approximately 10 to 12 leagues from Luanda. There he was surrounded by a large Ngola army.^[1]

Siege

The governor was surrounded for several days by 12,000 Ndongo soldiers. The Portuguese had about 60 soldiers and around 200 African Christians. Despite being heavily outnumbered, they managed to defeat Ngola’s soldiers.^[1]

Aftermath

After losing, the Ngola warriors fled and came to ask the governor for peace. However, the governor decided not to accept peace because he believed the Ngola were deceitful, including their king. Instead, he planned to attack them again with a larger force of about 80 men and requested help from the King of Congo, who promised to send support. The King of Congo also intended to personally lead a large army to help the governor destroy the Ngola forces.^[1]