Portuguese missionaries and trading partners were among the first to encounter Africans along the Atlantic coast. It was one of these kings, the king of the West African state of Congo, father of Nzinga Mbemba, who provided a coastal settlement to the Portuguese. By adopting Christianity for the nation, including baptizing himself and his son, there appeared to be an alliance between the two nations, as seen in Nzinga Mbemba's introduction, “Appeal to the King of Portugal, 1526.” However, after Nzinga Mbemba took the throne, problems began to arise in the Congo due to the Portuguese borders threatening to devastate the nation. It is then that the king of Congo writes a letter to the king of Portugal, in which he uses a variety of psychological strategies that evoke guilt and religious passion, Mbemba establishes a direct link between him and the king of Portugal. As a result, the king of Portugal would become more likely to grant any requests made by Mbemba, although the real reason why Mbemba wrote the letter was to manipulate the king of Portugal into helping him recover some of Mbemba's power. Congo claims that the nation is “losing itself” due to the “excessive freedom” granted to the subjects of the King of Portugal in Congo (Mbemba 634-635). Illustrating that traders and individuals from Portugal have destroyed the economic market in Congo, as well as taking excessive liberties with the nation's people, Mbemba raises the issue as these actions are being undertaken as a threat to the "security and peace of" the “Kingdoms and State” (Mbemba 635). At the beginning of the letter it talks about how the market in Congo has been flooded with goods that have been "prohibited... middle of paper... Congo was more of a test for Portuguese. It has been proven that a slave trade market could be established more globally, despite the effects it had on countries and cultures. Eventually, the slave trade would grow to an almost global scale, as illustrated in Captain Thomas Phillips, “ Buying Slaves in 1693”, where obtaining slaves was a more complex and legitimate process; there would be more stipulations, agreements and larger quantities from different countries that were affected similarly to the Congo.Works CitedMbemba, Nzinga “Appeal to the king of Portugal." Worlds of History: A Comparative Reader. Third ed. vol. 2. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin, 2013. 634-37. Print.Phillips, Thomas. "Purchase of Slaves in 1693." Worlds of history: a comparative reader. Third ed. vol. 2. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. 637-61 Print.