Mbwila

Mbwila (Ambuíla in Portuguese) was a small state located in what is modern-day Angola. Its rulers, like those of the surrounding areas, bore the title Ndembu, and for that reason the region was often known in Portuguese as Dembos, while Mbwila was known as Dembo Ambuíla.

The origins of the polity are unknown, and it is first mentioned only in the early seventeenth century. Mbwila was located at the headwaters of the Lukala River, where there was a gap in the mountains that separated Kongo and Ndongo and controlled the trading route that passed between Kongo and Ndongo. As such, it was of great strategic significance in the history of Angola, especially after 1550.