In an era of increasing relations with the Kingdom of Portugal, Afonso became a fervent convert to Catholicism and sought to embrace Portuguese institutions in his lands.

His reign saw increasing cultural, economic, and religious exchanges between Kongo and Portugal, including an expansion of the Atlantic slave trade.

Afonso grew more cautious of Portuguese influence in his later reign, but relations between Kongo and Portugal remained close, with both kingdoms collaborating in war and trade.

Keenly interested in diplomacy, Afonso sent Kongolese embassies to Lisbon, Rome, and wrote correspondence with political and religious leaders in Europe.

Afonso is remembered for increasing the power of the Kongolese monarchy, his efforts to convert Kongo to Christianity, and his economic and military expansion of the kingdom.

Mvember a Nzinga competed for political power and trade revenue with fellow nobles, including members of his extended family, with many seeing him as a prime candidate to become the next king.

In 1506 King João I of Kongo (the name Nzinga a Nakuru took upon his conversion) died, and potential claimants (including Afonso) rose up to take over the kingdom.

[4] Mpanzu a Kitima was killed during the battle, either by falling into a sort of punji trap during his army's rout, or after being captured and then executed.

Similar to his father's rule, Afonso developed the royal capital at Mbanza Kongo, increasing the influence of the monarchy while also curtailing the power of the rural noble class.

[6] The resulting surplus of food and labor allowed Afonso to fuel his plans to centralize governmental power in his capital and secure his throne against any potential rivals from the Kongolese noble class.

[6][7] Afonso also strengthened ties with provincial kingdoms (most notably Sonyo and Mbata) ruled by his kin, helping to secure Kongo's position as the leading power in the region.

[8] Trade and religious exchange between the two kingdoms grew after Afonso's rise to the Kongolese throne, as the Portuguese supported his pro-catholic policies.

[9] Trade between Portugal and Kongo at the start of Afonso's reign mainly consisted of ivory, copper, and palm cloth, but also and increasing trickle of slaves.

Afonso and the king of Portugal established a shared monopoly on trade in the "Five Rivers of Guinea" – modern day Benin and the Niger Delta.

Increased trade led to a flourishing economy centered around the highly-productive royal capital at Mbanza Kongo, which also benefited Afonso's government.

[7] By the 1510s, Afonso entered an arrangement in which the Portuguese provided him with military assistance in exchange for a share of slaves taken captive during Kongo's wars of expansion.

[7][6][8][13][14][15] Afonso continued to expand Kongo's borders into the 1540s, conquering lands on the Zaire river, launched raids into northern Angola, while also forcing the rival kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba to become Kongolese tributaries.

[7] The kingdom of Ndongo also began growing in power, breaking free of Kongolese influence and skirmishing with Kongo on its southern border.

To aid in this task, Afonso sent many of his children and nobles to Europe to study, including his son Henrique Kinu a Mvemba, who was elevated to the status of bishop in 1518.

Although his son was soon overthrown by his grandson Diogo (in 1545) and had to take refuge in a church, the grandchildren and later descendants of three of his daughters provided many later kings.

Virtually all that is known about Kongo in the time of Afonso's reign is known from his long series of letters, written in Portuguese, primarily to the kings Manuel I and João III of Portugal.

"[18] Although the degree to which Afonso was purely spiritually motivated is uncertain, it is clear that the Kongo's conversion resulted in the far-reaching European engagement with both political and religious leaders who supported and legitimized the Christian kingdom throughout the rest of its history.