Mbanza Kongo, is the capital of Angola's northwestern Zaire Province with a population of 148,000 in 2014. Mbanza Kongo was the capital of the Kingdom of Kongo since its foundation before the arrival of the Portuguese in 1483 until the abolition of the kingdom in 1915, aside from a brief period of abandonment during civil wars in the 17th century. In 2017, Mbanza Kongo was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.