"Kimpa Vita known also as Dona Beatrice was born in 1684 in the Kingdom of Kongo. Magnified by some historian as a kind of “African Joan D ‘Arc” with whom they share only the same end and fate. She is the first woman who fought the European domination of Africa. At age of 20, she started her non-violent action to restore her Kingdom destroyed by the Portuguese. She stands firmly and fought against both local and transatlantic slavery. She led thousands of people to rebuild and to repopulate Mbanza Kongo, the capital, whereas the Kongo’s King Pedro IV, imposed by the Catholic Church, had taken refuge in the mountains. In July 2, 1706, the catholic priest “fathers” Bernardo da Gallo and Lorenzo da Luca burned her into a stake, with her companion and their baby, according to rules of the “holy” Inquisition. Later, in 1739, some of her followers, sold in America, carried out the revolt well known as the “rebellion of Stono” in South Carolina, and her teachings inspired the action of the Kongo slaves, during the revolt which led to the independence of Haiti in 1804. Nowadays, Dona Beatrice is remembered as a prophetess and a symbol of the non-violent resistance in Africa, inspiring many political and religious leaders in the Congo and Angola. Therefore in regard of her dedication to fight oppression in all it form, we decided to name our publishing project after her name: Kimpa Vita Press & Publishers
The Kimpa Vita Press & Publishers is exclusively a non-profit publishing company dedicated to promote understanding, knowledge, equality through giving the opportunity to the often less heard people to have a say in the events and affairs of their society and the world at large"
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