Toward the end of the Kongo Civil War, the religious leader Dona Beatriz had successfully started a movement to reoccupy the abandoned capital of São Salvador and attempt to bring an end to the bloodshed between the ruling kandas of Kongo. During her resettlement of Kongo, she had attracted the support of Pedro Constantino da Silva also known as Kibenga. Seeking to exploit the movement, Kibenga lent his support to it while at the same time undermining King Pedro IV. King Pedro IV had been working toward restoring Kongo after decades of civil war, even going so far as to name Kibenga Prince of Kongo. Kibenga, who had switched allegiance on more than one occasion, betrayed King Pedro and threw his military support behind the Antonians. When Dona Beatriz was captured and executed by Pedro IV,