Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nzinga Ana
Drawing of Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba in Luanda, Angola
Born	c. 1583 Kabasa, Kingdom of Ndongo
Died	17 December 1663 (aged 79–80) Kabasa, Kingdom of Ndongo
Full name Nzinga Mbande
House	Guterres
Father	Ngola Kilombo Kia Kasenda
Mother	Kangela

Nzinga Ana de Sousa Mbande (around 1583 – 17 December 1663) was a powerful ruler in Southwest Africa. She was the queen of the Ambundu Kingdoms of Ndongo (from 1624 to 1663) and Matamba (from 1631 to 1663). These kingdoms were located in what is now northern Angola.

Nzinga was born into the royal family of Ndongo. She received military and political training when she was young. She was very good at solving political problems, even serving as an ambassador to the Portuguese Empire. After her father and brother, who were both kings, passed away, Nzinga became the ruler of Ndongo. She later also took control of Matamba.

She ruled during a time when the African slave trade was growing fast. The Portuguese Empire was also trying to expand its control in Southwest Africa to control this trade. Nzinga fought for her kingdoms' freedom and importance against the Portuguese for 37 years. She is remembered for her smart thinking, her skills in politics and diplomacy, and her clever military tactics.

Nzinga's Early Life

Nzinga was born into the royal family of Ndongo around 1583. Her father was Ngola Kilombo, which means King of Ndongo. Her mother, Kengela ka Nkombe, was one of her father's wives. Nzinga had two sisters, Kambu and Funji, and a brother named Mbandi.

Legend says that Nzinga's birth was difficult. Her name came from the Kimbundu word kujinga, meaning "to twist or turn," because her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. People believed that children born in unusual ways had special spiritual gifts. They thought such children would grow up to be strong and important.

When Nzinga was 10, her father became king. He favored her greatly because she was not a direct heir to the throne. This meant he could give her attention without upsetting his sons who were next in line. Nzinga received military training and learned to fight like a warrior. She was very skilled with a battle axe, a traditional weapon in Ndongo.

She also took part in many official duties with her father. These included legal meetings, war discussions, and important ceremonies. Visiting Portuguese missionaries taught Nzinga to read and write in Portuguese.

What Names Did Nzinga Use?

Queen Nzinga Mbande was known by many names. These included names from her native Kimbundu language and Portuguese names. Common spellings are Nzinga, Nzingha, Njinga, and Njingha. In old documents, her name was also written as Jinga, Ginga, Zinga, Zingua, Zhinga, and Singa.

She also had a Christian name, Ana de Sousa. She received this name when she was baptized. She was named Anna after her Portuguese godmother. Her Christian last name, de Souza, came from the governor of Angola, João Correia de Souza. As a queen, her native name was Ngola Njinga. Ngola was the title for the ruler of Ndongo. This word is also where the name "Angola" comes from.

Ndongo's Political Challenges

During Nzinga's early life, the kingdom of Ndongo faced many problems. These were mostly due to fights with the Portuguese Empire. The Portuguese first arrived in Ndongo in 1575. They set up a trading post in Luanda with help from the Kingdom of Kongo, a rival of Ndongo.

After some peaceful years, relations between Ndongo and Portugal worsened. This led to decades of war. Ndongo faced strong military pressure from both Portugal and Kongo. By the 1580s, Portugal controlled large parts of Ndongo. The Portuguese fought brutally, burning villages and taking people hostage.

Besides taking land, the Portuguese captured many slaves during the conflict. They also built forts inside Ndongo to control the slave trade. Ndongo fought back, defeating the Portuguese in the Battle of Lucala in 1590. However, the kingdom had already lost much of its land. The war also weakened the king's power. Many Ndongan noblemen, called sobas, stopped paying taxes and some even sided with the Portuguese.

By the time Nzinga's father became king in 1593, the area was ruined by war. The king's power was much smaller. He tried different ways to fix the problems, including talking, negotiating, and fighting. But he could not improve the situation.

The problems for Ndongo got worse in 1607. The kingdom was invaded by the Imbangala, fierce groups of fighters known for their bravery. The Imbangala joined forces with the Portuguese. This new threat forced the Ndongan king to stop trying to get back his lost land.

Nzinga Becomes Queen

Nzinga's Diplomatic Mission

Illustration by UNESCO

In 1617, Nzinga's father, Ngola Mbandi Kiluanji, died. Her brother, Ngola Mbandi, became the new king. When he took the throne, he killed many rivals who might try to claim power, including his older half-brother. Nzinga, who was 35, was spared. However, the new king ordered her young son to be killed. Some say Nzinga and her brother had a long-standing rivalry. Fearing for her life, Nzinga fled to the Kingdom of Matamba.

After becoming powerful, King Mbandi wanted to continue the war against the Portuguese. But he was not a skilled military leader. Even though he allied with the Imbangala, the Portuguese gained a lot of ground. Facing this threat, in 1621, he asked Nzinga to be his ambassador to the Portuguese in Luanda. She was the best choice because she was from the royal family and spoke Portuguese fluently.

Nzinga agreed to lead the mission. She asked for the power to negotiate for the king and permission to be baptized. She hoped baptism would be a useful tool in her talks with the Portuguese. Nzinga traveled to Luanda with many people. The Portuguese governor was very interested in her visit and paid for all her group's expenses.

Ndongo leaders usually wore European clothes when meeting the Portuguese. But Nzinga chose to wear rich, traditional Ndongo clothing, including feathers and jewels. She did this to show that her culture was not less important. The story goes that when Nzinga arrived, there were chairs for the Portuguese, but only a mat for her. This was a common way for the Portuguese to show that Africans were "conquered." Nzinga's attendant quickly knelt down to become her chair. This way, she could speak to the governor face-to-face. She used flattery to help her talks. Some say she deliberately acted more polite than her brother to show a different style of diplomacy.

As an ambassador, Nzinga's main goal was to make peace with the Portuguese. She promised to end the fighting, saying her brother's past actions were mistakes of a young king. She allowed Portuguese slave traders into Ndongo. She also offered to return Portuguese slaves who had escaped and were fighting in her brother's army. In return, she demanded that Portugal remove the forts they built in Ndongo. She insisted that Ndongo would not pay taxes to Portugal, saying only conquered people paid taxes, and her people had not been defeated. She also wanted the two kingdoms to work together against common enemies in the region.

When the Portuguese doubted her commitment to peace, Nzinga offered to be publicly baptized. She was baptized with much celebration in Luanda. She took the name Dona Anna de Sousa to honor her godparents, Ana da Silva (the governor's wife) and Governor Joao Correia de Sousa. A peace treaty was then agreed upon. Nzinga returned to Kabasa in triumph in late 1622.

Despite her success, the peace between Ndongo and the Imbangala broke down. The Imbangala were trying to expand their own land. After many defeats, the Ndongan royal family was driven out of their capital, Kabasa. This forced the king into exile. Some Imbangala then created the Kingdom of Kasanje. The Portuguese wanted to continue the treaty. But they refused to help Ndongo against the Imbangala until the king took back Kabasa and was baptized.

King Mbandi retook Kabasa in 1623. He started to consider Christianity but still deeply distrusted the Portuguese. Nzinga, who was becoming more powerful in the royal court, warned her brother that baptism would upset his traditional supporters. This convinced him to reject the idea of being baptized. Also, the Portuguese started to break the treaty. They refused to leave their forts in Ndongo and raided Ndongo's land for goods and slaves. By 1624, King Mbandi was very sad and had to give many of his duties to Nzinga.

A Time of War

Nzinga Becomes Queen

In 1624, Nzinga's brother died mysteriously. Before his death, he had said that Nzinga should be the next ruler. Nzinga quickly took control. She had her supporters seize the special items linked to the monarchy. She also removed her opponents at court. She took the title of Ngola, which gave her great power among her people.

She held a grand funeral for her brother. Some of his remains were kept in a misete (a special container) so Nzinga could ask for his advice later. A big problem for her rule was her 7-year-old nephew. He was under the care of Kasa, an Imbangala war chief. To remove this possible rival, Nzinga offered to marry Kasa. They got married, and after the wedding, she had her nephew killed. Nzinga saw this as revenge for her own son, who had been killed by her brother.

However, Nzinga becoming queen faced strong opposition from male relatives in other noble families. According to Ndongo tradition, neither Nzinga nor her brother had a direct right to the throne. This was because they were children of slave wives, not the first wife. Nzinga argued that she was truly from the main royal family through her father. Her rivals, she said, had no direct blood connection. Her opponents, however, used other reasons to say she shouldn't rule. They said she was a woman and therefore not allowed to be queen.

Also, Nzinga's willingness to talk with the Portuguese was seen as a weakness by some Ndongan nobles. Previous rulers had fought against them. The treaty allowing Portuguese missionaries into Ndongo was also disliked.

While the fight for the throne continued, relations between Ndongo and Portugal became more complicated. Nzinga hoped to follow the treaty she signed in 1621. This would help her get back Ndongan lands lost during her brother's bad wars. Governor de Sousa also wanted to avoid conflict. Both he and Nzinga wanted to restart the slave trade, which was very important for the region's economy.

However, tensions grew between Nzinga and de Sousa. Nzinga asked for the return of kijikos (a group of slaves traditionally owned by Ndongan royalty) living in Portuguese territory. This had been agreed in the treaty. But de Sousa refused. He demanded that Nzinga first return escaped Portuguese slaves serving in her army. De Sousa also demanded that Nzinga become a servant of the king of Portugal and pay taxes. She refused these demands completely.

To make things worse, in late 1624, de Sousa began forcing Ndongo nobles, called sobas, to become Portuguese servants. Sobas traditionally served the ruler of Ndongo. They provided valuable supplies, soldiers, and slaves. By making the sobas servants of Portugal, the Portuguese weakened Nzinga's power as queen of Ndongo.

To weaken the Portuguese, Nzinga sent messengers to encourage Ndongo slaves to escape Portuguese plantations. They would join her kingdom. This would take away the colony's money and workers. When the Portuguese complained, Nzinga said she would follow the treaty and return escaped slaves. But she claimed her kingdom had none. Her actions worked. Many sobas joined her, making her stronger. The Portuguese feared a Ndongo uprising was coming.

Despite these successes, Nzinga's actions threatened the income of the Portuguese and some Ndongo nobles. Soon, the Portuguese started to cause rebellions in her kingdom. In late 1625, the Portuguese sent soldiers to protect Hari a Kiluanje. He was a soba who had broken ties with Nzinga. Kiluanje did not want a woman to rule Ndongo. He was also from the royal family. When Nzinga learned of his actions, she sent warriors to stop his revolt. But she was defeated, which weakened her position. More nobles then joined the revolt.

Nzinga asked the Portuguese to stop supporting Kiluanje. She tried to negotiate as long as possible while gathering more forces. But the Portuguese guessed this was a delay tactic. They soon recognized Kiluanje as the king of Ndongo. The Portuguese then declared war on Nzinga on March 15, 1626.

Fighting the Portuguese

Modern representation of Nzinga Mbandi Queen of Ndongo and Matamba, preparing to confront Portugueses armies

Facing a Portuguese invasion, Nzinga gathered her army. She moved to a group of islands in the Kwanza river. After several battles, she was defeated. She had to make a long journey into eastern Ndongo. During this retreat, she had to leave most of her followers behind. This actually helped her, as the Portuguese were more interested in recapturing slaves than chasing her army.

The Portuguese soon faced their own problem when Hari a Kiluanje died of smallpox. They had to replace him as king with Nogla Hari, another Ndongan nobleman. Nogla Hari was not popular with the Ndongan people. They saw him as a puppet of the Portuguese. However, some sobas supported him. A division formed in Ndongo. The common people and lesser nobles supported Nzinga. Many powerful nobles supported Nogla Hari and the Portuguese.

In November 1627, Nzinga tried to negotiate with the Portuguese again. She sent a peace group and a gift of 400 slaves. She said she was willing to become a servant of Portugal and pay taxes if they supported her claim to the throne. But she insisted she was the rightful queen of Ndongo. The Portuguese rejected her offer. They killed her lead diplomat. They demanded that she retire from public life, give up her claim to Ndongo, and accept Nogla Hari as king. These demands were normal in Europe, but completely unacceptable to Nzinga.

Faced with the Portuguese rejection and the fact that many Ndongan nobles were against her, Nzinga became very sad. She locked herself in a room for several weeks. But she emerged and, within a month, began a new effort to rebuild her alliances in Ndongo.

While regaining her strength, Nzinga took advantage of Nogla Hari's political weakness. She pointed out his lack of experience. Nogla Hari was disliked by his nobles and his Portuguese allies. Previous kings of Ndongo had all been warriors, but Nogla Hari had no soldiers of his own. He had to rely on Portuguese soldiers. Nogla Hari and the Portuguese started a campaign against Nzinga. They hoped to use her gender to make her seem weak. But this failed, as she increasingly outsmarted Nogla Hari in Ndongan politics.

In one famous event, Nzinga sent Nogla Hari threatening letters and special charms. She challenged him to fight her forces. The messages scared Hari, who had to ask his Portuguese allies for help. This greatly lowered his own standing while increasing Nzinga's reputation. However, she still could not directly face the Portuguese in battle. She had to retreat from their advancing army. She suffered several military defeats. In one Portuguese ambush, half of her army, most of her officials, and her two sisters were captured. Nzinga herself managed to escape. By late 1628, Nzinga's army was much smaller (around 200 soldiers). She had been effectively forced out of her kingdom.

Taking Over Matamba

After being forced out, Nzinga and her supporters continued to fight the Portuguese. To make her army stronger, the queen sought allies in the region. She also kept her weakened forces away from the Portuguese army. During this time, she was contacted by Kasanje, a powerful Imbangala war leader. He had created his own kingdom on the Kwanza river. Kasanje and the Imbangala were traditional enemies of Ndongo. Kasanje himself had previously killed several of Nzinga's messengers.

Kasanje offered Nzinga an alliance and military support. But in return, he demanded that she marry him and give up her lunga. This was a large bell used by Ndongan war captains as a symbol of their power. Nzinga accepted these terms. She married Kasanje and joined Imbangala society. The exiled queen quickly adapted to the new culture. She adopted many Imbangala religious practices. Nzinga had to take part in special ceremonies to become a leader in the highly military Imbangala society. This ritual also helped prevent future power struggles among the Imbangala. However, she did not completely abandon her Ndongo culture. Instead, she combined her people's beliefs with those of her new Imbangala allies.

Historian Linda Heywood noted that Nzinga's brilliance was in combining her Ndongo heritage with the Imbangala military traditions. This created a new, very capable army. To increase her numbers, she gave freedom to escaped slaves. She also gave land, new slaves, and titles to other Ndongans who were in exile. Some sources say Nzinga was drawn to the Imbangala because they valued skill and religious passion more than family background or gender.

Using her new power, Nzinga reshaped her forces to be like the very effective Imbangala warriors. By 1631, she had rebuilt her army. She was fighting a successful guerrilla war against the Portuguese. One priest living in Kongo at the time described her as being like an Amazon queen and praised her leadership.

Between 1631 and 1635, Nzinga invaded the nearby Kingdom of Matamba. She captured and removed Queen Mwongo Matamba in 1631. Nzinga had the defeated queen branded but spared her life. Imbangala custom usually required her to execute the queen. Nzinga took Mwongo's daughter into her service as one of her warriors. After defeating the Matambans, Nzinga became the queen of Matamba. She began settling the region with exiled Ndongans. She hoped to use Matamba as a base to fight to reclaim her homeland. Unlike her native Ndongo, Matamba had a tradition of female leaders. This gave Nzinga a more stable power base after she overthrew the previous queen.

With Matamba under her control, Nzinga worked hard to expand the slave trade in her new kingdom. She used the money from slave trading to pay for her wars. This also took trade income away from the Portuguese. Over the next ten years, Nzinga continued to fight the Portuguese and their allies. Both sides tried to limit each other's power and control the slave trade. During this time, Nzinga adopted more masculine traits. She took on male titles and wore men's clothing. She created an all-female bodyguard for herself. She ordered her male partners to wear women's clothing and call her "king." She also set up shared sleeping areas at her court. She made strict rules about no marriage for her male advisors and female bodyguards.

Growing Power and Dutch Alliance

By the late 1630s, Nzinga had expanded her influence north and south of Matamba. She used her forces to cut off other rulers from the Portuguese-controlled coast. She captured parts of the Kwango River. This brought the region's key slave-supplying lands under her control. She also expanded her territory to the north. By doing so, she started diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Kongo and Dutch merchants. These merchants were becoming more active in the area.

Nzinga also started a profitable slave trade with the Dutch. They bought as many as 13,000 slaves per year from Nzinga's kingdom. She continued to occasionally send peace offers to the Portuguese. She even suggested a military alliance with them. But only if they supported her return to Ndongo. She also refused to rejoin the Christian faith, which became a point of disagreement.

In 1641, forces from the Dutch West India Company, working with the Kingdom of Kongo, seized Luanda. They drove out the Portuguese and set up the Dutch rule of Loango-Angola. The fall of Luanda was a big blow to the Portuguese. Nzinga quickly sent a message to the Dutch-controlled city. Hoping to form an alliance against the Portuguese, Nzinga asked for an immediate partnership. She offered to open the slave trade to them. However, she was worried that the Kingdom of Kongo (her people's traditional northern rivals) was becoming too powerful.

The Dutch accepted her offer. They sent their own ambassador and soldiers to her court. Some soldiers even brought their wives. They soon helped her fight the Portuguese. The Portuguese governor had lost much land and was forced to retreat to Massangano. He tried to make peace with Nzinga, but she refused. Nzinga moved her capital to Kavanga, in the northern part of Ndongo's former lands. The capture of Luanda also made Nzinga's kingdom the most important slave-trading power in the region for a while. This allowed her to build a large war-camp (kilombo) of 80,000 people. This number included non-fighters, mercenaries, escaped slaves, allies, and her own soldiers.

Using her large army, new wealth, and famous reputation, Nzinga was able to reclaim large parts of Ndongo from 1641 to 1644. However, her expansion worried other African kingdoms. In one famous event, she invaded the Wandu region of Kongo. This area had been rebelling against the Kongolese king. Even though these lands had never been part of Ndongo, Nzinga refused to leave. She added the conquest to her kingdom. This greatly offended the Kongolese king, Garcia II.

The Dutch, hoping to keep their alliance with both Kongo and Nzinga, arranged a peace. But relations between Nzinga and other regional leaders remained tense. Also, her former husband and ally, Kasanje, feared her growing power. He formed a group of Imbangala leaders against Nzinga. They invaded her lands in Matamba, though they made little progress. By the mid-1640s, her successes had won her the support of many Ndongan nobles. With nobles joining her side, Nzinga could collect more taxes (in the form of slaves). She then sold these to the Dutch for firearms. This increased her military and economic power. By 1644, she saw Garcia II of the Kongo as her only political equal in the region. The Portuguese saw her as their strongest enemy in Africa.

In 1644, Nzinga defeated the Portuguese army at the Battle of Ngoleme. Then, in 1646, she was defeated by the Portuguese at the Battle of Kavanga. During this battle, her sister Kambu was recaptured. Her private papers were also seized. These papers showed her alliance with Kongo. They also revealed that her captive sister, Funji, had been secretly writing to Nzinga. Funji had shared important Portuguese plans. As a result of Funji's spying, the Portuguese reportedly killed her.

The Dutch in Luanda sent Nzinga more soldiers. With their help, Nzinga defeated a Portuguese army in 1647 at the Battle of Kombi. Nzinga then surrounded the Portuguese capital of Massangano, trapping them there. By 1648, Nzinga controlled much of her former kingdom. Her control over the slave trade also increased Matamba's economic power.

Despite these successes, the allies' control over Angola was not strong. Nzinga lacked powerful cannons, so she could not break the Portuguese defenses at Massangano. Political fights and events in Europe weakened the Dutch forces in Angola. In August 1648, a Portuguese expedition, led by the new governor Salvador Correia de Sá, surrounded Luanda. After a major Portuguese attack, on August 24, 1648, the Dutch commander asked for peace. He agreed to leave Angola. When Nzinga's army and the remaining Dutch forces arrived outside Luanda, the peace treaty between the Dutch and Portuguese was signed. Without Nzinga knowing, the Dutch forces sailed for Europe. Faced with a stronger Portuguese army, Nzinga and her forces retreated to Matamba. Unlike previous years, after 1648, Nzinga focused on stopping the Portuguese from moving inland. She disrupted their soldiers and encouraged wars between smaller tribes and kingdoms.

Nzinga's Later Years

Last Campaigns and Alliances

While her wars against the Portuguese continued, Nzinga formed alliances with neighboring kingdoms. She expanded her influence even as she grew older. She sent soldiers to enforce her rule over local noblemen. She sent forces to fight against Kasanje's Imbangalans in eastern Matamba. She also fought against the Kingdom of Kaka in the Congo. She used her army as a political tool. She used its power to influence who would become ruler in disputes.

Nzinga and Christianity

Throughout the 1640s and 1650s, Nzinga slowly began to adopt Christian traditions. This followed her conversion to the faith in 1623. This started in 1644 when her army captured a Portuguese priest. It grew when her forces in Kongo captured two Spanish Capuchins in 1648. Unlike other European prisoners, the queen gave missionaries more freedom in her war camp. One of the Spaniards, Father Calisto Zelotes do Reis Mago, became a long-time resident at her court and her personal secretary.

Previous missionaries had been closely linked with the Portuguese. But the Spanish Capuchins were more sympathetic to Nzinga's views. In the early 1650s, Nzinga asked the Capuchin order for more missionaries. She also asked for their support against the Portuguese. This effectively made the missionaries unofficial diplomats between her and the Vatican. She sought closer relations with Catholic leaders in Europe for the rest of her life. She even received a letter from Pope Alexander VII in 1661 praising her efforts.

Besides using Christianity for diplomacy, Nzinga adopted Christian customs in her court. From the 1650s onward, she relied more and more on Christian converts at her court. Just as she had done with Imbangala culture decades before, Nzinga took parts of Christian ideas and culture. She added these to her existing court traditions. This created a new group of Christian advisors loyal to her. She also began practicing Catholic-inspired rituals. She placed crosses in important places in her court. She built many churches across her kingdom.

Nzinga's efforts to convert her people were not without problems. Some traditional religious figures opposed her policies. In response, Nzinga gave her Christian priests the power to burn the temples and shrines of those who opposed her. She ordered that they be arrested and brought to her for trial. Traditionalists were dismissed from her court. She then sentenced them to public whippings. Several important Ndongo and Imbangala priests were sold as slaves to the Portuguese. Nzinga personally asked that they be shipped overseas. The money from these sales was then used to furnish a new church. However, some of the wanted priests escaped Nzinga's purge and went into hiding. They later worked to undermine her power as queen.

Peace with Portugal

By 1650, the kingdoms of Matamba and Portugal had been at war for almost 25 years. Both sides were tired. Peace talks between Nzinga and the Portuguese began in 1651. They continued in 1654 and ended in 1656. Nzinga's recent conversion to Christianity helped the negotiations. Portugal was also facing pressure from its war against Spain. The Portuguese hoped to end the expensive war in Angola and restart the slave trade. Nzinga, knowing she was getting old, hoped to have her sister Kambu released. Kambu was often called Barbara by her Christian name during this time. Nzinga would not pay the ransom the Portuguese demanded for her sister, so talks often stopped.

Despite difficulties, a peace treaty was signed between Nzinga and the Portuguese in late 1656. Under the treaty, Nzinga agreed to give up lands on her kingdom's western coast to Portugal. The Lucala River became the new border between Portuguese Angola and Matamba. In return, Portugal gave the Kituxela region to her. Nzinga also agreed to allow Portuguese traders inside Matamba. The Portuguese agreed to help if Kasanje or Nogla Hari attacked her. The Portuguese agreed to focus the slave trade in a market in her capital. This effectively gave her a monopoly on the slave trade. They also agreed to send a permanent representative to her court. In return, Nzinga agreed to provide military help to the Portuguese. She also allowed missionaries to live in her kingdom. A final rule asking Matamba to pay Portugal taxes was suggested but never officially approved. While some sources say the treaty gave things to Portugal, others note that Nzinga's recognition as a ruler by Portugal gave her legitimacy and political stability.

On October 12, Nzinga's sister arrived at Nzinga's court in Matamba. Father Ignazio de Valassina led the procession. Upon Kambu's arrival, the peace terms were officially agreed upon. As was tradition, Nzinga and her officials clapped their hands. This let the Portuguese know that the peace terms were accepted.

Nzinga's Final Years

After the wars with Portugal ended, Nzinga tried to rebuild her kingdom. As Linda Heywood noted, Nzinga's last years were spent creating a unified kingdom. She wanted to pass it on to her sister. However, her native Ndongo had been ruined by decades of war. Large parts of the land were empty. So, Nzinga focused her efforts on strengthening Matamba. She developed Matamba as a trading power. She used its important location as the gateway to Central Africa. This strengthened her control over the slave trade.

She resettled former slaves on new land. She allowed women in her war camp to have children, which had been banned under wartime Imbangala customs. She also reformed the laws of her kingdom. She contacted Christian rulers in Europe. She hoped to confirm Matamba's status as an internationally recognized Christian kingdom.

Peace brought big changes to Nzinga's royal court. During wartime, she had adopted the masculine clothes and manners of an Imbangala warlord. But in the postwar era, Nzinga's court became more feminine. She adopted new fashions. She imported silk and goods from Europe. She focused more on education instead of military drills. She ended the practice of having multiple partners. She eventually married her favorite partner in a Christian ceremony.

Nzinga was worried about a possible power struggle. She worked to increase the power of the royal family in Ndongo. She moved away from Imbangala culture. She ended many of the democratic policies she had allowed during wartime. She saw them as a threat to the monarchy. In her later rule, divisions appeared in her court. Educated Christian converts supported her royal policies. Traditional Imbangalans and Ndongans wanted to return to the more military, merit-based policies of the past.

Death and Who Ruled Next

In the 1660s, especially after a serious illness in 1657, Nzinga became very concerned about who would rule Ndongo and Matamba after her. She feared that her death would lead to a power struggle. This could undo her Christian conversions and cause new Portuguese attacks. To make sure the change was smooth, she appointed her sister Kambu as her heir. She did not follow the traditional Ndongo elections. However, she grew worried that her sister's husband, Njinga a Mona, was becoming too powerful. Njinga a Mona was a skilled soldier raised in the Imbangala tradition. He had been a lifelong soldier in Nzinga's army. But as he got older, he often disagreed with Nzinga. She feared that his loyalty to Imbangala tradition would destabilize the new, Christian kingdom she had built.

In October 1663, Nzinga became ill with a throat infection and was bedridden. By December, the infection had spread to her lungs. Nzinga died in her sleep on the morning of December 17. She was buried with great ceremony, following both Catholic and Ndongo traditions. Ceremonies were held across Matamba and in Luanda. Both the Portuguese and Ndongo people held services in her honor.

After Nzinga's death, her sister Kambu (also known as Barbara or Dona Barbara) became the queen.

Nzinga's Legacy Today

Nzinga was a powerful queen who ruled for over thirty years. She has been the subject of many stories and works.

In Angola

In her home country of Angola, oral stories celebrating Nzinga's life began right after she died. Even though her kingdoms eventually became part of Portuguese Angola, people continued to remember Nzinga and her achievements. In the mid-20th century, Nzinga became a strong symbol of Angolan resistance against Portugal during the Angolan War of Independence. Nzinga's legacy continued after the Angolan Civil War and remains important in the country today.

In Portugal

The Portuguese, Nzinga's long-time rivals, wrote many works about her life. The first biography of Nzinga was published by Antonio da Gaeta in 1669. He was a Capuchin priest who had lived in her court. Gaeta's work praised Nzinga's diplomatic skills. He compared her to famous women from ancient times. But he also noted that she had eventually been convinced by God to accept Christianity. Antonio Cavazzi, another Capuchin who had lived in Nzinga's court, wrote a biography of her in 1689. He also noted her political skill but described her as a queen who had ruined the land. Together, Gaeta and Cavazzi's biographies became the main sources for Nzinga's life. Portuguese writers continued to write about Nzinga into the 20th century. They usually showed her as a skilled, "savage" opponent who was eventually forced to submit to Portugal and accept Christianity.

In Western Countries

Many Western authors have written about Nzinga. The first important non-Portuguese Western work mentioning Nzinga was written by French Jesuit Jean-Baptiste Labat in 1732. This was a heavily edited translation of Cavazzi's earlier biography. Labat's work shaped how many Western sources would portray Nzinga. Jean-Louis Castilhon wrote a fictional story of her life in 1769, showing her as cruel. Similarly, Laure Junot included Nzinga as a symbol of cruelty in her Memoirs of Celebrated Women of All Countries. She grouped her with women like Lady Jane Grey and Marie Antoinette. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel also criticized Nzinga's "female state." He described her kingdom as a barren land that eventually collapsed because she went against the natural order.

Nzinga's reputation in the West improved greatly in the 20th century. Her use as a symbol in the Angolan War of Independence increased interest in her life. Authors began to take a more balanced approach to her story. American historian Joseph C. Miller published an important essay on Nzinga in 1975. He highlighted her struggles and new ideas but also criticized her strong, controlling methods. Afro-Cuban poet Georgina Herrera published a 1978 poem praising Nzinga's wisdom. She connected Nzinga culturally with Afro-Caribbeans in the Americas. American feminist author Aurora Levins Morales wrote about Nzinga. She praised her anti-colonial and anti-patriarchal struggles. But she also criticized Nzinga's status as a ruling elite and her role in the slave trade.

In his writings on Nzinga, American historian John Thornton focused on her lifelong struggle to establish her authority over the Ndongo culture. He noted that her legendary reputation and actions helped create a wider Atlantic Criole culture. American historian Linda Heywood wrote a detailed biography of Nzinga in 2017. It covered much of her life and described her as a great historical figure. Heywood warned against portraying Nzinga as either a hero for the common people or a tyrant. Instead, she said Nzinga should be seen as a complex person who used culture, diplomacy, religion, and war to protect her kingdom.

Legends About Nzinga

One legend says that Nzinga executed her lovers. According to Dapper's Description of Africa, she kept 50–60 men dressed as women as her special group. She made them fight to the death for the chance to spend the night with her. In the morning, the winner was put to death.

According to an account by the Capuchin priest Cavazzi, Nzinga remained strong even in her later years. He saw her during a military review in 1662, the year before she died. Cavazzi praised her quickness. The older queen replied that in her youth, she could wound any Imbangala warrior. She said she could have fought against 25 armed men, unless they had muskets.

Nzinga's Impact

Statue in Luanda, Angola

Today, Nzinga is remembered in Angola as the Mother of Angola. She is seen as a fighter who used negotiations and a protector of her people. She is still honored across Africa as a remarkable leader and woman. People admire her political and diplomatic skills, as well as her brilliant military tactics. Stories of her life are often made more exciting. She is considered a symbol of the fight against unfair rule.

Nzinga managed to shape her state into a form that accepted her authority. The fact that she survived all attacks and built a strong base of loyal supporters helped a lot. While Nzinga did not completely change the idea that women could not rule in Ndongo during her lifetime, her female successors faced few problems being accepted as rulers. Her clever use of her gender and her political understanding helped set a foundation for future leaders of Ndongo. In the 104 years after Nzinga's death in 1663, queens ruled for at least eighty of them. Nzinga is a leadership role model for all generations of Angolan women. Women in Angola today show great independence. They are found in the country’s army, police force, government, and business sectors. Nzinga was embraced as a symbol by the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola during the civil war.

A major street in Luanda is named after her. A statue of her was placed in Kinaxixi in an impressive square in 2002. President Santos dedicated it to celebrate the 27th anniversary of independence. Angolan women often get married near the statue, especially on Thursdays and Fridays.

On December 23, 2014, the National Reserve Bank of Angola (BNA) released a 20 Kwanza coin in tribute to Nzinga. This was "in recognition of her role to defend self-determination and cultural identity of her people."

An Angolan film, Njinga: Queen Of Angola (Portuguese: Njinga, Rainha de Angola), was released in 2013.

A Starz series, Queen Nzinga, is being developed. Yetide Badaki will play the main character. 50 Cent, Steven S. DeKnight, and Mo Abundu are producers.

Nzinga (called Nzinga Mbande) leads the Kongolese civilization in the 2016 4X video game Civilization VI. She was added with the "Leader Pass" DLC on November 21, 2022.

The 2023 Netflix docudrama African Queens: Njinga tells her life story. It uses historical reenactment to show events.

See also

In Spanish: Ana de Sousa para niños

• List of Rulers of Matamba
• List of Ngolas of Ndongo
• List of women who led a revolt or rebellion
• Nzinga a Nkuwu
• Pungo Andongo
• Dahomey Amazons (all-female military regiment who fought the French)