Queen Nzinga Mbande (1583-1663)
Did you know that one of Africa’s most iconic leaders in the 17th century was a woman?
This is Queen Nzinga Mbande of Ndongo and Matamba. She was a ruler, strategist and warrior queen who fought colonial powers for over 30 years, in what is now Angola.
She was born around 1583. Her father was the leader of the kingdom, but consistent battles with the Portuguese colonial power weakened his reign, which led to him being killed by his people. Nzinga’s ruthless brother took the throne, after killing his male rivals, including Nzinga’s infant son.
Nzinga’s first appearance in historical sources is dated in 1622, during peace talks with the Portuguese. She represented her brother, who was the king at the time. The representatives of the European power insulted her by not offering her a chair, so she reacted by letting one of her servants kneel so she could use him as a chair. Nzinga wanted to talk on the same height as her enemy’s.
When her brother died in 1624, Nzinga became regent for his son. There is no consensus on whether Nzinga killed her brother, or maybe assisted him by his suicide. Most historians agree that Nzinga wasn’t happy with just watching the throne, so she also eliminated her nephew and claimed the crown for herself. This way she became the first female rule of Ndongo.
Nzinga allied with the Dutch, led guerilla warfare, and personally led battles against the Portuguese. She conquered a kingdom named Matamba, and build an empire. For a while, she even lived as a man, to try to strengthen her position.
Nzinga passed away in 1663, but now, more then 300 years later, her legacy is still alive. She is still celebrated as a symbol of the defeat of traditional gender roles. She is even called the Mother of the Nation in Angola.
Devéria, Achille. Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba. 1830. Litho, 48,8 x 35,8 cm. London, National Portrait Gallery. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw150782/Ann-Zingha.
Sources:
Pictures used:
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. “Njinga Mbandi: Queen of Ndongo and Matamba”. Unesco, 2014. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000230103.
o Statue of Njinga Mbandi, Luanda, Republic of Angola. Photograph by Erik Cleves Kristensen, 2006.
o Illustration of Njinga Mbandi by the French Illustrator Achille Devéria, 1830.
- Blaeu, Willem Janszoon. Map of Africa, 1640 (Amsterdam: 1660). https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/694344/view/map-of-africa-17th-century.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Ndongo”. Britannica, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/place/Ndongo-historical-kingdom-Africa.
- Devéria, Achille. Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba. 1830. Litho, 48,8 x 35,8 cm. London, National Portrait Gallery. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw150782/Ann-Zingha.
- Allmer, Chris. “Learn From The Past: Get Wise About our Civilization With This List of World History Books”. Blinkist Magazine, 2023. https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/learn-past-get-wise-world-list-best-history-books.
- “How the Portuguese Fought Against African Kingdoms in Angola in 16-17th Centuries”. Aristocratic Fun, 2024. https://aristocraticfury.substack.com/p/how-the-portuguese-fought-against.
- Stenseth, N. Chr. et al. (ed.). Afrika: Natur, samfunn og bistand. Oslo, 1995. 563.
o “Queen Nzinga in peace negotiations with the Portugese governor in Luanda, 1657.
- AI generated images.
- Hylton, Ethosheia. African Queens: Njinga. TV-series (2023). https://www.netflix.com/be/title/81650731
- Heywood, Linda M. Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2017.
- Decker, Corrie. "African Women: A Historical Panorama." The International Journal of African Historical Studies 48, no. 1 (2015): 170-171. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/african-women-historical-panorama/docview/1712287053/se-2.
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