Queen Nzinga Mbande was a 17th-century African ruler of the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundu people in Angola. She fought fearlessly to resist the Portuguese who were attempting to colonise the area at the time.
Nzinga was born in 1583 to Ngola (King) Kiluanji and Kangela. She was named Nzinga because her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck (the Kimbundu verb kujinga means to twist or turn). Nzinga was born the same year that the Ndongo people, led by her father, began fighting against the Portuguese. In the 16th century, the Portuguese position in the slave trade was threatened by England and France, forcing the Portuguese to move their slave-trading activities to The Congo and South West Africa. The Portuguese mistakenly thought that the title of ruler (ngola) was the name of the country, and so the land ruled by Ngola Kiluanji became known as “Angola’. It was believed that Angola had silver mines, and the Portuguese were determined to conquer territory and capture slaves for the Atlantic slave trade.
In 1617, Ndongo was invaded by the Portuguese led by the new Angolan governor Luis Mendes de Vasconcelos. The capital was sacked and Ngola Mbandi (Nginza’s brother, who had replaced their father as ruler) was forced to take refuge on the island of Kindonga. Thousands of those living in Ndongo were taken prisoner, and an attempt was made to create a ‘puppet government’ to allow the Portuguese to rule. In 1621, João Correia de Sousa succeeded Mendes de Vasconcelos and attempted to make peace with Ndongo. Nzinga was sent to negotiate on behalf of her brother and when she entered the meeting room, realised that there was no chair for her to sit in only a floor mat, which in Mbundu custom was appropriate only for subordinates. Nzinga had her maid kneel, making a chair for her which put her and the governor on more equal terms. Nzinga’s negotiations were successful, and she was able to restore her brother to power and put a cap on the limits of the slave trade.
The peace treaty was not honoured, and in 1623, Nzinga’s brother committed suicide, feeling that he had failed his people. Nzinga became ruler, calling herself “Queen of Andongo” and re-establishing negotiations with the Portuguese. Ndongo was now under attack from the Portuguese and neighboring African aggressors. She realised that the only way she could achieve peace and keep her kingdom was to align Ndongo with Portugal. Nzinga was then baptised as Ana de Sousa Nzinga Mbande with the Portuguese colonial governor serving as her godfather, an act which served to strengthen their ties. Nginza was able to gain not just an ally, but also an end to Portuguese slave raiding in her kingdom.
In 1926, Portugal betrayed Ndongo and Nzinga had to flee when war broke out. She captured Queen Mwongo Matamba of the nearby kingdom of Matamba and took over control of her army. Nzinga then made Matamba her capital, joining it to the Kingdom of Ndongo. Nginza was desperate to build up the military force necessary to protect her kingdom and offered sanctuary to runaway slaves and Portuguese-trained African soldiers. In 1641, she brokered an alliance with the Dutch, who were working with the Kingdom of Kongo. Nginza continued to fight against the Portuguese army, leading troops into battle well into her sixties.
In 1657, Nzinga signed a peace treaty with Portugal, signifying the end of the years of war. Nginza was able to keep her power in Matamba and to maintain Matamba’s independence from the Portuguese. She focused her attention on developing Matamba as a trading power and the gateway to the Central African interior. Nginza also devoted herself to resettling former slaves and allowing women to bear children. There were numerous attempts to dethrone her, but none succeeded. Nginza died at the age of eight in 1663, sparking an outbreak of civil war. At the time of her death, she had built up Matamba to be on equal footing with the Portuguese colony and the Portuguese had come to respect her for her shrewdness and intransigence. Thanks to the efforts to Nzinga, Matamba was only integrated into Angola in the late nineteenth century.
Nginza is remembered in Angola for her political and diplomatic acumen, great wit and intelligence, as well as her brilliant military tactics. There is a major street in Luanda named after her, and a statue of her stands in Kinaxixi on an impressive square in 2002. Angolan women are often married near the statue.