Unearthing the Story of Queen Nzinga: Ndongo and Matamba’s Revered Ruler
Reading Time: 16 minutes Queen Nzinga was a leader and warrior who brought strength and resilience to her people in Africa during a time when Europe was actively colonizing the continent. While the name of Queen Nzinga might not be as readily known to people compared to other rulers and historical figures from her time and others, her involvement in colonial conflicts between the Portuguese and the African people of Ndongo and Matamba during the 17th century is a fascinating and important piece of history.
In this article, we look at the story of Queen Nzinga, the history of the people she led, and the battles she fought during her reign. The scope of this article is her life and the time before her death. Beyond the overview of her life and the struggles and events of the Ndongo and Matamba, a more detailed exploration of this topic includes the diplomatic negotiations between her and the Portuguese and how the existing male-dominated society treated a woman becoming and being a queen in Africa during this time period.
Nzinga’s Early Life and Family
Princess Nzinga is believed to have been born around 1583 in the Kingdom of Ndongo, located in present-day Angola. Her life from birth was closely entwined with the political turmoil of the region. The Ndongo Kingdom was a thriving region with a wealth of resources, which made it a target for the Portuguese, who were eager to expand their colonial holdings in Africa.
As the daughter of King Ngola Kia Samba and his second wife, Kangela, Nzinga was thrust into the intricacies of leadership from a young age. Her father, King Ngola, was impressed with Nzinga’s intelligence and potential and decided to give her the same military training and education in governance that he would have given his male heir. As such, Nzinga, from a young age, became a close advisor to her father. Nzinga would accompany him to meetings and even engage in some diplomatic discussions with Portuguese emissaries.
Legends about Nzinga’s early life provide some insight into the formidable woman she would become. As an example of her courage in her infancy, it was recorded that at the moment of her birth, her umbilical cord had been wrapped around her neck. In some of the older traditions of African soothsayers and oracles, the twisted umbilical cord was seen as an omen that the child had a unique and powerful destiny.
According to this tradition, the name “Nzinga” meant “to twist or turn” and it was the name given to her at birth. Along with an advanced education, the young Nzinga was aware of the Portuguese invasion and their attempt to control the land and the wealth of the region. Nzinga’s people resisted, and she learned of the Portuguese cruelty.
Nzinga’s Ascension to the Throne of the Kingdom of Ndongo
The route that led Nzinga to the throne of Ndongo was unconventional, and she did not inherit the position without any struggles. After the death of her father, King Ngola Kia Samba, Nzinga’s brother, Mbandi, assumed leadership of the kingdom. He had to deal with strained relations and battles with the Portuguese, who sought to conquer the area and extract its resources. The constant influx of Portuguese troops to Ndongo overpowered Mbandi, who could not cope with the foreign enemy.
In 1622, during a meeting with the Portuguese delegation, Nzinga showcased her negotiation skills. As a joke, the Portuguese did not offer her a seat, making her rise on her knees to listen to the Portuguese officer. Nzinga had one of her servants kneel on all fours, and she sat on him as a stool. She negotiated with the Portuguese and secured the release of her brother’s son and other family members, defending the sovereignty of her people.
Soon after, her brother died under suspicious circumstances. Some accounts state that he committed suicide, while others claim that Nzinga assassinated him. Whatever the cause, his death made Nzinga the sole heir to the throne, and she began her reign in 1624. Not all factions of the kingdom supported Nzinga as the new ruler. In addition, the Portuguese tried to subvert her reign, not only because she was a woman but also because of the controversial circumstances under which she came to power. Nzinga leveraged her strong political and military skills to gain control.
Queen Nzinga and her Struggle to retain Power
The years 1625 to 1628 were especially important in African history, marked by struggles between the Kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba and the Portuguese in the African Great Lakes region. Queen Nzinga was at the center of the major events that shaped this period.
The events began unfolding in 1625, when Portuguese soldiers were sent to protect a sovadilo, or soba, named Hari a Kiluanje after he revolted against Nzinga. The Portuguese soldiers had come with an agenda of their own to make alliance networks with all of Nzinga’s enemies in order to encircle her influence in the region.
By 1626, the Portuguese had crossed all the lines and declared an all-out war against Nzinga’s rule. Their main reason for this war was not only to gain land and resources. It had long been their plan to annex these two areas into their domains. Central Africa, and in particular Nzinga’s kingdom, was a good source of ivory, copper, and slaves that had captured the interest of many Europeans. This made Portuguese imperial expansionists among their people rise up and storm this region.
Nzinga had her hands full, and to protect herself, she retreated to the Kwanza River and built a defense on some of the islands within it. This gave her the advantage of a river’s distance as a buffer against Portuguese attacks. From there, she could keep an eye on her enemies and direct operations to contain them or strike them when the time was right.
In November of 1627, Nzinga, weary of the fighting and wanting to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, sent 400 slaves to the Portuguese and then sought a peace agreement through a leading diplomat. However, the Portuguese leader, in a show of sheer contempt, had his head chopped off. This sent a clear message that the Portuguese were not about to have a conversation with Nzinga.
The situation for Nzinga in 1628 was rapidly worsening. A series of treacheries, betrayals, desertions, and Portuguese attacks had reduced her army to about 200 soldiers, and it seemed as though she was going to be next in line. From the mountain, she was faced with an overwhelming Portuguese invasion, and it was a test of whether she could weather the storm and survive or not. This resilience would become a defining moment of Queen Nzinga’s remarkable career in African history.
Queen Nzinga Rebuilds and the Conquest of Matamba
Queen Nzinga’s story, however, is as much one of death and rebirth as it is of war and struggle. Her choices in the years that followed the battle—seeking allies, intermarrying cultures, and expanding her influence, to name a few—were testaments to her resilience and her unmatched genius as a leader.
Perhaps the most shocking of her many cunning maneuvers was her marriage to Kasanje, a powerful Imbangala leader who had previously led the warrior tribe against her people. This act, however, was not only about remarrying. It was a shrewd political move to rebuild and further consolidate her power. The Imbangala were known for their ferocity as warriors, and by allying herself with one of their leaders, Nzinga gained support and effectively rebuilt a base from which to renew her aggressive campaign against the Portuguese. In addition, by marrying Kasanje, Nzinga demonstrated her ability to put her people’s welfare first, rising above personal grudges.
In an effort to strengthen her forces and increase her resources, the Queen began rewarding freed slaves with land and favors in exchange for their loyalty and service as soldiers. These freed slaves added considerably to the ranks of the Queen’s forces, forming a fiercely loyal core of Nzinga’s army, owing their freedom and improved status to their Queen.
The war of attrition raged on between Queen Nzinga and her allies and the Portuguese forces. The small forces of Nzinga, led by her intimate knowledge of the terrain and her people’s undying resilience, successfully harassed the Portuguese in a guerrilla-style war. Despite the Portuguese’s overwhelming military strength, they were consistently frustrated by Nzinga’s mastery of her home terrain and the bravery of her forces.
Queen Nzinga, who had fully reclaimed her position as ruler, had bigger goals than just resisting the Portuguese colonizers. She set her sights on the neighboring Kingdom of Matamba in 1631. After leading a battle against its Queen, Mwongo Matamba, Nzinga successfully overthrew her. The title of Queen of Matamba was soon added to her long list of titles.
Queen Nzinga was also known for her remarkable ability to balance and integrate the cultures of the groups she presided over. She integrated her native Mbundu culture and traditions with the Imbangala’s Central African military tradition and leadership structures. This created a rich, new culture unique to Nzinga’s Kingdom.
The newly powerful Nzinga soon found herself in direct competition with the Portuguese for control of the slave trade in Central Africa. With her growing influence, Nzinga no longer needed to just push back against the Portuguese invasion of her people; she now had the power to dictate terms and began to center herself in a trade that was then one of the world’s most profitable.
Finally, one of the most interesting aspects of Queen Nzinga’s rule was her choice to deliberately defy the gender norms of the time, in a bid to further strengthen her position. For example, Nzinga was known for her all-female bodyguard unit, something many found bold and unthinkable, but one she used to display her trust in her women. In addition, Nzinga was known to wear men’s clothing as part of her role as a leader and even went so far as to insist on being addressed by male titles. These decisions were not without cause, as Nzinga wanted her authority to be unquestionable and without reproach, even though she was a woman.
The Expansion of Territories and a Crucial Dutch Alliance
Empress Nzinga of Matamba had much more to offer than resistance to the invaders and their expansionist goals. She also became a successful leader in the expansion of her kingdom and in making strategic alliances.
When Nzinga had successfully stabilized her rule on the throne, the queen expanded her territorial control both north and south of Matamba and now had both the north and the south regions in a tight grip. The new queen’s expanded territory brought her more resources and subjects, but it also elevated her status among neighboring kingdoms and outsiders.
Nzinga wanted to ensure the northern borders were also secure, so she pursued a strategy to reconcile with the neighboring kingdom to the north, the Kingdom of Kongo. This diplomatic work of mending ties with the Kongos was a move that gave her an even further shield to the north. With her well-crafted diplomatic strategies and the Kongos as her new allies, it would be challenging for outside powers like the Portuguese to invade her territories.
Queen Nzinga’s diplomacy did not only involve the neighboring African kingdoms and allies. She was also strategic in her dealings and foreign policy with European nations like the Dutch, who were quickly showing great interest in African territories. The two nations engaged in a diplomatic exchange that helped establish good relations. Nzinga had established a relationship with the Dutch, who were her commercial allies, and the slave trade was booming. Trade between the Dutch and Matamba existed before the Portuguese arrival.
Empress Nzinga traded up to 13,000 slaves per year with the Dutch in the early 1640s, and the deal was quite profitable. Nzinga also reached out to the Portuguese to rekindle the relationship in the early 1640s. She sent an offer of an alliance to the Portuguese, who refused it in return for her support against Kongo in the recovery of Ndongo.
In a shocking turn of events in 1641, the Dutch forces allied with the Kongos in a campaign that successfully captured Luanda from the Portuguese. After their successful siege, the captured city was reestablished as the directorate of Loango-Angola. A strong Dutch coalition had been forged from this battle, and now Nzinga had a reliable ally to whom she quickly reached out as the invasions of the Portuguese colonies intensified.
The Queen also moved her capital to Kavanga in the northern part of the land she occupied, which was part of the former Ndongo. She placed her capital in a strategic spot that not only put her on the high ground against all the other threats but also symbolically prepared her to restore the former glory of Ndongo. The Dutch takeover of Luanda and Nzinga’s strategic alliance gave her a central position in the slave trade in the region, which she would be able to exploit.
Her kingdom’s new status and wealth enabled the queen to establish a large war camp, or quilombo, said to have a membership of 80,000. Her kilombo comprised mercenaries, escaped slaves, and allies, as well as her veteran soldiers whom she put together and trained to form a credible army and reliable defense against external attacks.
War continues and a Semi-Triumphant Return to Mdongo
Queen Nzinga’s rule from 1641 to 1648 was marked by significant territorial changes in Angola. Notably, she reconquered a large part of Ndongo between 1641 and 1644. This recovery of Ndongo restored some of her pride and sense of legacy while also sending a message to the European settlers about the resilience and tenacity of African leaders. Queen Nzinga also looked to expand her empire further in the period from 1641 to 1648. She invaded the Wandu region of Kongo, which was in revolt against its monarch.
This region, Wandu, had never been part of Ndongo under the leadership of Nzinga’s predecessors, and her decision to conquer the region was seen as controversial. Nzinga refused to back down and relinquish control of the conquered territories. As a result, the Kongolese king, Garcia II, was not pleased with Nzinga’s aggression and territorial expansion. In a bid to maintain her alliances with both the Kingdom of Kongo and the rising power of Nzinga, the Dutch, who were also key players in the region, intervened as peace brokers. Though the Dutch managed to restore peace between the two warring factions, the strained relationship lingered, affecting the regional dynamics and alliances.
At this point, Nzinga’s former husband and longtime ally, Kasanje, began to see the rise of her empire as a potential threat. In 1644, he assembled a coalition of Imbangala leaders and launched an invasion of Nzinga’s territory in Matamba. Nzinga’s well-fortified positions and defenses did not help the attacking coalition make significant progress.
In 1644, one of Nzinga’s most notable battles, the Battle of Ngoleme, took place. During this time, Nzinga engaged in combat with the Portuguese colonial forces and, under her command, her troops emerged victorious. This major battle not only boosted the morale of her fighting men but also cemented her place in history as one of the fiercest opponents of the European colonialists in Africa. Exact casualty figures are unclear, but one thing is certain: the battle demonstrated Nzinga’s tactical and military prowess.
In war, victory can swing like a pendulum, bringing losses as well as gains. By 1646, Nzinga’s luck had run out. In a military confrontation known as the Battle of Kavanga, the Portuguese were victorious against the queen’s forces. They captured her sister, Kambu, and seized Nzinga’s archives during the battle.
The archives revealed a secret alliance between Nzinga and Kongo and exposed a clandestine correspondence between Nzinga’s sister, Funji, and her spies. The information Funji had supplied to the Portuguese revealed secret military strategies that Nzinga’s forces were using against the Portuguese. In retaliation and also as punishment for her disloyalty, the Portuguese cruelly threw Funji into the Kwanza River, where she drowned.
But Nzinga was not yet finished. In 1647, the queen led her forces to yet another resounding victory in a conflict known as the Battle of Kombi. Energized by this victory, Nzinga immediately laid siege to the Portuguese capital of Massangano, effectively trapping the Portuguese forces there. By 1648, Nzinga had begun to exhibit a tight grip on power, not only in her once-kingdom, but also in the growing economic powerhouse of Matamba, which had become entrenched in the slave trade.
Control of Angola by the coalition of Imbangala, Ndongo, and Matamba was tenuous at best. Due to a combination of a lack of artillery and infighting for political influence, Queen Nzinga could not penetrate the Portuguese defenses at Massangano. Furthermore, in 1648, another shift in power occurred. A determined Portuguese expedition was launched by Salvador Correia de Sá. The expedition put Luanda under siege. The peace treaty signed by the Dutch and the Portuguese was a surprise to Queen Nzinga.
With her allies out of the way, and a reinforced Portuguese garrison left behind in Angola, the wise decision for Nzinga was to retreat and regroup in Matamba. From this point forward, Nzinga’s resistance strategy against Portuguese colonialism in Angola was more about preventing any inland penetration by the Portuguese and about prodding the smaller tribes to fight one another.
Christianity in Queen Nzinga’s Kingdom
Nzinga’s relationship with Christianity developed throughout her life. Her initial conversion to Christianity in 1623 would eventually give way to a stronger affinity for the religion’s cultural characteristics during the 1640s and 1650s. The first steps in this relationship began in 1644 with the capture of a Portuguese priest and, four years later, of two Spanish Capuchins in Kongo. These missionaries were given special liberties in Nzinga’s camp compared to other captives.
These connections were strengthened with the capture of two Spanish Capuchin friars in 1648, one of whom became a personal secretary to the queen. Nzinga began to use her newfound relationship with the church to reach out to the church on a global scale, specifically the Capuchin order and the Vatican, for aid against the Portuguese. Her efforts and investment in the Christian faith were acknowledged and praised. A letter from Pope Alexander VII in 1661 is proof of this.
As her Christian conviction developed, Nzinga gradually incorporated elements of her faith into her rule. During her time as queen, more and more converts became a trusted group of advisers. As always, Nzinga was a tactful ruler and began to incorporate her Christian ideals into the existing culture of her court, founding a new line of Christian advisors who would be absolutely loyal to her. Nzinga also began to pay homage to her faith by including Catholic-inspired practices, establishing churches across her lands, and putting value on the cross.
However, this newfound belief was not universally accepted. Nzinga found that her decision brought opposition from conservative religious groups. Nzinga had her Christian priests raze the temples and shrines of her opponents. For traditionalists who did not heed the queen’s command, consequences varied from public flogging to enslavement, and many were sold to the Portuguese.
Peace with Portugal
The war-torn kingdoms of Matamba and Portugal, which had been at war for almost 25 years, were exhausted by the mid-17th century. Peace negotiations between the belligerents started in 1651. Portuguese preoccupation with the war of Independence against Spain, as well as Queen Nzinga’s newfound Christian religion, may have hastened peace negotiations. The Portuguese needed to end the costly war in Angola, and they needed to resume the slave trade.
Queen Nzinga, ever conscious of her own advancing age, wanted above all else her sister Kambu to be released from captivity. Negotiations were protracted, with the Portuguese demanding a ransom for Kambu, which Nzinga would not countenance. By the close of 1656, a peace treaty had been agreed to and ratified by both sides. Some have seen the treaty as tilted in Portugal’s favor. Others, however, argue that Queen Nzinga won herself a measure of legitimacy through the treaty, which enhanced her power.
Final Years
Peace with Portugal also offered Queen Nzinga an opportunity to focus on improving her country. As the war with Portugal had wreaked havoc on Ndongo, most of the country was without population. Queen Nzinga therefore worked to expand and reinforce Matamba as a trade center, with particular emphasis on the slave trade. She also focused on reforming many aspects of her country’s rule, from judicial law codes to diplomatic correspondence with other Christian rulers in Europe.
Queen Nzinga’s peace with Portugal also led to various changes at her own court. After spending many years dressed as an Imbangala warlord, she became more feminine in her appearance, wardrobe, and education, and abolished the practice of concubinage in her court, finally marrying one of her favorite concubines in a Christian rite. In order to avoid further succession disputes, she also centralized authority on the throne and began to move her government more towards monarchy.
Death and Succession
By the start of the 1660s, Queen Nzinga was starting to have some anxieties about succession. Hoping to avoid destabilization after her death, in light of renewed Portuguese aggression, she named her sister Kambu as her heir without the Mbundu holding traditional elections. Nzinga also had growing misgivings about her sister’s husband, Nzinga a Mona. While he had been her loyal warrior for years, he had been steeped in the Imbangala tradition since birth.
A terrible infection sapped the vitality of the mighty Queen in late 1663. In the early morning of 17 December, Queen Nzinga died in her sleep. The end of an era, she was given an appropriate send-off with state ceremonies not only in Matamba, but also in Luanda, the capital of Portuguese Angola. She was succeeded by her chosen heir, her sister Kambu, also known as Dona Barbara.
