Queen Nzinga

She was born sometime around 1583 to Ngola Kiluanji Kia Samba and Guenguela Cakombe in the Portuguese settlement of Angola. Her father was the ruler of the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms. She had two sisters, Kifunji and Mukambu, while her brother, Mbandi, was her father’s illegitimate son.

She was one of her father’s favourite children. Her father gave administrative exposure to her and also took her to war.

Sometime during the 1610s when her father was dethroned, Mbandi assumed power while she was compelled to leave the kingdom as she posed a challenge to the throne.

On January 25, 1576, with the consent of the then ruler (ngola) of Ndongo, Ndambi, Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais founded Luanda as ‘São Paulo da Assumpção de Loanda,’ and settled hundred families and around four hundred soldiers.

Decades later, Nzinga’s brother and heir of Ndambi, Mbandi, ruler of Matamba, revolted against the Portuguese around 1618. Forces of governor Luís Mendes de Vasconcelos, in association with the Imbangalas, attacked the Ndongo capital and defeated Mbandi, killing several Ndongo dynasty nobles.

Meanwhile in 1608, a Portuguese official Bento Cardoso set up a slavery tribute. The Portuguese expected to get slaves from the conquered African kingdoms as a tribute.

In 1617, Nzinga was called back to the kingdom by Mbandi, who wanted her to meet the Portuguese to secure Ndongo’s freedom.

In 1622, as directed by Mbandi, Nzinga represented the king in a meeting with the Portuguese governor of Luanda, João Correia de Sousa, and offered the latter a peace treaty. Nzinga astonished the delegates with her political and diplomatic acumen, tact, and self-assurance so much so that the governor had to agree to her terms leading to a treaty of equal terms.

According to legends, during the negotiations, the Portuguese governor arranged a floor mat for her to sit instead of a chair, while he himself sat on a chair. As per the Mbundu custom, this was derogatory as it was reserved for the subordinates. As such disgraceful gesture was unacceptable to Nzinga, she ordered a servant to lie down on the ground on hands and knees and then sat on back of the servant to proceed with the negotiations.

In 1622, she converted to Catholicism and adopted the name Dona Anna de Sousa in honour of the wife of the governor, who also became her godmother. She presumably took the step to bolster the peace treaty with the Portuguese.