Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba

Uncommon card · No. 85784

Nzinga Mbande (; c. 1583 – 17 December 1663), also known as Ngola Njinga by those she ruled over, was a southwest African who ruled as queen of the Ambundu Kingdoms of Ndongo (1624–1663) and Matamba (1631–1663), located in present-day northern Angola. Born into the ruling family of Ndongo, her grandfather Ngola Kilombo Kia Kasenda was the king of Ndongo, succeeded by her father. Nzinga received military and political training as a child, and she demonstrated an aptitude for defusing political crises as an ambassador to the Portuguese Empire. In 1624, she assumed power over Ndongo after the death of her brother Mbandi. She ruled during a period of rapid growth of the African slave trade and encroachment by the Portuguese Empire in South West Africa. The Portuguese declared war on Ndongo in 1626 and by 1628, Njinga's army had been severely depleted and they went into exile. In search of allies, she married the powerful Imbangala warrior Kasanje. Using this new alliance to rebuild her forces...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Achille Devéria, Public domain