Queen Ana Nzinga Mbande: Fearless African Leader

Painting of Queen Nzinga

Queen Nzinga was born royalty in the year of 1583, her father was king of the Ndongo people. At the time she was born her father worked hard as king to get his people to go against the Portuguese because they continually tried to colonize their territory as well as turn their population into slaves. In her chaotic childhood her brother Mbande overruled their father and practically took over his throne. Although this frightened Nzinga at times she still remained loyal to him despite some of his crazy decisions. Throughout this war for freedom, Mbande put Nzinga in charge of many things which molded her into a great, fearless, and powerful leader. One of her first major leadership roles is when her brother sent her to represent him for the meeting with the Portuguese. The fact she was very educated and knew so much about the issue at hand she was very respected and wasn't seen as less when it came to the people of higher power in the meeting. She was smart and considered all possible outcomes when it came to the approach she would make. She knew that if she went in there and immediately rejected the trade she would lose an ally to her kingdom. Instead, she went and negotiated with them in order to keep the peace. She created a documented peace treaty and this was her first venture to becoming the fearless African leader the world knows today. After this great accomplishment she decided to convert to Christianity, get baptized and take the name of her God parents. She was the known as Dona Ana de Sousa.

Animated Picture Of  Queen Nzinga Portrayed as a Warrior

A while after, Portugal did not abide by the Peace treaty they had agreed upon. They invaded the Ndongo's and pushed them west into their new state known as Matamba. Within this same time frame her brother committed suicide which caused her to take the role of Queen. This put a lot of pressure on her shoulders because she wasn't used to having so much power and there was a huge issue facing her people. Overtime, she decided to fight back against the Portuguese. She created alliances with people like the Dutch and she fought front lines in the Portuguese war in order to bring freedom to her people and the runway slaves that she accepts into her community. She continued to fight up to her old home land and remained on the front lines fighting for her people. Although she had help from the Dutch the Portuguese continued to hired people and eventually they were all pushed back to Matamba and the Portuguese remained control of their land.

After the war, she worked hard to make sure her people were treated right and were educated and free from oppression. She worked hard to form a government that was fair, safe, and continued to have equality for all. Her people without a doubt knew how to handle themselves of the Portuguese were to ever arrive in their state. Despite other attempts to kill her and rip her of her leader ship roles she did not die by the hands of her oppressor. Queen Nzinga died a peaceful death naturally and left a huge legacy in Africa. She is well known today as one of the greatest women who stepped foot into Africa and she is a great example of Women and their great leadership qualities. Today we remember her and her great legacy. In Luanda her original homeland, there is a statue standing tall today to acknowledge her legacy and dedication to Africa and their people.

Statue of Queen Nzinga in Luanda Kinaxixi Square







Works Cited
Dhwty. “Queen Nzinga: A Ruler Who Set Her People Free.” Ancient Origins, Ancient Origins, 5 July 2016, https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/queen-nzinga-ruler-who-set-her-people-free-006235.
Metmuseum.org, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pwmn_2/hd_pwmn_2.htm.
free-006235.“Nzinga Mbande the Warrior Queen of Angola.” Afrika News, 2 Aug. 2017, https://afrika-news.com/nzinga-mbande-warrior-queen-angola/.
Snethen, Jessica. “Queen Nzinga (1583-1663) • BlackPast.” BlackPast, 3 Sept. 2019, https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/queen-nzinga-1583-1663/.