Encyclopedia of African American History

Queen Nzinga (Njinga Mbande)  83

referred to Ndongo as Angola based on the term “ngola,”

a word used to refer to the king or ruler. Ndongo emerged

as a regional kingdom as a result of direct trade with the

Portuguese, but as the Portuguese established contacts with

neighboring African societies (such as the Imbangala), the

pressure to colonize Ndongo accelerated. Th is was a time of

increased hostilities between the Portuguese and the king-

dom they termed “Angola.” Queen Nzinga’s brother ngola

Mbandi came to power in the 1620s and reportedly had Nz-

inga’s child murdered. Nzinga fl ed but returned to negotiate

a treaty with the Portuguese at Luanda in 1622, claiming

to represent the Kingdom of Ndongo. When the Portu-

guese diplomat at Luanda refused Nzinga a chair, she sat on

the back of a kneeling servant as depicted in a drawing of

the meeting by a Dutch artist. Before securing an audience

with the Portuguese, Nzinga accepted the Catholic baptism.

Th is was an act of political expediency that helped to estab-

lish Nzinga as the legitimate leader of Ndongo as supported

of slaves to the Portuguese through a Ndongo notable; in
the event that the notable failed to deliver said slaves, the
notable was in turn enslaved.
Aft er 1608, dozens of notables were henceforth en-
slaved by the Portuguese. Aft er 1611, Portuguese infl u-
ence increased through contact with neighboring Africans.
Th e Portuguese used the assistance of Imbangala warriors,
a neighboring people to the Ndongo from central Africa,
from 1612–1622 against the Ndongo, bringing the kingdom
to the verge of collapse. Confl icts between Africans and the
Portuguese intensifi ed signifi cantly in the 17th century. Nz-
inga came to power in dangerous times. Th e Mbundu peo-
ple embraced strict constraints on female political power
and generally resisted attempts to organize into larger con-
federations. It was in this climate that Queen Nzinga arose
to power.
Nzinga was born to ngola a kiluanje Kia Samba and
Guenguela Cakombe ca. 1583. Th e Portuguese mistakenly

Queen Nzinga’s (Njinga) relations with the Portuguese were marked by confl ict. When she went to Luanda, headquarters of the Portuguese
in Angola, to negotiate with the governor he refused her a chair, a courtesy due one of equal rank. She is said to have sat down, as shown in
this engraving from the 1620 s. (Art Resource)