84 Atlantic African, American, and European Backgrounds to Contact, Commerce, and EnslavementQueen Nzinga is one of the most documented rulers in
colonial African history. She was unique in that, during a
time of great crisis in African aff airs, she was able to serve as
warrior, diplomat, and politician. Her quest for power and
legitimacy is unprecedented in history.
See also: Angolan/Kongolese; West-Central AfricaHettie V. WilliamsBibliography
Miller, Joseph C. “Nzinga of Matamba in a New Perspective.” Jour-
nal of African History 16, no. 2 (1975):201–16.
Orchardson-Mazrui, Elizabeth. Nzinga, the Warrior Queen. New
York: Th e Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, 2006.
Schwarz-Bart, Simone. In Praise of Black Women: Ancient African
Queens. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2001.
Th ornton, John K. Th e Kingdom of Kongo: Civil War and Tran-
sition, 1641 – 171 8. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press,
1983.
Th ornton, John K. “Legitimacy and Political Power: Queen
Njinga, 1624–1663.” Journal of African History 32, no. 1
(1991):25–40.Racialized Slavery
Slavery, or the state of bondage in which one person is chat-
tel to another for the purpose of extracting labor, has existed
since the beginning of recorded human history. Racialized
slavery, or slavery based on a person’s perceived racial iden-
tity, emerged alongside the development of the concept of
race. Historians have long been confounded by questions
of race in the early modern world: how did early modern
Europeans think about bodily diff erence? How did they
employ visible physical and cultural diff erences to build the
Atlantic system of race-based slavery? In conjunction with
the expansion of trade and, specifi cally, the development
of the Atlantic slave trade, race as a concept developed in
the Western world between the 11th and 18th centuries.
Racialized slavery, a system of permanent servitude based
solely on color, became a legalized practice in the early
18th century.
When the fi rst 20 Africans arrived in the Jamestown
colony in 1619, it is evident that their status as servant or
slave was anything but clear. Th ere is some reason to believe
that the colonists viewed them as indentured servants to be
held for a term of years and then freed. For a time the use of
African labor remained limited. Planters continued usingby the Portuguese. Her brother died under suspicious cir-
cumstances in 1623, and by 1624, Nzinga subsequently
seized power in Ndongo ruling from 1624–1663.
Nzinga was a skillful diplomat, warrior, and politician
in that she secured the support of major European pow-
ers by converting to Catholicism as well as the support of
escaped slave communities to consolidate her power base
in the region. Nzinga was surrounded by African rivals
and European challengers to Portuguese power in the re-
gion while leader of Ndongo. She was able to fi nd middle
ground through a series of alliances with both her African
rivals, such as the Imbangala, and European challengers,
such as the Dutch. She off ered escaped slaves their freedom
in exchange for their loyalty and made an alliance with the
Dutch to circumvent Portuguese demands. Confederations
between Ndongo and neighboring African groups were cre-
ated to gain control of slave routes. Nzinga also organized
a guerrilla army and appointed her sisters as war leaders.
She led troops into battle, dressed as a man, took the title of
ngola or king, and kept male concubines.
Nzinga’s quest for control of Ndongo was a constant
struggle for legitimacy within Mbundu politics and against
the Portuguese, along with other European powers. Th e
Mbundu associated political power with males and held
prohibitions against females holding positions of leader-
ship amid an intricate network of local kinship and lineage
factions. Customarily, the Mbundu ngola was drawn from
one of many lineage groups. Th erefore, Nzinga’s seizure of
power in Ndongo has been viewed as a coup d’état, as she
had been forced to search beyond the Mbundu for political
legitimacy, which she found through support of the Portu-
guese. When the Portuguese rescinded their support aft er
1624, Nzinga forged an alliance with the Imbangala and
escaped slaves from Portuguese territories until she was
forced to fl ee Ndongo for Matamba, located on the north-
eastern border of her former Ndongo Kingdom in 1629.
At Matamba, Nzinga created an entirely new government.
Women held stature as rulers in Matamba lineage systems
prior to the 17th century. Th rough the 1630s, Nzinga used
her armies to block Portuguese infl uence in the region and
by the 1640s, had forged an alliance with the Dutch. Th is
enabled Nzinga to build up her base of power in Matamba
and dominate areas previously controlled by the Portu-
guese. With the Dutch departure in 1648, Nzinga was even-
tually forced to subsequently make a series of concessions
with the Portuguese until her death in 1663.