Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen is a 2017 biography written by Linda M. Heywood and published by Harvard University Press. The book explores the life of Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba.
Background Nzinga Ana de Sousa Mbande (c. 1583–1663) was queen of Ndongo and Matamba, 17th century kingdoms in the area currently Angola, during Portuguese colonial rule and the Atlantic slave trade. Nzinga ruled approximately from 1624 until her death in 1663, a reign of about 39 years.
Synopsis Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen is a biography of Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba, a 17th-century ruler of the Mbundu people in the region now known as Angola. The book uses both Portuguese colonial records and African oral traditions, focusing on Nzinga’s life during Portuguese colonial expansion and the rise of the Atlantic slave trade. The work covers Nzinga’s political, military, religious, and diplomatic leadership, her use of political Christianity, and how gender and her adoption of male identity traits impacted her reign.
Structure Contents include: Introduction — Overview of Queen Nzinga’s reign and her portrayal by Europeans.
The Ndongo Kingdom and the Portuguese Invasion — History of Ndongo kingdom and early Portuguese contact and conflict. Crisis and the Rise of Nzinga A Defiant Queen Treacherous Politics Warfare and Diplomacy A Balancing Act On the Way to the Ancestors
Epilogue Glossary — Definitions of terms List of Names — Key persons mentioned Chronology — Timeline of major events
Reception
Release information Formats and editions: Hardcover: 2017, (First Edition), Harvard University Press, 320pp. . Paperback: 2019, Harvard University Press, 320pp. . eBook and Kindle: 2017, Harvard University Press.
Similar or related works Nzinga: African Warrior Queen by Moses L. Howard (2016).
About the author
Linda M. Heywood is a Caribbean-American historian specializing in African history and the African diaspora. She earned her bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College and her Ph.D. from Columbia University. Heywood is currently a professor at Boston University; they formerly taught at Howard University. In addition to Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen she co-wrote Central Africans, Atlantic Creoles, and the Foundation of the Americas, which won the Melville Herskovits Prize. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020.
See also History of Angola Portuguese Angola Colonial history of Angola List of Rulers of Matamba List of Ngolas of Ndongo List of women who led a revolt or rebellion
References Notes
Citations
External links Publisher page: Njinga of Angola: Africa's Warrior Queen at Harvard University Press Video: Linda Heywood discussed Njinga of Angola: Africa's Warrior Queen, presented at the Library of Congress (2018). JSTOR eBook: