Queen Nzinga a Mbande - 1582 - 1664
Nzinga a Mbande, daughter of Nzinga a Mbande Ngola Kiluanje and Guenguela Cakombe, was probably born in 1582. He began his political career in 1662, when at the request of her brother Ngola a Mbande, became the envoy of the Ngola to Luanda, to negotiate peace with the Portuguese, since for some time the Kingdom of Ndongo had been the scene of bloody wars, and the Portuguese were bent on subduing this African State. Nzinga a Mbande, demonstrated an unusual political, diplomatic and even military capacity.
Whenever
the situation so required, she did not hesitate to lead his army, to encounter
the Portuguese who intended to dominate the Ndongo at all cost, and this
way directly control the Trans-Atlantic trade. She directed the destiny
of her people, first at Ndongo and later in Matamba. Her long reign was
marked by constant wars which she was compelled to wage against the Portuguese
conquerors to maintain the independence of her Kingdom.
An outstanding aspect of her political engagement was the easiness in
establishing alliances with Mbundu groups, namely the Imbangala, and even
the formation of a caolition in 1635 with neighbouring peoples that supported
her in the difficult battles against the Portuguese, such as Congo, Kassanje,
Dembos and Kissama, a strategy that even worked against the Dutch.
Despite the great efforts of the Portuguese to dethrone her, they did
not succeed until her death at Matamba in 1663.