Nzinga Mbandi Ngola, Queen of Matamba and Angola, lived from 1581 to 1663 and she represents the resistance to the occupation of the African territory by the Portuguese who docked there for the purpose of human trafficking.
The Portuguese occupation in that area began in 1578 with the foundation of current-day Luanda, Angola’s capital. King Ngola Kiluanji, Nzinga’s father, resisted for many years to the invasion of his territory. He was succeeded by his son Ngola Mbandi that, initially, also was able to resist the invaders.
Nzinga and her brother negotiated with Portuguese to ensure they moved out of occupied territories. But later she did not agree with the African leaders submission to the Portuguese, including her brother. She ordered their deaths, took over the command of the resistance groups and fought against the occupation of the Ngola and Matamba lands.
She formed an alliance with ‚jaga‘ warriors starting to act on ‚quilombos‘, or resistance communities, that used with tactics similar to the ones used by her contemporary Zumbi of Palmares in Brazilian lands. Thus, she obtained victories and a relative peace until dying at the age of 82.