Queen Njinga: Biography

Introduction

Queen Anna Nzinga (c. 1583 - December 17, 1663), was the 17th-century queen of the Matamba kingdom in Angola. She was the sister to King Mbande, the then leader of the Matambo kingdom during that period. She had a significant influence on the type of political decisions that were made by the King. At one point, the King assigned her a task of heading the negotiation between the Kingdom and their neighbouring nations. Due to her ability to spearhead over peaceful measures within the Kingdom and outside, Njinga because very popular among the people. She is still remembered even in the present day, with one of the streets in Luanda, Angola, being named after her. And while celebrating 27 years of Independence, the Angolan President mounted on a square a statue of Queen Njinga in Kinaxixi in 2002. One of the aspects that make her stand out most and become famous among the people was the role that she played as a woman. During her time, women were marginalized in various ways. This paper will debate Queen Njinga's claim to the throne in Angola.

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Queen Njinga became popular during the period of the Portuguese invasion in Angola. Most people feared and loathed the Portuguese's rule and treatment of the local people. Out of fear, many did not question the actions and harsh rule of the Portuguese. At one point, the Portuguese asked the king of that region to allow them to take a large portion of their fertile land. Since the King was reluctant, they arrested him and took him to jail. That is the period that Queen Njinga emerged as the leader of the people. Being the sister to the king, she really felt for him and gathered the courage to face the Portuguese head on and demand for the release of her brother. However, the Portuguese took her lightly because she was a woman. In the African culture, women were looked down upon and marginalized by their male counterparts. In fact, they were not allowed to take part in making vital decisions in the community. However, Queen Njinga was determined to have her brother released from the prison, and she refused to leave the jail's vicinities. She could neither be cowed, nor moved. In the end, the Portuguese colonists bowed to pressure and agreed to discuss her brother's release. However, as a way of undermining her, the Portuguese's administrator refused to give her a chair and instead offered her a mat that was usually reserved to the servants. She refused to sit on the mat, claiming that she was the ruler of the people and she must be given some respect. The queen was determined to make the Portuguese know that women also deserved a certain level of respect, just as the one accorded to men. Such actions made the Portuguese ruler more interested in this kind of woman as they had not seen anything like that in the past. The queen wanted the Portuguese colonialists and men to take her and other women seriously and end the stereotype levelled against them. Njinga also felt and feared that his brother was going might be killed inside the prison. She had hoped that her brother would be the key for her to becoming the next queen of the Matamba and the Ndongo kingdoms.

One of the aspects that emerges from that incidence is that women were seen as inferior to men. The Portuguese wanted to continue the culture of Africans on marginalizing women. It is indicated that the only role of women was to take care of the children at home. On the other hand, men were the decision makers and their word was final. Queen Njinga's action made her to be seen by many as rebellious since she was a woman as was trying to take up men's roles. In fact, some people suggested that they should have sent an elder instead of her to negotiate for the King's release.

It is certain that Queen Njinga played a major role in her brother's release. However, she was also determined to become the ruler of the people. At one point, she decided to kill the king so that she can become the queen of the kingdom. It did not long before she succeeded in her mission. This led to heavy outcry among the people with many demanding that she must be put to death. Consequently, Njinga was forced to flee towards the south where she conquered some of the infamous kingdoms in the region. She started a new country in that region after succeeding to conquer the ruthless cannibal tribe known as the Jaga. One of her main agenda was to free most of the slaves in that region. After establishing herself as one of the dominant rulers in the southern part, she demanded that slaves were not supposed to be treated the way they were being treated. Many people were against her since she was a woman. However, she was determined to change the perception of women in that part of the world. In fact, Queen Njinga wanted to the change the perception of the Africans towards women. It is established that she was the first woman to lead an African country.

The war Njinga wages against the Portuguese was one of her major achievements. It is established that she fought the Portuguese for more than 20 years. Most of the African rulers were killed or detained, but she survived for all those periods with the military tactics that she gained from the King. Also, she wanted to conquer most of the kingdoms in those parts and expand her territorial empire. However, Queen Njinga decided to use another tactic, which was negotiation. One of her strengths was her ability to negotiate with the people. In that case, she decided to use her diplomacy relation to gain control of some of the numbering countries. During that period, the Portuguese had taken most of the regions in that part of Africa. In fact, most of the males were afraid that the Portuguese would overpower all of them and take their territories. With that knowledge, Queen Njinga asked some of the rulers if they would agree to ally the Portuguese. However, she demanded that she should remain the ruler of that kingdom. One of the African rulers who agreed with her was the king of Congo. He had lost most of his warriors in the frequent fights against the Portuguese, leaving him very weak.

In 1641, the Dutch arrived, and queen Njinga believed that they could form a better alliance to fight the Portuguese. As a result, she sent an emissary and formed an alliance with Dutch against the Portuguese. By merging some of the local kingdoms, it was certain that they would become very powerful. One of the aspects that she negotiated was about giving military weapons to protect her territory. The Dutch agreed in an arrangement where they were also supposed to gain by getting resources from that territory. In 1644, she defeated the Portuguese at Angouleme, but failed to follow up. For instance, she did not take most of the injured Portuguese soldier into captive, something that she could have done for the purpose of negotiating. It did not take long before the Portuguese reorganized and defeat her at Kavanga. During that battle, her sister was captured by the Portuguese. The Dutch were not willing to help her fight the Portuguese, which forced her to seek for support from other African kings. Unfortunately for her, they were also not willing to be part of the battle as the Portuguese had become very powerful. When the Portuguese learned that the woman was the sister of the queen, they decide to kill her and drown her body. That sent a message to the queen that she was no longer powerful as she had thought. For her to survive, she had to seek more alliances.

To ensure the survival of her Kingdom, the queen had to offer more resources to the Dutch for them to provide her with more military weapons. In 1645, she decided to face the Portuguese in another battle in Kombi. In that attempt, she defeated the Portuguese and drove them outside her Kingdom. She henceforth proved her prowess and conquered some of the neighboring territories. She also fought with most of the neighboring kingdoms that were not willing to support her. Afterwards, that she had a series of war which weakened her. As a result, the Portuguese were able to attack her again, and they managed to capture her kingdom. To ensure her survival, she demanded a ceasefire which forced her to retreat to Matamba.

In 1657, the Portuguese had a long battle with Queen Njinga; they request a new peace treaty. The Portuguese allowed the queen to regain her Kingdom once again. On a condition that she would embrace the concept and allow the spread of Christianity in her Kingdom. In the following year, she became a Catholic. During that period, she built a number of churches in her kingdom and moved around converting more people to Christianity. The queen believed that religion would help the people have more confidence in her.

Conclusion

In conclusion, following Queen Njinga's achievements, the status of women in the society changed. For instance, women were given more opportunities to better their lives. Also, the women were allowed to lead their kingdoms after the death of some of their rulers. It is important to note that Queen Njinga played an important role in attaining the Independence of Angola in which is still remembered. In 2002, one of her statues was placed in in Kinaxixi on a square. Also, a major street was named after her as way of recognizing her achievements as well as her role in fighting for the place and recognition of African women.

Bibliography

Hansen, Joyce. "Warrior Queen: Njinga of Matamba." (2004).

Thornton, John. "Kongo and Angola." (1986): 557-559.

Skidmore-Hess, Cathy J. "Queen Njinga, 1582-1663: Ritual Power and Gender in the Life of a PrecolonialAfrican Ruler." (1995).

Thornton, John K. "Legitimacy and Political Power: Queen Njinga, 1624-1663." The Journal of African History 32, no. 1 (1991): 25-40.

McKnight, Kathryn Joy, and Leo J. Garofalo, eds. Afro-Latino Voices: Shorter Edition: Translations of Early Modern Ibero-Atlantic Narratives. Hackett Publishing, 2015.