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 slaves' traffic.

The Portuguese occupation in that area began in 1578 with the foundation of the, today, Luanda, Angola’s capital. King Ngola Kiluanji, father of Nzinga, resisted for many years to the invasion of his territory. He was succeeded by his son Ngola Mbandi that, initially, also causes impediments to slaving people.

Nzinga aided her brother negotiate the devolution of territories occupied by the invaders. But later she did not agree with the African leaders submission to the Portuguese, including her brother, and, ordering their deaths, she took over the command of the resistance groups to the occupation of the lands of Ngola and Matamba.

She formed an alliance with 'jaga' warriors starting to act on 'quilombos', 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.

References:
Carlos H. M. Serrano. Ginga, a rainha quilombola de Matamba e Angola. Revista USP nº 28, 1995/1996 (Dossiê Povo Negro - 300 Anos).
Selma Pantoja. Nzinga Mbandi: mulher, guerra e escravidão. Brasília: Thesaurus, 2000.

Illust.:
Nzinga, adapt. Carlos H.M. Serrano.
African warrior, adapt. José Redinha. Distribuição étnica de Angola. 7 ed. Instituto de Investigação Científica de Angola, Centro de Informações e Turismo de Angola, 1971.