Linda Heywood. Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2017). 310pp.

Introduction

Njinga was a powerful and strategic leader in not only African history, but comparative to history around the globe. Though there are many resources in archives about her, there is little written about her in a constructed, comprehensive narrative. Linda M. Heywood, a historian and professor of African American and Black Diaspora studies and history at Boston University, took this necessary task upon herself to preserve and honor Njinga’s legacy. Heywood has an impressive academic reputation, having received her PhD from Columbia University–a university with, no doubt, a plethora of resources and documents which taught her about African history. She is also the author and co-editor of numerous articles and books about African and African American topics. One in particular that stands out is her book Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen, which our HST 268 class engaged with together. Heywood states clearly her aims in writing it, which the reader gets to decipher and evaluate throughout the course of reading the book itself.

Her clearest aim in writing this narrative is to give credit to Njinga’s individual, strategic political moves in becoming queen. However, this aim has many components and subsequent effects, which are also quite intended. Her focus on a powerful woman in history that is overlooked in comparison to European figures such as Queen Elizabeth I aims to close the gap between Eurocentric history and African history. She also aims to construct a chronological account of Njinga’s role in creating and ruling Angola by providing numerous facts and sources that showcase this. She also highlights Njinga’s agency in contrast with the expectations and limitations of the time and place. Ultimately, she describes in the introduction her aim to identify how power, leadership, gender, and spirituality interplay throughout Njinga’s life and goals.

Summary

The book has an introduction that asserts Heywood’s main aims. She writes this to set up the book with clarity and context. It details the Kingdom of Ndongo, which is the initial and main setting of the book, and the role of women in politics here, which gives a richer understanding of the context in which Njinga rose to and claimed power.

The first chapter of the book does not even involve Njinga at all. Jesuits and the early Ngolas, or leaders, are described. The Portuguese invasion of Ndongo is layed out, as well as how the missionaries came in with their religious and political plans.1 As they gained power, they also strengthened their relationship with Kongo. This was important later on because leaders of Kongo ended up helping Njinga. The Jesuits and Portuguese religious strategies weakened the faith of many Ndongo in their priests, but Kasenda, Njinga’s grandfather, resisted this.2

More rulers came into power, but threats were posed by the Imbangala, who had a reputation of violence.3 Ironically, this relationship flips entirely around in Njinga’s journey for the throne. Through rebellion, battles, the capture of slaves, and more, the Portuguese continued to hurt Ndongo. Strategically, according to Heywood, Njinga was baptized in Luanda to negotiate peace.4

Heywood then emphasizes her political competence and unique leadership components, such as her “gender, regal bearing, and pride in Mbundu traditions.”5 At this time in her life, Njinga strongly associates with Mbudnu traditions and apparel.6 Furthermore, she asserts her dominance and demands the respect she deserves from Portuguese leaders. In one famous instance, she is invited to sit on the floor in a diplomatic meeting with a Portuguese official, but she instead commands one of her people to be a chair for her to be at the official’s height.7 She made negotiations throughout this time and increased in power. She plays the game of the Portuguese, while also refusing to comply with certain demands from them. In this way, she continued to gain support from Mbundus. This game turns into a battle between Njinga and the Portuguese, where one governor, de Sousa, declares that a woman cannot govern Ndongo.8 As this rivalry grew, Njinga began to promote Mbundu spiritual beliefs and garner more support. Eventually she flees after being told by her dead brother through a possessed priest that she cannot become a vassal to the Portuguese.9

Much of her flight involves, as page 104 calls it, “a game of cat and mouse.” Njinga evades capture, finds even more popularity, and makes invaluable alliances in Kongo.10 She campaigns for more support, while using the blindness of the Portuguese to her aims as a tool to her advantage.11 Eventually, she was forced back into running and fighting, while Ngola Hari fought actively to dominate her.

Through adopting the Imbangala culture, she became the dominant Imbangala leader and, soon enough, the most powerful African leader in the region.12 In a letter from a Portuguese governor, she builds positive relations. She facilitates slave trade and visits with more Portuguese missionaries at this time.13 The Dutch arrive in Africa, and she allies with them to maintain control over Matamba and Luanda,14 as well as use their soldiers. She put together an intricate court system in Matamba during her rule. At one point, she captured two missionary priests, which began the parallel path of diplomacy and spirituality to reach her political goals.15

When the Dutch broke their agreement with her, Njinga realized her goals–one of which was recovering her captured sister–could not all be met if she desired to achieve her ultimate goal: ruler of Ndongo. She used war still, but relied heavily more so on religion and peace.16 She focused her attention to religious diplomacy with the Portuguese through the Catholic Church17 and the Vatican.18 She promised to return to the church and abandon her Imbangala lifestyle that was no longer of use to her,19 but would only institutionalize Christianity in Ndongo on her own terms.20 She spent the rest of her life converting Ndongo to Christianity. Her close friend and priest Cavazzi helped give her last orders right before she passed.21 However, the book closes on the disagreements between Mbundu and Christian traditions for her passing and transition of power.

Strengths

Heywood’s straightforwardness in organization creates even more access to hearing the story of Njinga’s life and rise to power, as well. She so seamlessly crafts the book in a way that leads context into chronological events into a legacy. The numerous sources used for this allow for such rich and deep analysis, and even speculation, of her motives. This speculation is educated and informed by reading against the grain of the sources, as Heywood does often. Though using sources from Jesuits, she does not necessarily paint them in the best light throughout the book.

Another helpful aspect of Heywood’s writing is the amount of context she gives for Ndongo. She explores the kingdom in great detail before Njinga is even introduced, and she continues to update on the events happening as Njinga’s personal, spiritual life intertwines with her political. The various maps were placed in places throughout the book to the extent that they were clarifying but not overwhelming. Her list of people and chronological important moments created quick and succinct references that did the work of memorizing these names and events for the reader. All of this context made a book that could be extremely foreign to an undergraduate student more digestible so that the focus could truly be on Njinga herself.

One of the greatest things about Heywood’s book about Njinga is that she gives a comprehensive and even more human view of Njinga than other historical documents alone might. In acknowledging in detail her “deep depression”22 that she went into as a result of losing popularity, Heywood does not shy away from revealing some of Njinga’s weaknesses. This illustrates a more holistic perspective of Njinga, as not simply a ferocious, powerful leader, but a human who has moments of grief, fear, and embarrassment.

Njinga is given so much agency and credit for what happens, which is a refreshing perspective on a leader in Africa during colonialism, let alone a female leader. Heywood consistently frames the manipulation and strategic choices of Njinga as calculated and all part of a larger plan to become ruler. Whether it be her manipulation of Mbundu spirituality, or her adoption of Imbangala and later Christian traditions, Njinga was portrayed as clever and strategic in all of these identity and life changes. Heywood does not shy away from giving credit to Njinga’s thoughtfulness, ability to negotiate and build alliances, and perseverance in pursuing her goals.

Weaknesses

On the other hand, Heywood occasionally gives Njinga too much credit for things that were out of her control. Was every single move she made, big and small, strategic? Or did some things just work out in her favor? There may be danger in painting her so heroically, as her failures can be swiftly overlooked. For example, when Njinga makes an escape with her soldiers, Heywood writes that “we can’t know”23 how she planned it, though she may not have planned it at all. Her troops, perhaps, could've been the strategists in this moment and saved her in a moment of weakness, but Heywood credits this all to Njinga.

Though Heywood does highlight Njinga’s faults, such as murdering many of her relatives,24 she does so in a way that lessens her wrongdoing. Instead, this framing of her violence almost seems to be used by Heywood to paint an even more profound picture of Njinga’s power. Her murderous acts are briefly mentioned, and immediately the narrative returns to the plans Njinga made and the strategic skill she employed throughout her pursuits.25

She also downplays the significance of Njinga facilitating the capture and sale of slaves to the Portuguese. One thing I found to be in particularly bad taste was the fact that Heywood mentions that the slaves Njinga was giving to the Portuguese were “so old and decrepit”26 that they were basically useless. It seems as though it isn’t as bad because at least Njinga wasn’t selling children or people more valuable to their Ndongo society.

Heywood referenced all of her sources extensively throughout the book chapter by chapter, which initially seems to prove her credibility and transparency in source collection and use. However, in reviewing and digging through these sources, there are some common ones. One of the highly repeated sources was Cavazzi.27 An important person in Njinga’s last years, Giovanni Antonio Cavazzi de Montecuccolo was the Italian Capuchin priest she would confess to. He recorded her biography, and displayed a great personal relationship with her. However, it is important to note that he may have been biased, as he only wrote about her life after she had converted to Christianity. Capuchin accounts such as this may privilege the perspective of those who are in favor of the missionaries and work that the Portuguese did. This insight is of the European, colonial perspective, which can be helpful for one perspective on Njinga. However, relying on solely this information is dangerous, and Heywood does not seem to address this. It begs the question as to who is able to access Njinga’s real, lived experience when she is only able to reference the past in her retellings. The Europeans may have had access to the thoughts of post-baptism Njinga, but not the same access to the Imbangala-practicing leader, or the Mbundu traditional one. Some of the other sources are also European, from Lisbon, Angola, and the Dutch West India Company.28 While all of these sources can be helpful, Heywood seems to rely on their credibility too often and too loosely.

Conclusion

Heywood’s book is one made that makes accessible the story of a powerful female ruler. It provides not only a chronological history of her life, but also digs into the deeper aspects of her personal life. It carries both personal and political, both emotional and strategic moments. People who are seeking to find a more comprehensive view of history as a whole should read this book. Those who want a unique lens of the history of Ndongo can read it, but only for the specific lens of Njinga’s life. This should not be used as an exhaustive history of it, but rather of one particular perspective point. Those who hold agency should read this book. This book does not rewrite history, but rather emphasizes an important aspect of it that is lost to modern society. It seems that Heywood would’ve wanted Queen Njinga to be a common name in history classrooms, where students would hear the name Njinga and call her to mind as easily as they would Queen Elizabeth I. This book is only for the student, but for the individual of any age who needs a more holistic understanding of African and global history.