Njinga of Angola Book Review

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

In the book Njinga of Angola: Africa’s Warrior Queen, Linda Heywood focuses on Njinga’s rise to power and how it unfolded under the wider themes of colonialism in Ndongo. In the introduction, Heywood gives a broad overview of the culture of Ndongo and the political situation before the Portuguese arrive. Furthermore, she then recaps the Portugueses initial interaction with the people of Ndongo and the Portuguese invasion of the Ndongo Kingdom which starts about 50 years before Njinga becomes Queen. Heywood emphasizes the importance of gender and legitimacy throughout the book. Moreover, Heywood starts each chapter with a summary and laying out her arguments where she revisits and expands upon the introduction by navigating the mess that was the fractured kingdom of Ndongo and the Portuguese invasion. Heywood heavily relies on Portuguese sources which often portray Njinga in a negative light but Heywood chooses to portray Njinga in a different way. Heywood can’t change history because the story of Njinga has already happened but Heywood can interpret the story in a different way by choosing to highlight certain events and certain aspects of Njinga to make her look more favorable in the eyes of the reader. Heywoods chooses her own narrative for the book which is a book of her choices that focus on Njinga’s path to legitimacy and decisions in the wider themes of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism. 

Njinga grew up in a fractured Ndongo that was being infiltrated by the Portuguese. Furthermore, she witnessed her grandfather, father and brother all battle against the Portuguese to no avail. Njinga learned from their mistakes and used a combination of military and diplomatic skills to gain legitimacy and build a power base that was against colonial rule. Njinga wouldn’t be your typical ruler in a European country but in Ndongo, women were regularly in influential and powerful positions. Njinga was favored by her father where she was treated like a son and also acted like a son as well(Heywood 57). She received a special blessing that enhanced her standing at court and she eagerly learned the political, military, and ritual activities that were usually reserved for sons(Heywood 56-57). However, Njinga’s path to power wasn’t a linear one. Her father was murdered by internal enemies and her brother Ngola Mbande took his place. He consolidated his position by murdering his half-brother, Njinga’s son and sterilizing all three of his sisters(Heywood 45). Ngola Mbande was known for his brutality, but just like his grandfather and father before him, he struggled on the battlefield against the Portuguese. The turning point in Njinga’s life was when she was tasked by her brother to negotiate with the Portuguese in a diplomatic delegation to Luanda in 1622(Heywood 50). Njinga took advantage of her brother's desperation and used this negotiation to enhance her own status among the Ndongo leadership and impress the Portuguese with her diplomatic skills. Njinga was baptized but peace ultimately hinged on Ngola Mbande’s conversion to Christianity which would’ve been the end of his rule in the eyes of the people of Ndongo(Heywood 53). Ngola Mbande started to rely on Njinga more heavily in his last few years of life where he entered a depression and died after he ingested poison in 1624 which many think was administered by Njinga herself as his depression was caused by Njinga’s actions(Heywood 55). Njinga used strategic violence to consolidate power and legitimacy by eliminating anyone in court who wouldn’t accept her as ruler after being confirmed in the customary election and murdering her brother’s son to eliminate any competitors to the throne(Heywood 65). Njinga was a ruthless ruler and killed many relatives to consolidate power. However, Njinga also used her military skills, skillful manipulation of religion, successful diplomacy of working with the Portuguese in the diplomatic delegation to Luanda, and innovated with her own base of support to consolidate power. In the years after she became Queen, Njinga navigated failed diplomacy with the Portuguese where they installed Ngola Hari as a puppet ruler of Ndongo and was defeated in battle against the Portuguese where she was forced into exile after the Portuguese routed Njinga from her camp and captured her sisters(Heywood 113). 

 During her exile, Njinga allied with the Imbangala, who were mercenaries and had various factions, and adopted Imbangla ideas about leadership(Heywood 119). Njinga started to become a major player in the region with her conquest of Matamba which was her first military success as an Imbangla leader and gave her a political base. Njinga became the most powerful African leader through combining Mbundu and Imbangala leadership styles. Njinga had an aura of invincibility where she proved to be a problem for the Portuguese and created an alliance with the Dutch. Njinga also had a growing military and diplomatic dominance which showed that she was fearless and a careful strategist. The alliance with the Dutch proved to be a strong alliance but it all fell apart after the Dutch betrayed Njinga after surrendering to the Portuguese at Luanda in 1648(Heywood 156). This moment marked a shift in Njinga’s life where she was no longer focused on expelling the Portuguese entirely and she started to focus more on diplomacy and a shift to Christianity(Heywood 158). 

Njinga was now imagining a Ndongo with the Portuguese there and accepted that the Portuguese would be a continued presence in the region. Njinga created a new kingdom that was outside of Ndongo were she continued to use war as an essential element of her leadership but also started to use religious diplomacy by reaching out to Capuchins and even the Roman Catholic Church through the priests she captured. The Portuguese were also tired of battling against Njinga but were wary about her Imbangla beliefs and her sincerity of converting to Christianity. Njinga finally negotiated a peace treaty with the Portuguese in 1656 after negotiating the release of her sister Barbara and sending 99 slaves as part of the deal(Heywood 191). Njinga started to denounce her Imbangla beliefs and converted to Christianity. Njinga fully embraced Christianity at the end of her rule which gave her legitimacy in the eyes of the Europeans and started to implement Christianity successfully in her new Kingdom of Ndongo-Matamba(Heywood 221). Njinga died in 1663 and her funeral ceremony was a mixture of Christian and Mbundu beliefs as she didn’t have enough time to implement Christianity fully in her new kingdom and fully convince all that lived there to renounce their Mbundu or Imbangla beliefs and become Christians(Heywood 238). Njinga’s legacy is shaped by the stories those closest told about her including the Portuguese priests, who she relied heavily on until her death, and her inner circle support base which included her sister Barbara who Njinga designated to become the next ruler after her death. 

Heywoods aims of the book seem to be her focus on the gender and legitimacy of Njinga along with telling the story of a powerful African ruler who created a lasting legacy to this day. Njinga’s true goals seemed to be consolidating her lasting kingdom and legacy through her line of succession and consolidation of power through her treaty with the Portuguese and conversion to Christianity. This is a huge shift from the beginning of the book that focused on Njinga’s goal of expelling the Portuguese from the region and anti-colonial sentiment. Heywood does a good job navigating this messy historical sequence of events but falls short in her aims of the story that champion Njinga’s gender and legitimacy. Heywood heavily relies on Portuguese sources throughout the book which often portray Njinga in a negative light but Heywood does a good job of showcasing the prowess Njinga was as a ruler through her military skills, political and religious diplomatic skills and use of religion throughout the book. Heywood showcases Njinga’s strength as a ruler and legitimacy through her path to becoming Queen and her continued evolution as a ruler by changing leadership styles and shifting to different religions over time. Heywood showcases Njinga as an underlying figure in the ecosystem of the book where she doesn’t outwardly show her all the time but doesn’t have to in order to build the story of the book because Njinga presence is seemingly always felt. 

Njinga is showcased by Heywood as a leader unlike anyone has ever seen through her performances to achieve and maintain legitimacy. She goes through performances like the one in  Luanda in 1622 to show her power to her Ndongo audience to gain legitimacy. Furthermore, it was a strategic move for Njinga to embrace Christianity just as it was a strategic move to embrace Imbangala beliefs. I think that it was interesting that Njinga continued to change her spiritual and religious beliefs. Moreover, it was interesting that she continued to look for acceptance from outside sources like Imbangala and Christianity when it fit her needs at the time. We will never know if these were tactical decisions or sincere because we were not present during the time of Njinga rule. A weakness in Heywoods concept of this book is that we don’t really hear from people who lived in Ndongo or supported Njinga which would tell us what they thought of Njinga’s religious decisions and rule. Also, we don’t know if anyone was asked any questions because historical information in this book is based on European sources which observed Njinga but we don’t really have any sources from Njinga’s supporters themselves. 

Heywood also seems to play down the violent aspects of Njinga and her ruthless nature. Njinga is portrayed as a savage by the Europeans even though she embraced and converted to Christianity late in her life. Moreover, Njinga’s actions were no different than the actions of her brother and the Portuguese. Njinga defied gender norms in the eyes of the Europeans who didn’t understand that women were major players in governance in the political reality of Ndongo. Furthermore, it was acceptable for a woman to be in charge which the Portuguese struggled to understand. Gender is a social construct in the ecosystem of this book where there are constraints of Njinga being a woman in Imbangla beliefs and in the eyes of the Portuguese. Moreover,  Heywood emphasizes Njinga’s gender as being important while Njinga wanted to be viewed as a man. In light of this information, Heywood still maintains the importance of her being a female ruler because it was so rare during this time. However, there is little discussion of Njinga’s gender by Heywood in this book. Njinga herself wasn’t a champion of women as she wanted her inner circle to view her as a man and often dressed like a man in battle according to a Portuguese observer(Heywood 159). Njinga was also not really overly concerned with the consequences of her actions, the deaths she caused and her participation in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Heywood prioritizes the legacy of Njinga as a strong leader and glosses over her failures in battle and the deaths she caused, but also how she distanced herself from Mbundu and Imbangla people in her conversion to Christianity.

Heywoods depiction of Njinga is a modern one as Njinga’s resurrection of her place in history and her legacy is still underway. Heywoods audience for this book is a modern one and is aimed at educating African History students on the importance of Njinga’s life and legacy, as well as colonial impact on this region which led to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. In the epilogue, Heywood discusses European and African interpretations of Njinga which both have influence in her modern interpretation of Njinga. For the centuries after her rule, European sources depicted Njinga as a savage and even a cannibal. Njinga had a ruthless nature but her depiction as a savage is hypocritical coming from Europeans who colonized and destroyed so many civilizations leaving millions displaced, dead and affected by their greed and decision making. The differing legacies of European and African sources of Njinga are starting to be more prevalent today. African sources portray a different depiction of Njinga’s life through a rehabilitation of her image in the last 50 years where she is now celebrated in Angola and also Brazil where many captives from Ndongo were enslaved. Linda Heywoods depiction of Njinga’s life and legacy in this story is not shaped by the European sources she used in order to craft this story but instead this story is shaped by her narrative and choices that are a part of crafting the modern image of Njinga.

        Dylan McLamore Wake Forest University