ANA NZINGA MBANDE
(1583-1663)
In 1624, Ana became ruler of Ndongo, a state on the west coast of Africa. Her people were under attack on all sides The Portuguese were raiding nearby villages in search of people they could kidnap as slaves, while the surrounding African kingdoms were closing in.
Ana knew she had to change something She asked to meet with the Portuguese. Ana insisted on meeting them as equals. Although she knew that the Portuguese had brutally conquered various other parts of Africa, she wasn’t ready to bow down to them. When she saw that the governor, she was meeting with was sitting on the only chair in the room, she immediately told one and her assistants to get on her hands and knees and act as a chair for Ana so that she and the governor were equal.
To fend off the attacks, she made a treaty with Portugal and converted to Christianity.
But the Portuguese didn’t keep up their side of the deal Ana was forced to flee inland with her people.
There, far from the reach of her enemies, Ana established a new state called Matamba.
To increase its power, she took in runaway slaves and Africans who had been forced to become soldiers by the Portuguese. Her fighting force was organized and young boys left their families and lived with their militia groups. It was a hard life but it was necessary for the people of Matamba to survive.
Ana lived to be eighty-one. By the time she died, Matamba was seen as an equal to the Portuguese colony. With her clever tactics and refusal to surrender, Ana had saved her people from a life of enslavement.
ANA NZINGA MBANDE
(1583-1663)
In 1624, Ana became ruler of Ndongo, a state on the west coast of Africa. Her people were under attack on all sides The Portuguese were raiding nearby villages in search of people they could kidnap as slaves, while the surrounding African kingdoms were closing in.
Ana knew she had to change something She asked to meet with the Portuguese. Ana insisted on meeting them as equals. Although she knew that the Portuguese had brutally conquered various other parts of Africa, she wasn’t ready to bow down to them. When she saw that the governor, she was meeting with was sitting on the only chair in the room, she immediately told one and her assistants to get on her hands and knees and act as a chair for Ana so that she and the governor were equal.
To fend off the attacks, she made a treaty with Portugal and converted to Christianity.
But the Portuguese didn’t keep up their side of the deal Ana was forced to flee inland with her people.
There, far from the reach of her enemies, Ana established a new state called Matamba.
To increase its power, she took in runaway slaves and Africans who had been forced to become soldiers by the Portuguese. Her fighting force was organized and young boys left their families and lived with their militia groups. It was a hard life but it was necessary for the people of Matamba to survive.
Ana lived to be eighty-one. By the time she died, Matamba was seen as an equal to the Portuguese colony. With her clever tactics and refusal to surrender, Ana had saved her people from a life of enslavement.
Ana knew she had to change something She asked to meet with the Portuguese. Ana insisted on meeting them as equals. Although she knew that the Portuguese had brutally conquered various other parts of Africa, she wasn’t ready to bow down to them. When she saw that the governor, she was meeting with was sitting on the only chair in the room, she immediately told one and her assistants to get on her hands and knees and act as a chair for Ana so that she and the governor were equal
Ana knew she had to change something She asked to meet with the Portuguese. Ana insisted on meeting them as equals. Although she knew that the Portuguese had brutally conquered various other parts of Africa, she wasn’t ready to bow down to them. When she saw that the governor, she was meeting with was sitting on the only chair in the room, she immediately told one and her assistants to get on her hands and knees and act as a chair for Ana so that she and the governor were equal