Portugal's Forgotten African Queen: Nzinga of Ndongo

The History of Portugal: The Small Nation That Built a Global Empire — Fexingo History · May 17, 2026 · 6m · transcript

This episode of The History of Portugal turns away from the familiar narratives of Goa, Malacca, and Brazil to explore a figure who outmaneuvered Portuguese governors at every turn: Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba. While earlier episodes focused on the Estado da Índia and Portuguese dealings in Asia, here we shift to Angola in the early 17th century, where Nzinga used diplomacy, warfare, and even strategic conversion to Christianity to resist Portuguese slave raids and territorial expansion. Lucas and Luna discuss Nzinga's famous 1622 meeting with Governor João Correia de Sousa, where…