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A QUEEN IS BORN<o:p></o:p>It was said that on the day I was born in 1581, the stars shone brightly, promising that I would bring peace. The stars were right. I was born with the umbilical cord wound tightly around my neck. In my culture, this was a sign of good luck.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>I was the daughter of the king, Ngola Kia Samba.<o:p></o:p>Today, you will know my country as Angola in West Africa. It was home to a brave, proud people but invaders came looking for our precious metals and, worst of all, our people, for the slave trade.<img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fbe54e55dd9b64c1ca453c19adac97af1" alt="" style="width: 392.326px; height: 283px;"> I grew up watching Portuguese colonialists with guns capturing our strongest men and women and herding them onto their ships. Transported by sea like cattle to another world, they became slaves.&nbsp;My father hated the Portuguese. He called them thieves. He was powerless to stop them, but I still believed in him. I wanted to be like him and lead my people out of this misery.&nbsp;&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>FACING THE FIGHTS<o:p></o:p>My father died while the Portuguese ruled our land and my brother, Mbandi, took power. Mbandi had neither the good sense of my father nor the gracious spirit of a leader. In fact, he scared me. Instinct told me that I had to flee for my life. And I did.<o:p></o:p>Yet Mbandi had much more to fear than me and his fight to turn the tide of slave trading failed miserably.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>I heard about it through my network of spies. Finally, I was invited to represent my brother at peace talks with the Portuguese. He knew I had the language and negotiating skills to match them.<o:p></o:p>At the meeting with the Portuguese Governor, I was offered a mat on the floor. How insulting! I thought quickly and motioned for one of my people to get on his hands and knees. I sat level with the Governor, perched on his back. I was able to eye the ruling ‘imposter’ squarely.&nbsp;<img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2F9085f872932244859b76b757d75ac951" alt=""><img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fc297592fc4e440a0ac4b525b21778c88" alt="" style="width: 392.462px; height: 260px;"> <img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2F49b2dc125a4d4f18b34d431caed6358e" alt="">I told the Portuguese that I wanted my brother back on the throne and a complete stop to the slave trade. In return, I offered to take on the Christian faith, and we reached an agreement.But in 1624, my brother died, and I was crowned queen.&nbsp;&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>A POWERFUL RULER<o:p></o:p>There had never been a queen in my tribe before, and many people did not want a female ruler. Again, I had to use my wits and I was determined I would not lose.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>For me, struggles came on many fronts. The European invaders broke every promise they had made to me, and to keep safe, I once again fled Angola. I began plotting to retake my country and remove the Portuguese for good.<o:p></o:p>While I was away, my sister Kifunji was made a puppet queen. But she remained faithful to me, sending vital secrets.&nbsp;<img src="https://cdn.builder.io/api/v1/image/assets%2Fb3b13b7f131f44b8b9040dab74852379%2Fc43addf962c948e895867a37aac35045" alt="" style="width: 371.738px; height: 494px;">My father once told me that working together with powerful friends was vital to building power and success. So, I began to work with Dutch explorers. They helped me rescue slave ships. It was with the help of the Dutch that I disrupted the slave route.&nbsp;Although some battles were won and some were lost, I never gave up. I was positive and confident that my country would one day be free. And I made sure I was treated like an equal. All of this achieved by an African and a woman. This was something to be proud of! <o:p></o:p>GLOSSARY<o:p></o:p>Umbilical cord – a cord that contains blood vessels and connects a developing foetus with the placenta of the mother.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>Colonialists – people who support the practice of gaining political control over other countries and occupying them with settlers.<o:p></o:p>Puppet queen – carried out office or ruled under the control of another.<o:p></o:p>LEGACY AND RECOGNITION<o:p></o:p><ul><li>Anna Nzinga Mbande is remembered as the ‘Mother of Angola’ and one of Africa’s most powerful and influential rulers.</li><li>Her efforts to set her people free from slavery have made her a symbol of the fight against oppression.</li><li>Her resistance laid the groundwork for the ending of the trade of enslaved people in Angola in 1836, the freeing of all enslaved people in 1854, and the eventual independence of the nation in 1974.</li><li>A statue in her honour stands in Kinaxixi Square in Luanda. Many Angolan women choose the site to get married.</li><li>The National Reserve Bank of Angola released a series of coins with her image, to honour her life and work.</li><li>A movie about her life called ‘Nzinga, Queen of Angola’, was released in 2013.</li></ul>IMAGE CAPTIONS AND CREDITSCaptives on slave ship, Nagyfaszu.velociraptor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons<o:p></o:p>Queen Nzinga(1657), Scanned from Stenseth, N. Chr. et al. (ed.). Afrika: Natur, samfunn ogbistand. Oslo, 1995. Page 563, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons<o:p></o:p>Ann Zingha, Achille Devéria, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons<o:p></o:p>

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