Queen Nzinga (Nzinga Mbande), the monarch of the Mbundu people, was a resilient leader who fought against the Portuguese and their expanding slave trade in Central Africa. During the late 16th Century, the French and the English threatened the Portuguese near monopoly on the sources of slaves along the West African coast, forcing it to seek new areas for exploitation.  By 1580 they had already established a trading relationship with Afonso I in the nearby Kongo Kingdom. They then … Continue reading QUEEN NZINGA (1583-1663)