1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:08,440 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaronminky Listener. Discretion is advised. 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: By the sixteenth century, Europeans interested in the conquest and 4 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: colonization of Africa were forced to move inwards, further away 5 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: from the western coast of the continent and towards its center. 6 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: But the land there was difficult to traverse thanks to waterfalls, 7 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: some over three hundred feet high, and sporadic shallows in 8 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: the river which may travel by water, challenging, to say 9 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: nothing of the constant threat of crocodiles and hippos. The 10 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: largest kingdom in Central Africa was Congo, stretching over three 11 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: hundred miles long, although the arid western side of the 12 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 1: kingdom made it inhospitable and meant that the population was 13 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: primarily and traded in the city of Mbanza, Congo. Portugal 14 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: had arrived to Central Africa with the ostensible goal of 15 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: converting the local population to Catholicism and the added benefit 16 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:18,400 Speaker 1: of joining in on the lucrative slave trade. King Alfonso 17 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: of the Congo submitted to the Portuguese under a mutually 18 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: beneficial arrangement. He converted to Catholicism allowed the Portuguese to 19 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:32,279 Speaker 1: engage in the slave trade, and in return, he used 20 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:36,440 Speaker 1: Portuguese military power to continue the expansion of his own 21 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:41,400 Speaker 1: kingdom against neighboring states. One of those states to the 22 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 1: south of Congo was Indongo, the second largest kingdom in 23 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: Central Africa. When the Portuguese built a fort in Luanda 24 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: directly on the border, encroaching on Nindongo territory, the King 25 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: of Ndongo knew something had to be done, and in 26 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: sixteen twenty two, the king sent his sister in Jinga 27 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: to negotiate. And Jinga knew what a precarious situation she 28 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: was walking into. Trading with colonialist Europeans was something of 29 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: an arms race amongst the kingdoms of Central Africa. You 30 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: didn't want to be the last kingdom left without guns. 31 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: Button Jinga had seen what had happened to King Alfonso 32 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: and the Bcongo people. The goal for her was preserving independence. 33 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: In autonomy, she needed to negotiate with Portugal in a 34 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,799 Speaker 1: way that would give her kingdom access to Portuguese resources, 35 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: but also that would keep Portugal from absorbing her kingdom entirely. 36 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: The Portuguese governor Chua de Susa showed up for the 37 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: meeting informal European dress, and he sat on a high seat. 38 00:02:55,960 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: There was only one chair in the room. When Inga entered, 39 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: di Susa indicated that she should sit on the carpet. 40 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 1: It was, of course a classic power move to make 41 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: her sit an attempt to negotiate with him as equals 42 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 1: when she was physically put already in the position of 43 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:21,079 Speaker 1: an African who had been conquered. But instead of kneeling, 44 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: Jinga gestured for one of her lady's maids to get 45 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: on all fours. The woman became a human chair. Jinga 46 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 1: sat on her back and conducted the meeting at eye 47 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: level with the Portuguese governor. That anecdote, which has been 48 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: retold for hundreds of years and been the subject of 49 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: numerous artistic renderings, is perhaps the best possible embodiment of 50 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: Jinga's fascinating legacy, a woman who defied European colonialism with 51 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: cleverness and flair, but also sometimes on the backs figuratively 52 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: and literally of her subjects. After her brother's death, and 53 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: Jinga would become a conquering queen and an inspiration for 54 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: the spirit of African independence against colonialists even to the 55 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: present day. But she's also a complex figure of course, 56 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: as a female African ruler, propaganda from European missionaries would 57 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: paint her in incredibly racist and sexist terms, claiming she 58 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:34,600 Speaker 1: was a cannibal and extremely sexually promiscuous, but more credible historians, 59 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: particularly Dr Linda Haywood, have worked to uncover the truth 60 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:44,440 Speaker 1: behind the bluster, both positive and negative. Another historian, Aurora 61 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: Levin's Morales, writes of Queen Jinga in her essay Historian 62 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 1: as Corndera quote, she was a fierce anti colonial warrior, 63 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: a militant fighter, a woman holding power in a male 64 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: dominated society, and she laid the basis for successful and 65 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: Golan resistance to Portuguese colonialism all the way into the 66 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: twenty century. She was also an elite woman living off 67 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,600 Speaker 1: the labor of others, who fought other African people on 68 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: behalf of the Portuguese and collaborated in the slave trade. 69 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: It is in many ways more empowering when we tell 70 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: the stories of our heroic figures as contradictory characters full 71 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 1: of weakness and failures of insight. It enables us to 72 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: see our own choices and potentials more clearly, and to 73 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: understand that imperfect people can have a powerful liberating impact 74 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 1: on the world end quote. By the end of her 75 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: meeting with the Portuguese governor, and Jinga had agreed to 76 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 1: convert to Christianity as a means of securing a peace treaty. 77 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: As she left, her servant remained on all fours. The 78 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: Portuguese called after her. You're not going to take your chair, 79 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:06,279 Speaker 1: they said, Jinga shrugged. I have many more chairs where 80 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:11,720 Speaker 1: I come from. I'm Dani Schwartz, and this is noble blood. 81 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 1: The future Queen Jinga was born to the soon to 82 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: be King Umbande and one of his enslaved wives. Her 83 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: father became King or Ngola when Jingo was ten. The 84 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:36,159 Speaker 1: present day country of Angola, which encompasses what was once 85 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:40,160 Speaker 1: the Indongo Kingdom, actually gets its name from a European 86 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: misunderstanding of that word Ingola. King Jinga's Mother's name was 87 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 1: King Gala, and as an enslaved woman, she was presented 88 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: to the king as a gift, but she soon became 89 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: his favorite companion, eventually receiving the title of principal concubine, 90 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: which is the status just below chief wife. According to legend. 91 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: When Jingo was born, she was breach with the umbilical 92 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: cord wrapped tightly around her neck, threatening her airflow. The 93 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: newborn baby was turning blue, but even as an infant, 94 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: Jinga clung to life, and she twisted herself out of 95 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 1: the umbilical cord and earned herself her first breath. Jinga 96 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: also earned her name that way from the Kimbund language 97 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 1: verb kajinga to twist and turn. According to local tradition, 98 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: a baby who survives being born with an umbilical cord 99 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: wrapped around its neck is a symbol that they'll grow 100 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: up to be powerful and proud. But Njinga's birth was 101 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: also prophetic in another way. It foreshadowed the way that 102 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 1: she would be able to manipulate situations to her advantage, 103 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 1: to be able to twist and turn and adapt amongst 104 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 1: various tribes and European allies in order to protect herself 105 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: and her kingdom. Jinga, clever and hard working, quickly became 106 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: her father's favorite child. Though no women were actually rulers 107 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: of the Dongo Kingdom, they weren't excluded from the political 108 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 1: sphere either. Jinga's father became king when she was ten 109 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: and she was constantly at his side, standing at his 110 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: knee and learning while he conducted various diplomatic affairs and meetings. 111 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:32,839 Speaker 1: She learned how to fight and received the same military 112 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 1: training as her brother, and she also learned Portuguese. Because 113 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: she was a woman, her brother didn't see her aptitude 114 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: as a threat. He just saw her as her clever sister. 115 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: Isn't it sweet how much time she spent with Dad. 116 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: The monarchy in the Nindongo Kingdom wasn't a direct father 117 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: to son dynasty. It was a little more game of 118 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 1: thrones e in which there were a number of eligible 119 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: possible kings based on their royal lineages, and any one 120 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,200 Speaker 1: of them could be selected, or one of them could 121 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 1: establish themselves as king in a show of force, like 122 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: Njinga's brother Bondi did by more or less staging a 123 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,560 Speaker 1: coup before the formal council decision was made. After their 124 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 1: father's death, button Bondy's fragile hold on the throne in 125 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: the early days meant that he had to be vigilant 126 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:30,600 Speaker 1: of every possible threat. According to the story, Jinga had 127 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,560 Speaker 1: a son at this point, and Bondi, afraid that his 128 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: nephew might one day, usurp him killed the baby and 129 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: for grotesque good measure forcibly sterilized Jinga with hot oil 130 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,600 Speaker 1: and herbs to make sure that she could never have 131 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: any more male heirs. Because Njinga was a woman, she 132 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: was allowed to live. She wasn't seen as a threat 133 00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:04,160 Speaker 1: to his throne. But after being on the receiving end 134 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: of such extreme violence, Jinga fled the kingdom. Maybe there 135 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: was a chance that her brother, in his paranoia, might 136 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: have seen her as a threat after all. But for 137 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,960 Speaker 1: the next few years, Jinga stayed in the nearby kingdom 138 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:23,679 Speaker 1: of Matamba while Mbandi solidified his position as king and 139 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 1: became newly aware of the quagmire his kingdom was facing 140 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: in regards to Portugal. Maybe he begged, or maybe he 141 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: didn't have to, but in sixteen twenty one, Njinga returned 142 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 1: to the Kingdom of Indongo at her brother's behest, in 143 00:10:40,679 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: order to act as his ambassador with the Portuguese governor. 144 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 1: Jinga was an invaluable asset. She was fluent in Portuguese 145 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: and had spent her entire childhood learning diplomacy beside her father. 146 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: This is the point in the story when Jinga met 147 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:02,079 Speaker 1: with Governor de Suza and the Wanda, the infamous human 148 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:07,560 Speaker 1: chair Comeback of sixty two. While most African diplomats met 149 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: with their European counterparts in European clothes, Jinga made the 150 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:18,120 Speaker 1: tactical decision to where her own traditional clothing first. In 151 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: the negotiations, she refused point blank for her kingdom to 152 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:27,439 Speaker 1: offer our Portugal anything in tribute. They were equals, she argued. 153 00:11:27,679 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: If they were going to give them anything, it would 154 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:34,719 Speaker 1: be as a gift. Eventually, a settlement was reached in 155 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,679 Speaker 1: exchange for opening trade routes to the Portuguese and Jinga 156 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 1: becoming baptized. Portugal would withdraw from Dongo territory and recognize 157 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 1: its national sovereignty. But the peace would be short lived. 158 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:53,440 Speaker 1: Donga was under threat from a new kingdom called Cassanja, 159 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:56,880 Speaker 1: made up of in Bengala warrior soldiers who had broken 160 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:01,200 Speaker 1: ranks with the Portuguese. Dongo was a tact and the 161 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 1: king bandy was forced to flee and go into exile. Now, 162 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:11,679 Speaker 1: because the King of Nudonggo was now exiled and unbaptized, 163 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: the Portuguese decided that they didn't need to honor the 164 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:19,199 Speaker 1: treaty that they had negotiated with Njinga. After all, she 165 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,760 Speaker 1: had negotiated on behalf of a king who wasn't Christian 166 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:27,040 Speaker 1: and wasn't really a king anymore. And so, with most 167 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: of Western Africa already gutted from the slave trade and 168 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,679 Speaker 1: monopolized by the French and English, the Portuguese came for 169 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 1: Central Africa with a fervor. According to Dr Haywood, between 170 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:45,599 Speaker 1: fifteen eighty and sixteen forty, the majority of enslaved Africans 171 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: brought to the Americas were from the Indongo people in 172 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: present day Angola. In sixteen twenty four and Bandy, the 173 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:04,320 Speaker 1: ing of Inndongo, died. It may have been poisoning, but 174 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: more likely it was suicide, maybe out of shame for 175 00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 1: having not better protected his kingdom from the Portuguese. Though 176 00:13:12,679 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: he made it very clear that his sister, in Jinga 177 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:21,400 Speaker 1: diplomat extraordinaire, was his heir, most of the Indongo nobility 178 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,520 Speaker 1: rejected her, some because they thought that Ndongo should become 179 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:29,800 Speaker 1: a vassal state under Portugal, and others because they straight 180 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: out refused to acknowledge a female leader, and Jingo was 181 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: forced to flee her kingdom. Needing security, she joined up 182 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 1: with the in Bengala camp for protection, although she was 183 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: only allowed in on the conditions that she submit to 184 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 1: their chief as his wife, which she did. As a 185 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: new ward of the warrior in Bengala tribe, Jinga trained. 186 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:58,320 Speaker 1: This is the part of the story where if Njinga's 187 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 1: life was a film, we would get an epic Rocky 188 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:06,439 Speaker 1: style training sequence. Njinga would be a fierce fighter for 189 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: the rest of her life, physically leading her soldiers into 190 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,679 Speaker 1: battle well into her sixties, and she learned much of 191 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: that by training with the in Bengala people. She was 192 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: already a diplomat, but after her period with the in 193 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: Bengala she was a warrior, and as a warrior, Jinga 194 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: wanted to retake her kingdom, but first she needed an army. 195 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: Do you remember that neighboring kingdom of Matamba, the kingdom 196 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: where Jinga had stayed after her brother killed her son 197 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 1: and forcibly sterilized her. Well, Njinga went back to Matamba 198 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 1: with a band of in Bengala soldiers and kidnapped their queen. 199 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:53,160 Speaker 1: She declares herself the new queen of Matamba, and using 200 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 1: their army and their resources, she returned to Indongo and 201 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:09,720 Speaker 1: took the throne to which she was entitled. For forty years, 202 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:13,360 Speaker 1: Jinga was the Queen of the United Kingdoms of both 203 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:17,280 Speaker 1: in Dongo and Matomba. Even with all of her political 204 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: and military strength, Jinga understood that she needed to subvert 205 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 1: the negative assumptions that came with her being the first 206 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 1: female in Donga ruler. In a strategy not unlike Queen 207 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 1: Elizabeth the First of England, and Jinga ceremonially became a 208 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 1: man in order to reaffirm her legitimacy as a monarch. 209 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:42,760 Speaker 1: Just to be clear, it was a symbolic ceremonial move, 210 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: not a reflection of her gender identity. It just meant 211 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: that Jinga acted in stereotypically masculine activities in order to 212 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:57,520 Speaker 1: assuage all doubt about her capabilities. She led battles, forced 213 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: people to address her as king, and male concubines. According 214 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: to Dr Haywood, Jinga forced her male concubines to dress 215 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 1: in the female clothing of her female bodyguards. She made 216 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 1: the men and women in her service sleep in the 217 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:19,600 Speaker 1: same room, but they were all required to remain chaste 218 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 1: if the men or women so much as touched one another, 219 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: even if it was just an accidental graze in someone's sleep, 220 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: he or she would be rendered impotent or infertile, or 221 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 1: even killed. Some of the other stories about Jinga's brutality 222 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: have more nebulous sources, and are, in this writer's opinion, 223 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: evidence of the cultural European racism of missionaries reporting back. 224 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,800 Speaker 1: One missionary wrote that in Jinga was a cannibal, that 225 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: she delighted in bloody rituals, and that she forced the 226 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: men in her harem to fight to the death in 227 00:16:56,920 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: order to win the chance to spend a night with her. 228 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,200 Speaker 1: Then in the morning, even the winner would be put 229 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 1: to death. Quing Jinga came to power in Africa through 230 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:19,159 Speaker 1: her military prowess, skillful manipulations of religion, successful diplomacy, and 231 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:25,160 Speaker 1: remarkable understanding of politics. Despite her outstanding accomplishments and her 232 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 1: decades long reign comparable to that of Elizabeth the First 233 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 1: of England, she was vilified by European contemporaries and later 234 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: writers as an uncivilized savage who embodied the worst of womankind. 235 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: End quote. One more note about in Jinga's historiographical legacy. 236 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,160 Speaker 1: There are a number of different spellings of her name, 237 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:51,199 Speaker 1: Some of her own writings and letters even have her 238 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:56,240 Speaker 1: using her Europeanized baptismal name Anna de Suza. But I'm 239 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:00,560 Speaker 1: following the path of doctor Heywood and going with Jinga 240 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 1: n j I n g A. I also find for 241 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: me it visually makes that soft end sound easier to 242 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,919 Speaker 1: pronounce than the other common way of spelling Njinga with 243 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: a Z instead of a J. Ever willing to twist 244 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: and turn as a political tactician. In sixteen thirty one, 245 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 1: Jinga formed an alliance with the Dutch West India Company 246 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:31,359 Speaker 1: as the Dutch moved in against the Portuguese in Central Africa. 247 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: The Dutch sees Luongo, and with their help, Jinga defeated 248 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 1: the Portuguese army at Golme in sixteen forty four. It's 249 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: easy sometimes to skate past decades of battles and paint 250 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: them all in broad swatches without actually becoming cognizant of 251 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: the human toll that was sacrificed, the tragedies tiny and large, 252 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,199 Speaker 1: that get swept up and pushed to the back of 253 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,600 Speaker 1: a closet marked this or that war because company is 254 00:19:00,640 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: coming in. We want all these things out of the way. 255 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: But there was a human toll, especially on Queen Jinga 256 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: and an especially visceral one in sixteen, when the Portuguese 257 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:17,280 Speaker 1: kidnapped her sister. Accurate accounts are difficult to come by, 258 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: and some sources report that they actually captured two of 259 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:25,680 Speaker 1: her living sisters, but the Portuguese at least had one, 260 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: a sister who had grown up in Dongo by Njinga's side, 261 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: who had been with her and experiencing the horrifying ordeal 262 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:40,400 Speaker 1: of being forcibly sterilized by their brother. Jinga's sister, named Kifnuji, 263 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:45,639 Speaker 1: remained behind Portuguese enemy lines for years, and we do 264 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 1: have records of her writing back smuggled reports about Portuguese 265 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:52,959 Speaker 1: goings on, which indicate that she might have been working 266 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: as a spy, and that might be part of the 267 00:19:56,880 --> 00:20:09,200 Speaker 1: reason that the Portuguese drowned her in the quand The River. Still, 268 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: Jinga continued her fight at this point in her mid sixties, 269 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: and Jinga had her soldiers using guerrilla tactics against the Portuguese, 270 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 1: and she oftentimes led the troops into battle herself. But 271 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:27,520 Speaker 1: the Dutch were defeated by the Portuguese in six and 272 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:32,600 Speaker 1: they withdrew from Central Africa eliminating one of Jinga's key allies. 273 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,400 Speaker 1: But soon she would have another ally in her long 274 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 1: struggle to maintain Dongo sovereignty the Vatican. Back when she 275 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: was her brother's ambassador and she converted to Christianity in 276 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: negotiations with the Portuguese, that conversion didn't really stick in 277 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: her heart. She was committed to the cultural sovereignty as 278 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,360 Speaker 1: well as the political sovereignty of her kingdom, and so 279 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: pretty soon after her treaty with Portugal was resolved, so 280 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:06,359 Speaker 1: too did her commitment to Christianity. But in her mid sixties, 281 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:12,200 Speaker 1: another flavor of missionary arrived in Nindongo, two Capuchin monks. 282 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,119 Speaker 1: Now it's impossible to know exactly what in Jinga's thought 283 00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:21,640 Speaker 1: process was here. It's possible that the Capuchin monks, devoid 284 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 1: of any political agenda, really spoke to her and Jinga 285 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:30,000 Speaker 1: felt connected to the Catholic faith. Or it's possible that 286 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:33,760 Speaker 1: in Jinga realized the value of becoming Christian as a 287 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:37,400 Speaker 1: means of establishing her country on the world stage as 288 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:41,280 Speaker 1: one of the Catholic nations recognized by the Pope. Or 289 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: maybe it was a combination of the two factors. But 290 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 1: for whatever reason, this time Jinga's Christianity seemed to stick, 291 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,160 Speaker 1: she saw to it that as many Nindongo and Matomba 292 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:57,400 Speaker 1: babies were baptized as possible, and she built an elaborate 293 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:03,480 Speaker 1: European style church in her kingdom's capital. When traditional Dongo 294 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: priests were wary of their queen's seemingly sudden left turn 295 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:12,240 Speaker 1: away from their spiritual teachings, and Jinga performed a public 296 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 1: right in which she used holy relics from the remains 297 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:19,200 Speaker 1: of her brother's body the former king and asked him 298 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 1: and their ancestors if they approved of her converting to 299 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: Christianity if it meant that it would bring their nation 300 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: peace and surprise, Surprised, the holy relics agreed with her decision. 301 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 1: In sixteen sixty, her efforts came to fruition in the 302 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 1: form of a letter from Pope Alexander the seventh himself, 303 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: recognizing her as a daughter in Christ and saying that 304 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:55,639 Speaker 1: he'd pray for her kingdom during the end of her life. 305 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:59,200 Speaker 1: Jinga also turned her kingdom into a safe haven for 306 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: formally and slaved people escaping from slave trading colonists, which 307 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 1: was humanitarian but also an effective strategy to increase her 308 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: army strength and further her kingdom's expansion. It's tempting to 309 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,439 Speaker 1: see that action as a symbol that in Jinga was 310 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: always fighting against slavery with the same zeal with which 311 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:24,000 Speaker 1: she fought for her nation's sovereignty. But the truth is 312 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: a little more nuanced. Jinga and her family all owned 313 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: enslaved people, and she would gift enslaved Africans to the 314 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: Portuguese as diplomatic gestures. At certain times she supported the 315 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:42,639 Speaker 1: Portuguese slave trade. But I also think it's important to 316 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: recognize that, even as she engaged in the political realities 317 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:51,199 Speaker 1: of the time, her goal was always African sovereignty and 318 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:55,479 Speaker 1: protecting the strength and autonomy of her kingdom, even if 319 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,919 Speaker 1: she had to make horrific civil sacrifices in order to 320 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:03,400 Speaker 1: achieve her your political goals, there are plenty of writers 321 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,720 Speaker 1: who speak far more eloquently about the impact of the 322 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:12,200 Speaker 1: European slave trade in Africa. Dr Linda Haywood's entire book, 323 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,520 Speaker 1: Jinga of Angola is a great resource for anyone who 324 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 1: wants to learn more about this topic from an actual expert. 325 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 1: Jinga made enemies both domestic and Portuguese throughout her life, 326 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:31,399 Speaker 1: but despite numerous assassination attempts, Jinga's final revenge on her 327 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:35,440 Speaker 1: adversaries was dying peacefully in her sleep at age eighty. 328 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 1: She knew how to lead and what it took to 329 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:44,760 Speaker 1: maintain power, especially against the encroaching threat of colonialism. Though 330 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 1: Njinga requested a simple Christian burial in a Capuchin habit 331 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: after her death, her attendants couldn't help but sending her 332 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:58,160 Speaker 1: off with more traditional and dongo adornments. According to Anne 333 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:02,920 Speaker 1: Theoryo's essay on Jinga in her series Queens of Infamy quote, 334 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 1: after she died, Jinga's body was carefully washed by her attendants, 335 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 1: who anointed her with herbs, perfume, and powders. Her hair 336 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 1: was styled with corals, pearls, and feathers, and her crown 337 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 1: was placed on her head. Her limbs were loaded down 338 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:25,480 Speaker 1: with jewelry and arrangements of elephant hair, a symbol of royalty. 339 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 1: Her body was wrapped in two richly wrought brocade cloths, 340 00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:34,680 Speaker 1: and velvet slippers were placed on her feet. Then, mindful 341 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:38,240 Speaker 1: of her instructions, her attendants replaced all of this with 342 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:42,440 Speaker 1: a habit, crucifix, and rosary, although they left her hair 343 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:47,280 Speaker 1: and crown as they were. This ceremonial dressing and redressing 344 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: represented a middle ground between the two traditions. Njinga had 345 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:58,399 Speaker 1: spent decades navigating. Though Njinga was Ndongo's first female leader, 346 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,040 Speaker 1: her sister to go over after her death, and out 347 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: of the next one hundred four years in Dongo, eighty 348 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:16,040 Speaker 1: of those years would be under a female ruler. That's 349 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 1: the life of Queen Jingo of modern day Angola. But 350 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:22,800 Speaker 1: stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear more 351 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:36,800 Speaker 1: about her modern legacy. Four hundreds of years, Ninjinga has 352 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: remained a powerful figure embodying African independence across the entire continent, 353 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:46,960 Speaker 1: but also, of course, in the present day country of Angola. 354 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: In and Gola finally broke free of Portuguese rule for good. 355 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:58,440 Speaker 1: In Ninjinga and everything she stood for was a guiding 356 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: symbol for those who fought once again protect their nation 357 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: from European imperialism. In two thousand two, they built a 358 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 1: giant statue of Nyjinga, which was placed in a public 359 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:15,400 Speaker 1: square in Luanda. Today the statue stands in the Engolan 360 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:20,360 Speaker 1: Museum of Armed Forces. But there's another reminder of Jinga's 361 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:25,760 Speaker 1: legacy that I find particularly interesting. She's a heroic figure 362 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: in Africa, but also in the Americas, where so many 363 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,680 Speaker 1: of her people were brought against their will. In Brazil, 364 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,679 Speaker 1: where many enslaved Africans were brought, there's a number of 365 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 1: businesses that bear in Jinga's name. A form of Brazilian 366 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 1: martial arts called capuara frequently has studios named Njinga, keeping 367 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:57,159 Speaker 1: her fighting spirit alive. Noble Blood is a production of 368 00:27:57,200 --> 00:28:00,120 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Minky. 369 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,119 Speaker 1: The show is written and hosted by Dana Schwartz and 370 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 1: produced by Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick, Alex Williams, and Trevor Young. 371 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is on social media at Noble Blood Tales, 372 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: and you can learn more about the show over at 373 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,560 Speaker 1: Noble blood Tales dot com. For more podcasts from I 374 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 375 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,439 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.