"
The fascinating story of arguably the greatest queen in sub-Saharan African history, who surely deserves a place in the pantheon of revolutionary world leaders." -Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Tactically pious and unhesitatingly murderous...a commanding figure in velvet slippers and elephant hair ripe for big-screen treatment; and surely, as our social media age puts it, one badass woman." -Karen Shook, Times Higher Education.
A thorough, serious, and long overdue study of a fascinating ruler, Njinga of Angola is an essential addition to the study of the black Atlantic world." -Ta-Nehisi Coates "
This fine biography attempts to reconcile her political acumen with the human sacrifices, infanticide, and slave trading by which she consolidated and projected power." -New Yorker "
Queen Njinga was by far the most successful of African rulers in resisting Portuguese colonialism...
Linda Heywood gives us a different Njinga-one brimming with all the qualities that made her the stuff of legend but also full of all the interests and inclinations that made her human. "
Queen Njinga of Angola has long been among the many heroes whom black diasporians have used to construct a pantheon and a usable past.
In this landmark book, based on nine years of research and drawing from missionary accounts, letters, and colonial records, Linda Heywood reveals how this legendary queen skillfully navigated-and ultimately transcended-the ruthless, male-dominated power struggles of her time.
Though largely unknown in the West, the seventeenth-century African queen Njinga was one of the most multifaceted rulers in history, a woman who rivaled Queen Elizabeth I in political cunning and military prowess. "
The fascinating story of arguably the greatest queen in sub-Saharan African history, who surely deserves a place in the pantheon of revolutionary world leaders." -Henry Louis Gates, Jr
