Queen Njinga's Cleverness

In December of 1586, the King of Poland died suddenly and without an obvious successor. King was an elected position, and the noblemen bickered and tried to advance their own agendas, to no avail. It was a complete standsill. They needed an unbiased third party to be a temporary ...  Show more

Queen Mary I's decision to marry a foreign prince turned people against her. Some were so against her they planned an uprising to overthrow her in favor of her half-sister, Elizabeth. But how much did Elizabeth know? And when she was imprisoned in the Tower of London, how much ev ...  Show more

Nzinga was the warrior queen who held back Portuguese colonization in her African kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba, kept many of her people from being captured and traded, offered refuge to anyone who needed it, and used every move at her disposal (including shifting alliances, rel ...  Show more

Queen Njinga, the 17th-century ruler of Ndongo and Matamba, in modern-day Angola, established an impressive reputation for her skills as a warrior and diplomat. At a time when Portuguese colonists were ramping up operations in the region, Njinga had to fight tooth and nail for su ...  Show more

Nzinga was the Queen regnant of the joint kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba, in modern day Angola in Africa. She stood up to the Portuguese colonialists and defended her people from enslavement. Her brilliance, pride and perseverance forced the Portuguese to recognize her kingdoms a ...  Show more

Greg Jenner is joined in 17th-century West Africa by Dr Daniel F. Silva and Athena Kugblenu to meet the warrior queen, Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba. One of the most formidable queens in history, Njinga lived a tumultuous life and was able to defy Portuguese colonial rule for deca ...  Show more