User:Jrmcnatt/Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba

Peer Review!

'''First of all I loved your in class presentation! You were obviously well prepared and made sure to make the content interesting and engaging. In regards to your edits themselves, I think that they are helpful. They add context and some deeper explanation to some of the situations that were already being discussed. I believe that in the section of War with the Portuguese you could add even more context to the end of the section for some further clarification. The wikipedia article that already exists is quite developed, but I think that your additions are helpful ones. Looking at the sections present in the original article I am wondering if you were planning on simplifying it at all. It is quite a lot of information with tons of subheadings and section that are perhaps slightly redundant at times so some simplification might be helpful. Overall I think you did a good job! -- Sydnee Edmonds'''

Dr. Block's note s: I like how you sprinkled in context and details throughout the piece-the additions in the "Peace with Portugal" section were especially well-done. As I noted in our conversation, you may want to qualify the statements about the infanticide by noting WHO reported these details (a Catholic priest, a captive of the Imbangala, Nzinga herself?). Also I'd move the infanticide stuff to the middle of the paragraph, and end with the more positive assertions by Heywood and why the Imbangalans were so successful as an army/alternative collective. Don't forget to look into why your citations are a little wonky as well.

War with the Portuguese
Following her expulsion, Nzingha and her supporters continued to fight against the Portuguese. To bolster her forces, the queen looked to make allies in the region while keeping her battered forces out of reach of the Portuguese army. During this time she was contacted by Kasanje, a powerful Imbangala warlord who had established his own kingdom on the Kwanza river. Kasanje and the Imbangala were traditional enemies of Ndongo,[14] and Kasanje himself had previously executed several of Nzingha's envoys. Kasanje offered Nzingha an alliance and military support, but in return demanded that she marry him and discard her lunga (a large bell used by Ndongan war captains as a symbol of their power).[35] Nzingha accepted these terms, married Kasanje and was inducted into Imbangala society. The exiled queen adapted quickly to the new culture, adopting many Imbangala religious rites. Sources (African, Western, modern, contemporary)[36][14][4][5] disagree on the intricacies and extent of Imbangala rites and laws (ijila), but the general consensus is that Nzingha was compelled to participate in the customary cannibalistic (the drinking of human blood in the cuia, or blood oath ceremony)[37] and infanticidal (through the use of an oil made from a slain infant, the maji a samba)[38] initiation rites required for a woman to become a leader in the highly-militarized Imbangala society.[36] '''^^^^^ During the infanticide portion of this ritual one was expected to slay their own child by the process of being crushed with a mortar. This was in part to prevent succession crisis amongst the Imbangala down the line. Since Njinga did not have a child of her own she would have taken an infant from a female concubine. Once the oil was made Njinga would have then spread it over her body. This was noted by the Portuguese Father Gaeta who was able to overcome seeing these barbarous rituals to develop a close relationship with Njinga. ====='''She did not, however, completely abandon her Mbundan cultural roots, instead combining the beliefs of her people with those of her new Imbangalan allies. As noted by historian Linda Heywood, Nzingha's genius was to combine her Mbundu heritage with the Imbangalan's Central African military tradition and leadership structure, thus forming a new, highly capable army. To increase her numbers, she granted freedom to escaped slaves and land, new slaves, and titles to other exiled Ndongans.[9][4] According to some sources, Nzingha - having been disenfranchised by the Mdundan-dominated nobility of Ndongo - was politically attracted to the Imbangalans, who placed more value on merit and religious fervor as opposed to lineage, kinship (and by extension, gender).[4][36]

Expansion and Dutch alliance
In 1644, Nzingha defeated the Portuguese army at the Battle of Ngoleme. Then, in 1646, she was defeated by the Portuguese at the Battle of Kavanga and, in the process, her sister Kambu was recaptured, along with her archives, which revealed her alliance with Kongo.[46] These archives also showed that her captive sister, Funji, had been in secret correspondence with Nzingha and had revealed coveted Portuguese plans to her. As a result of the woman's spying, the Portuguese reputedly drowned the sister in the Kwanza River.[4][16] The Dutch in Luanda sent Nzingha reinforcements, and with their help, Nzingha routed a Portuguese army in 1647 at the Battle of Kombi.[2] Nzingha then laid siege to the Portuguese capital of Masangano, isolating the Portuguese there; by 1648, Nzingha controlled much of her former kingdom, while her control over the slave trade increased the economic power of Matamba.[24][4]

Despite these successes, in August 1648 a Portuguese expedition ^^^^^led by newly appointed governor Salvador Correia de Sá, ===== inflicted a major defeat on the Dutch and recaptured Luanda; in doing so, the Portuguese crippled Dutch ambitions in the area and deprived Nzingha of both her ally and trading partner. ^^^^^After suffering through the major Portuguese bombardment, by the end of August 1648 the Dutch director Ouman had sued for peace. Once Ouman’s officer Pieterszoon arrived at Luanda with Njinga the peace between Dutch and Portuguese was signed, and together, unbeknownst to Njinga, they boarded a boat to sail home. ===== Faced with a bolstered Portuguese garrison, Nzingha and her forces retreated to Matamba.[4] Unlike previous decades however, after 1648 Nzinga concentrated her efforts on preventing a Portuguese push inland (as opposed to trying to re-conquer Ndongo territory), disrupting their soldiers and fomenting wars between smaller tribes and kingdoms.[47][4]

Peace with Portugal
By 1650 the kingdoms of Matamba and Portugal had been at war for nearly 25 years, with both sides having become exhausted.[55] Tentative peace talks between Nzingha and the Portuguese began in 1651, would continue in 1654, and would culminate in 1656.[56] The negotiations were aided by Nzingha's recent conversation to Christianity and by the pressure Portugal was facing from its war against Spain. '''^^^^^ During these negotiations Njinga put increasing amounts of faith in the missionary Father Gaeta, believing that he would truly help bring peace between the two warring states. Njinga's political maneuvering, and apparent willingness to rededicate herself as a devout Catholic at this time, seems to have lead Father Gaeta and the Portuguese as a whole to take their negotiations more seriously than they had in the past. =====''' The Portuguese hoped to end the expensive war in Angola and re-open the slave trade, while Nzingha - increasingly cognizant of her age[51] - hoped to have her sister Kambu (often referred to by her Christian name, Barbara, during this period) released.[56] She would not, however, pay the ransom the Portuguese demanded for her sister, and so negotiations repeatedly stalled.[51]

Despite difficulties, a peace treaty was signed between Nzingha and the Portuguese in late 1656. Under the term of the peace treaty, Nzingha agreed to cede lands on her kingdom's western coast to Portugal, with the Lucala River becoming the new border between Portuguese Angola and Matamba. In return, Portugal ceded the Kituxela region to her. Nzingha also agree to allow Portuguese traders inside Matamba, while they agreed to intervene if Kasanje or Nogla Hari attacked her. The Portuguese agreed to concentrate the slave trade in a market in her capital (effectively giving her a monopoly on the slave trade) and send a permanent representative to her court. In return, Nzingha agreed to provide military assistance to the Portuguese and allowed for missionaries to reside in her kingdom. A final provision asking that Matamba pay Portugal tribute was proposed, but never ratified. While several sources[9][4][57] describe the treaty as a making concessions to Portugal, others note that her recognition as a ruler by Portugal gained Nzingha legitimacy and political stability.[52][4] '''^^^^^ On October 12 Njinga's sister, Kambu by birth and Barbara by her Christian conversion, finally arrived at Njinga's court in Matamba. Led by Father Ignazio de Valassina, Kambu finally arrived back home, and all of Njinga's political efforts had finally come to fruition. Upon Kambu's arrival to Matamba the terms of peace were officially agreed upon, and as was tradition Njinga and her officials clapped their hands letting the Portuguese know that peace terms were accepted. ====='''