AFRICA’S WARRIOR QUEEN
Taking a deep breath, the future Queen Nzinga approached the Portuguese governor’s office. She had come here on a crucial mission – to represent her people, the Mbundu, and to stop the Iberian colonisers from encroaching any further on their territory. Adjusting her posture, she pulled back the heavy curtain, and stepped inside. Sitting in the centre of the room was João Correia de Sousa, peering curiously at the African princess from his plush armchair. Nzinga glanced round, looking for her own seat. There was none – only a humble reed mat on the floor.
Nzinga would suffer no such indignation. She whipped around and fixed her servant with a steely look, cocking her head slightly. Perhaps the only person in the room to understand Nzinga’s meaning, he scrabbled onto all fours whereupon his mistress gingerly seated herself upon his back. Correia de Sousa raised an eyebrow, but he was impressed by Nzinga’s defiance. Negotiations between the two parties began in earnest, and most importantly, on an equal footing.
