Also see Angola Ministers

N'Dongo and Matamba (Ngola and Mbundu) (In present day Angola and Congo Kinshasa)

1623-63 Queen Nzinga M'Bande
1623-26 Governor of Luanda for the Portuguese
Also Known as Pande Dona Ana Souza. Nzinga (or Jinga) was the colorful Queen of the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms. She is honored for her resistance against the Portuguese who were increasingly occupying all of what is now known as Angola. Constantly driven east by the Portuguese, Nzinga organized a powerful guerrilla army, conquered the Matamba, and developed alliances to control the slave routes. She even allied with the Dutch, who helped her stop the Portuguese advancement. After a series of decisive setbacks, Nzinga negotiated a peace treaty with the Portuguese, but still refused to pay tribute to the Portuguese king. She was daughter of N'Gola Kiluanzi Kia Samba and succeeded her brother. Lived (1581-1663) 

1623-47 Member of the Council of Government Princess Grace 
Before her christening she was named Kifunji, and together with her sister Mukambu, she was closest aide and members of the government of their sister, Queen Nzinga. Also an important religious leader. In October 1647 she was drowned by the enemy as they retreated. She lived (1587-1647)

1623-63 Member of the Council of Government Princess Barbara
1663-66 Queen Regnant
When her sister, Queen Nijinga, became Queen in 1623, she was appinted as Member of the Council of Government. Before her christening, she had been named Mukumbu (Mukambu, Makumba). Her sister has tried to marry her off to her close ally, João Guterres, but the Portugese protested since he was already married. Her reign was marked by civil war and she was killed by forces loyal to the general Njinga Mona. João succeeded 1669-70 but was also killed. She lived (1584-1663).


1681-1721 Queen Verónica I Guterres Kangala Kingwanda of Kongo (N'Dongo and Matamba or Ngola and Mbundu) (Angola and Congo)
Also known as Cangala Quinguanda, she was daughter of King João Guterres Ngola Kanini I of the combined kingdom of Ndongo and Matamba, and was in any case one of the most important of the rulers of the Guterres Dynasty. Her brother was killed at the Battle of Katole, where the Matamba won the battle against the Portuguese. Nevertheless she decided to treat for peace, signing the agreement with Portugal in 1683. But in 1689 she attacked the Portuguese in Cahenda in the "Dembos" region to her west, an area that was disputed between Ndongo, Kongo, and Portugal. She was anxious to reestablish Matamba's claims over the Dembos region that lay directly to the east of Matamba, and in 1688-89 her armies moved into the area and threatened Portuguese positions around Ambaca, their fortified town that marked the western most edge of the colony of Angola. The Portuguese intervened, and blunted the effectiveness of the campaign. In around 1701, Luca da Caltanisetta, the prefect of the Capuchin mission in Angola wrote to her asking to re-establish the mission which had fallen vacant, and "to return that people to the granary of the Holy Church.". She answered by expressing her concern that "it pained her to see her children die without baptism" but that she was "disgusted with the whites, and she would "not see any of them in her court with the missionaries." She sought once again to expand the kingdom into Portuguese domains in 1706, and it was probably for this reason that she had ambassadors in the court of Kongo's King Pedro IV that year. But her attempts to do this were thwarted, as Portuguese forces were too strong and she abandoned the attempt. Nevertheless, a state of constant low level conflcit between her army and the Portuguese at Ambaca and Cahenda led to the virtual depopulation of the country to the west of Matamba, as the people either fled or were captured and deported to the Americas. Those captured by the Portuguese tended to be sent to Brazil, those captured by her were often sold to Vili merchants, based in the Kingdom of Loango to the north, and subsequently sold to English, Dutch, or French merchants who frequented that coast. She was succeeded by her son, Afonso I Álvares de Pontes. She (d. 1721).

17... Politically Influential Princess Donna Suzanna di Nobrena
Daughter, sister and mother of three kings of Kongo, and died at the age of ca. 90.

1741-56 Ana II
She was known as Ana the Second as Queen Njinga was known as Ana I as Matamba accepted the Christian names of former rulers and their dynasty. She faced a Portuguese invasion in 1744, one of their largest military operations in the eighteenth century. In the course of their attack, Matamba's army inflicted a serious defeat on the Portuguese, but in spite of this, a remnant of the army managed to reach the capital of Matamba. In order to avoid a long war and to get them to withdraw, she signed a treaty of vassalage with Portugal which renewed points conceded by her predecssor, Verónica in 1683. While the treaty allowed Portugal to claim Matamba as a vassal, and opened up Matamba to Portuguese trade, it had little effect on the real sovereignty of Matmaba, or indeed in the conduct of trade. Like Verónica I before her, she was interested in developing Matamba as a Christian country, routinely sending letters to the Capuchin prefect of Congo and Angola or the Portuguese authorities requesting missionaries come and establish permanent bases in her country. While the country was visited by missionaries from Cahenda and also from the Barefoot Carmelites, a permanent mission was not established. (d. 1741).

1756-ca. 58 Verónica II
She succeeded Queen Ana II, but she was overthrown sometime after 1758.

Ca. 1758 Ana III
During the civil war, she came on the throne after Verónica II was deposed, but she was her self overthrown by Kalwete ka Mbandi, a military leader. Kalwete won the war, and was baptized as Francisco II upon taking the throne. However, two of her daughters, Kamana and Murili escaped the civil war, took refuge in the ancient capital of Ndongo on the Kindonga islands and successfully resisted Francisco II's attempts to oust them.

Queen Kamana
After her mother, Ana III was deposed, she created a rival kingdom, and in 1767 tried unsuccessfully to obtain Portuguese help against her rival. While the Portuguese governor of the time, Francisco Innocencio de Sousa Coutinho granted her asylum and instructed his officials to respect her and her position, he did not favor direct intervention in affairs in the eastern part of the Portuguese zone. her son and successor did manage to end the division of the country by successfully recovering the capital and being crowned as king of Matamba in around 1810.

Kongo

1957-62 Queen Dowager Dona Isabel Maria da Gama
1962-?75 Queen Regent (The Ntolia aNtino ne Kongo)
Her husband was Dom Antonio III was king (1955-58), she succeeded him and in 1962 her son Dom Pedro VIII Mansala was king September-October and afterwards she took over the reigns again. Some sources claims she is still in office, others that her regency ended in 1975.

Cingolo

Ca. 1665 Queen Ndumbu

Kalembe

Until ca. 1600 Nganja

Sambu

Ca. 1700-ca.40 Queen Alembanu

Last update 24.03.07