Also known as Jinga, Singa, and Zhinga, Nzinga was born around 1583 to the ruling family of the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundu people in southwestern Africa in what is now called Angola.

This was the height of the Atlantic slave trade and the consolidation of power by the Portuguese in the region was growing rapidly. After several years of power struggles with Portugal, her brother asked Nzinga to be the envoy for Ngola in the peace negotiations. They would eventually reach an agreement, which the Portuguese proceeded to break

In retaliation she formed an abortive revolt against the Portuguese colonial government and created an alliance with the Jaga people by marrying their chief. The Jaga would eventually betray here but she would go on to form a confederacy of other tribes, allying herself with the Dutch for a while in her continuing feud with the Portuguese, a fight that would span over thirty years.

She gained notoriety during the war for personally leading her troops into battle - even into her sixties. Two of her war leaders were reputedly her sisters. Her council of advisers contained many women, and women were called to serve in her army. She forbade her subjects to call her Queen, preferring to be addressed as King.

An outstanding aspect of her political engagement was the establishment of alliances with Mbundu groups, namely the Imbangala, and even the formation of a coalition in 1635 with neighboring peoples including the Congo, Kassanje, Dembos and Kissama. A coalition that would later be used against the Dutch as well.

In 1659, weary from the long struggle, Nzinga signed a peace treaty with Portugal. She attempted to reconstruct her nation, devoting her efforts to resettling former slaves and developing an economy that did not depend upon the slave trade.

Despite numerous efforts to dethrone her, Nzinga would die a peaceful death at age eighty on December 17, 1663 in Matamba. After her death her alliances disintegrated and the Portuguese overran the area by 1671 although it would not have total control of the interior until the 20th century. Today she is remembered in Angola for her political and diplomatic acumen, great wit and intelligence, as well as her brilliant military tactics.