The wheel of history turns once more
in the Kingdom of Ndongo.
Njinga's brother is dead.
Her ties to Kasa, the Imbangala warrior,
have been shattered, their marriage annulled.
Njinga!
The consequence of taking a young, future king's life
on the day of their wedding.
A necessary deed,
to take power and continue her ultimate plan...
to drive the Portuguese out of Ndongo, once and for all.
All debts are paid.
You are queen now.
All hail Queen Njinga!
Njinga!
Njinga! Njinga!
The market looks different today.
These aren't just our usual traders, sister.
Now at the age of 42,
Njinga is Queen.
She is ruler of all the land.
She is finally in charge of the fate of her kingdom, Ndongo.
In the Kingdom of Ndongo,
from the safety of her military base in the Kindonga Islands,
Njinga is ruling with her sisters, Kambu and Funji, by her side.
Many of these people have come in response to your call.
Our spies say that entire villages have responded,
emptying out their most able-bodied to you.
Njinga is trying to grow her army
by reaching out to people and saying,
"Let me be your queen."
The presentation of herself as a defiant ruler
was very appealing to people,
especially those who felt like Portuguese enslavement, violence,
was really undermining their communities at this time.
She's creating sanctuary for people, not only hers,
but people of other tribes.
Who are they?
They arrived this morning.
On their own?
Their families were slaughtered.
Portuguese raided their village.
Those they didn't kill, they took with them to Luanda.
They hid in the bushes for three days.
You're safe now.
A bloody death...
is too good for Governor Sousa.
We still don't have enough bodies to crush Sousa.
- He's relentless. - Yes.
Thank you, Funji. I know what he is like. You do not need to remind me.
I was just saying he has men who are...
Human.
Not gods.
Though we may be small in number, we can still hurt them.
How?
These people are mostly farmers, fishermen, not soldiers.
Then surrender if you have given up, Funji.
Njinga, be reasonable.
Reasonable nothing.
You may see civilians and downtrodden people.
I see a homegrown army, ready to defend their land.
Do not underestimate
what someone fighting for their family is capable of.
Especially when they have nothing left to lose.
Don't take her frustration to heart.
She is speaking as the King...
with the weight of her people on her shoulders,
not as our sister.
I know.
She does not believe that Portuguese slavery is okay,
that her people can be taken captive.
So she will use and deploy
every single means she has.
One of the things that Njinga realizes,
I think very savvily, is that
she needs the people to contest what the Portuguese are doing.
She sends out her messengers to various provinces within Ndongo,
and she encourages people to rebel,
to join her against the Portuguese.
Enslaved people on Portuguese plantations
ran away en masse.
Enslaved soldiers,
part of the Portuguese military presence there escape.
And in a move indicative of her tactical brilliance,
Njinga blocks roads,
and this disrupts markets
in which Portuguese settlers would buy slaves.
Destroying these networks stops the Portuguese
being able to march the enslaved to Luanda, the Portuguese base,
where captives are either siphoned into coastal plantations,
become slave soldiers, or are sent out of Africa
and into the transatlantic slave trade.
Back in Luanda, the new governor Fernão de Sousa
is seething at the catastrophic loss of profits.
The new governor is seeing
not only his army shrinking,
but his access to the slave trade dwindling
with the activities of Njinga.
The Portuguese are furious.
This disruption really puts Njinga on their radar.
He doesn't look pleased, sister.
Good.
If he's angry, he's not in control.
Mm.
Although the Portuguese have a superior military,
they still feel like it would be best to negotiate
rather than go with force every time
because force will eventually deplete them.
Illustrious envoy of his Excellency, Governor de Sousa.
You are most welcome.
I bring a message.
I bring an order from the Governor.
Return his property immediately.
Property? What property?
Slaves.
Portugal's slaves...
you know very well what property I'm referring to,
since you and your... your...
Go on.
Since you and your...
soldiers...
have disrupted every slave market from here to Luanda.
You have taken property that does not belong to you.
Those slaves belong to the Governor.
Please...
tell the Governor I will be happy to return his property, his...
...slaves.
Well, good.
I, I shall return at once and tell--
Only problem is...
I don't have any.
What?
I don't have any slaves.
What do you mean you don't have any slaves?
- You can't have sold... - I never had...
any slaves.
Look around.
Do you see any slaves here?
If you see any,
tell me.
And I will gladly return them to the Governor.
Go on!
Do you see any slaves here?
Tell the Governor there are no slaves here...
in my kingdom.
Kindly escort our guests to the road safely.
It's almost dark.
We wouldn't want you getting lost.
Becoming somebody else's property.
Would we?
We both know that the Governor will not be pleased.
So be it.
This is the first time in decades
in which Ndongo has the upper hand against the Portuguese,
in which Ndongo is a force to be reckoned with.
The Portuguese were terrified.
It's detrimental to the Portuguese Empire as a whole.
It's not only about their conquest of Ndongo.
It's really about their colonial possessions in Brazil,
which at this time,
is one of the wealthiest colonies in the world.
And they need enslaved laborers to grow sugar, white gold,
one of the most lucrative commodities that existed in the 17th century.
But now, in what could really be a huge blow for Portuguese slave traders,
Njinga is not just winning over enslaved people,
she's also bringing the noble class called sobas, on side.
The Portuguese use political violence
in order to create alliances
and to make people afraid to cross them.
They relied on sobas, African allies, to deliver enslaved people
and because of Njinga's resistance to Portuguese rule,
sobas were increasingly denying that tribute to the Portuguese.
We do not have any tributes.
The Soba continue to flock to Njinga in droves.
At this rate, we won't have any slaves to speak of.
By rights...
that savage...
should be in the bowels of a slave ship on her way to Salvador
along with her miserable compatriots,
that thieving whore!
Njinga has no idea what's coming for her.
We will unleash the wrath of Portugal on that pagan female
until she has nowhere left to hide
on this miserable, godforsaken corner of the earth!
Whatever it takes.
Njinga is such a danger
to the prospect of the Portuguese in the region
that they decided to get rid, right, of the problem
that Njinga was, once and for all.
She's basically public enemy number one.
This is the moment that Governor Fernão de Sousa
gains authorization from the Catholic Church
to launch this "just holy war" against her.
Gentlemen, the forest is full of savages.
Our prize is near.
I want you coming in from the west...
and the rest of you, following me from behind.
Today we take our prize, boys.
The Portuguese begin a bloody military campaign against Njinga.
Over a period of two months, they eat into her territory
and eventually surround her stronghold in the Kindonga Islands.
They're overpowering us.
Retreat!
Fall back to the bushes now!
The Portuguese are relentless.
She thinks she can outwait them but she really can't.
The Portuguese firepower is too much for Njinga.
She loses many of her warriors.
The threat for Njinga and her people is annihilation,
you know, complete destruction.
From a jungle hideout in the Kindonga Islands,
Njinga knows the odds of winning are stacked against her.
She must decide whether to stay and fight or retreat and rebuild.
De Sousa has increased his armies.
There's even talk of a reward for...
Baskets of hands,
noses, and heads of my subjects.
And for you too, my Queen.
This response of this magnitude
means that you are a formidable adversary.
Their actions are speaking louder than their words.
And what are they saying?
That they're bloodthirsty,
greedy, cruel murderers?
They are saying that you are Queen.
Legitimate, powerful, loved.
Too dangerous to live.
Isn't that what you wanted?
For them to know and acknowledge who you are?
Well...
you have your wish.
What I have...
is an army that is sick,
depleted, and exhausted.
I know they will be loyal to the end.
But not like this.
Not when the Portuguese can sniff our weakness.
What do the ancestors say? Hmm?
They can't have brought us this far to fail.
We know from historical records,
she needs to retreat,
but she can't do that without losing face.
So she decides to consult the ancestors
and in particular, her dead brother.
Ngola Mbande.
You see more than we do.
Further than we can.
Guide us.
What does it say?
Shh. Patience.
Your brother says you have to be alive to fight, my daughter.
They say, "Live first, and fight another day."
We can't stay here.
If more soldiers are coming,
and the ancestors have agreed...
that we should retreat...
then we need to leave tonight.
Under the cover of dark, it's too dangerous to wait.
Wake them.
The ancestors have spoken.
Njinga uses her spirituality strategically
to demonstrate to the people of Ndongo known as Mbundu people
that ancestral knowledge and power
is informing her political and strategic decisions.
Njinga and her entourage flee and go on the run.
She makes the really difficult decision
to leave her beloved sisters behind in the Kindongo Islands
at the war camp for their own safety.
At this point, the Portuguese are taking over large parts
of Njinga's kingdom, Ndongo.
In order to protect her people,
she has to turn to diplomacy.
Who does this savage think he is?
In 1626, Njinga sends her Mwene Lumbo,
the highest official and highest diplomat to the Portuguese,
to try and affect a peace.
I thank you for the honor of granting this audience.
With your permission, permit me to introduce myself.
I am the Mwene Lumbo,
special envoy of her most excellent majesty,
Queen Njinga of Ndongo.
She sends her highest official
because this is an act of respect for her.
It's something that she hopes will bring the Portuguese
to the negotiation table.
Queen Njinga sends her warmest salutations
to your Excellency.
She has instructed me to note
that she will reopen access to markets...
in return for her rightful recognition as Queen.
We offer these tributes...
as a sign of goodwill from my queen.
With the promise of more,
should we reach a mutually agreeable solution.
Please show our guest...
what a mutually agreeable solution looks like.
They imprison the Mwene Lumbo
and later execute him in a public beheading.
But the Portuguese were not done yet.
The Portuguese will do anything
to ensure that she's not able to carry on with her mission.
So they have to find what weakness
could erode Njinga's power from within.
My Queen.
Speak! What happened?
The Portuguese destroyed Kilombo.
Many have lost their lives.
Funji, Kambu...
My sisters. What about my sisters?
They took them.
They what?
No.
No, no, please.
My ancestors, please.
No.
Please, no.
Her sisters are captured and taken prisoner
by the Portuguese,
as a bargaining chip.
Her sisters, these are two of the closest relationships in her life.
It's really terrifying.
They are taken by the Portuguese,
who have shown nothing but violent disregard
for many Ndongo leaders in the past.
Enough.
Get up, Njinga.
Your ancestors need you on your feet.
Yes.
That's it.
She's devastated,
and she has to think about what to do
and also, she must be aware of what will be asked of her
to get her sisters back.
We make camp here tonight.
Tomorrow, we leave for the Imbangala.
We are returning to Kasa?
No, Kasa's a boy. I'm going to Chief Kasanje.
My queen, is that wise?
- Kasanje is-- - He is not a man to be played with.
I have no choice.
He's the only man...
who can give me what I need...
to fight the Portuguese.
Are you willing to pay the price?
Yes.
You do not send a goat to fight a lion.
I want my sisters back.
I want the Portuguese off my land.
Every last one of them, gone!
Njinga is weakened after
her forces are depleted.
She needs to rebuild her power base.
She needs men, she needs an army,
and she wants someone who can help
to make sure that the Portuguese are no longer able to take another life
or another member of her family.
So with her back against the wall, she decides to take quite a drastic step,
trying to become ally with the Imbangala Captain Kasanje.
Kasanje is the most powerful leader of the Imbangala people.
Kasanje's power reaches far beyond that of any other Imbangala ruler.
He has an enormous power base of 80,000 troops
that Njinga knows she can tap into.
He is reputed to be incredibly violent, cannibalistic, and dangerous.
He's also a longtime enemy who attacked Ndongo seven years earlier.
At this point, Kasanje's Imbangala
have ambitions to abandon their nomadic lifestyle
to become a more settled group.
They both have something the other wants.
He has the fierce army she needs,
and Njinga knows how to build him a kingdom.
It's her last resort.
If she can get an alliance, she could consolidate power,
so that she becomes the greatest threat in the region.
You are your mother's daughter.
Meaning?
Do you think that was an easy task,
being with a powerful man like your father?
More powerful than this one here.
Call on her.
It is your mother's spirit that you need to be working with now, not your father's.
He may be a proud,
battle-hardened Imbangala...
but he is a man first.
Mm-hm.
So I will not meet him as a female king.
But as a queen.
Because I'm also a woman first.
For now.
I have come...
to seek refuge...
and an alliance...
with the only man in this kingdom
who is truly capable
of defeating the Portuguese.
The great Njinga...
seeks my protection from the Portuguese.
And in return, I shall fight loyally alongside you.
With what?
With...
heart.
And whatever resources
the great Chief Kasanje is willing to give me.
I have fought many times alongside the Imbangala.
I never disappoint.
You speak well.
- Thank you. - But your words...
are not enough to get into this camp.
What will it take?
I have two conditions.
First, you'll become my wife.
I'm the Lord of this Kilombo.
And there's only room for one lord, not two.
You'll not do to me what you did to Kasa.
And second?
Get rid of that.
I don't want to see it in your hand.
Your symbols of authority have no weight here.
Njinga has ritual objects,
like many kings in Africa.
I have a royal necklace.
I have a royal scepter.
Njinga has her belt, the lunga,
which represent her power
as being the female king.
Throw it away.
She knows that to strengthen her ranks
and get her sisters back,
she has to make certain sacrifices.
One of the strategies that she employs throughout her life
is she will acculturate,
take on aspects of cultures foreign to her in order to get what she wants.
And I think that's something that's very unique
about Njinga as a leader.
You said you wanted to fight,
to lead a contingent of my men.
Well, you can't do that without the title.
So I've decided to appoint you Queen Njinga.
Master of Arms and Great Warrior.
But...
But what?
- More conditions? - You know me very well.
We'll make a formidable couple.
What do you want from me, Kasanje?
Not just me.
We!
You must take the Blood Oath.
Prove you're truly one of us.
Do it now and everything I promised you is immediately yours.
She has to prove herself
as determined to become sincerely Imbangala.
She has to go through a set of ritual procedures.
She has to consume the blood of a human person.
That moment in the biography of Njinga
is the most debated in the historical records
and in the mythology of Njinga.
To what extent did she become an Imbangala cannibal?
Did she consume human flesh?
Did she perform human sacrifices?
The Portuguese sources,
they demonize the Imbangala as barbaric cannibals.
And the Portuguese
used this defamation campaign to discredit Njinga.
In my opinion,
there were no hearts being eaten by anyone.
Njinga didn't eat anyone's heart.
After becoming an Imbangala Captain,
Njinga turns her mind
and her energies to conquest.
What?
I want one more thing.
More?
Mm.
A base.
You want to talk about war right now?
Yes.
You already have a base.
Right here.
I want my own base.
Strong enough where I can plan and build...
and hit the Portuguese where it hurts them the most.
Why do I have a feeling you already know where?
I want Matamba as my base.
If I help you get what you want...
what do I get in return?
What do you want, Kasanje?
Hmm?
What can I possibly give the all-powerful Kasanje?
I want you.
- You already have me. - Your loyalty.
- You have-- - No, Njinga.
Listen.
You want to end the Portuguese?
I want my own kingdom.
A strong kingdom.
And I want...
To trust me?
- That I'll be... - Loyal.
Always.
Can I trust you?
Kasanje...
I'm the one lying naked in your bed.
I have nothing to hide.
Give me...
thousands...
of your strongest men.
I will give you a kingdom.
We have a deal.
My queen of Matamba.
The conquest of Matamba is essential for Njinga
strategically, politically, and militarily.
It sits right on the border of the Kingdom of Ndongo.
So it's from here that she can launch attacks
and really harass the Portuguese.
With Kasanje's men,
she begins her four-year-long conquest of Matamba.
And it's really there that she firmly establishes
her new territorial base.
Now, at the age of 53,
Njinga is leading a combined army
of thousands of Imbangala warriors and Mbundu soldiers.
She storms the kingdom and eventually, she gets to the capital,
which is where the Matamban Queen's quarters is located.
No!
We are not the Portuguese.
This is not how we treat royalty.
Even in defeat.
- I said--
Should we go to Kasanje and sort this out now?
Are you deaf?
Leave while you still have legs to walk on.
They can't harm you. Don't be afraid.
What about you?
Should we fear you?
You're banished.
But don't worry.
You'll be safe a while where I'm sending you.
You may even rule there on my behalf, but you can never come back here
without my permission.
Matamba is mine now.
Understood?
As you wish.
- My daughter and I will leave-- - Your daughter stays here.
What?
She's so young.
She... she still has so much to learn.
She won't be of any use to you.
I'll be the judge of that.
Don't worry.
As long as you go,
and do as your Queen bids...
she'll be safe.
Wait, wait, wait...
You have my word.
It isn't personal.
It has to be done.
You may leave now.
Please.
I said... leave.
I'm all she has.
Please. I'm all she has!
No!
Taking Muongo's daughter
would have been a tough but necessary choice for Njinga.
It would ensure that Muongo would never return to Matamba.
Now she is Queen of this kingdom.
Njinga has to make some very difficult choices
to make sure that she guarantees the freedom
and the sovereignty of her people.
Mm.
Njinga has made an amazing comeback.
She is now an Imbangala Captain, she's a feared warrior queen
who commands an army of around 100,000 strong,
but crucially, her sisters are still in the hands of the Portuguese.
I will save you soon, my sisters.