Professor Linda M. Heywood’s New Book Received Excellent Reviews
One of the excellent reviews by Library Journal:
Njinga Mbande (1583-1663) ruled the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms in present-day Angola in the 17th century. Few people know about Queen Njinga, and the many who do see her as a savage and cruel leader. Heywood (African American studies & history, Boston Univ.; Central Africans and Cultural Transformations in the American Diaspora) portrays a different Njinga, a woman willing to do whatever it took to preserve her kingdom and her people. In order to withstand Portuguese rule, she utilized her contacts with Capuchin monks to pressure the Vatican to accept her leadership, married an Imbangala in order to build a force to fight her colonizers, and allied herself with the Dutch when necessary. Historically, various authors have demonized Njinga or downplayed the importance of her reign. Heywood, however, does a beautiful job of clearly depicting her subject and setting the context for her decisions. More than simply providing facts, the author humanizes Njinga, turning her into a sympathetic figure. In the end, it is clear that she is to be appreciated in both African and world history. Detailed notes complement the text, and a useful chart of the many people involved in this chronicle, helps to guide readers along. VERDICT A great book for any history buff. By taking up the mantle to write such a biography, Heywood ensures that Njinga will not be forgotten.-Sonnet Ireland, St. Tammany Parish P.L., Mandeville, LA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
A brief summary of her book NJINGA OF ANGOLA, by Linda M. Heywood (Harvard). Maintaining independence in the face of colonial encroachment, the seventeenth-century African queen Njinga fascinated Europeans. For Sade, she was an exotic “other,” a figure of insatiable sexual appetite and unspeakable savagery. Hegel saw her divergence from gender norms as proof of his claim that Africa was “outside of history.” More recently, anti-colonialists have celebrated her as the mother of the modern Angolan nation. This fine biography attempts to reconcile her political acumen with the human sacrifices, infanticide, and slave trading by which she consolidated and projected power. Converting to Christianity, welcoming missionaries, and relinquishing more than forty male concubines for monogamy emerge as expedient moves. The experiences of Njinga’s subjects—enslaved, sacrificed, or dragooned into endless wars—remain sadly unrecoverable.