Editing Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba (section)

=== War with the Portuguese ===
[[File:Nzinga Mbandi Queen of Ndongo and Matamba SEQ 01 Ecran 1.png|thumb|Modern representation of Nzinga Mbandi Queen of Ndongo and Matamba, preparing to confront Portugueses armies]]
Facing a Portuguese invasion, Nzinga gathered her army and withdrew to a group of islands in the Kwanza river. After a series of battles, she was defeated and forced to make a long march into eastern Ndongo; during the retreat, she was forced to abandon most of her followers, a strategy that greatly benefited her as the Portuguese were more interested in re-capturing slaves than in pursuing her army. The Portuguese soon suffered their own setback when Hari a Kiluanje died of smallpox, forcing them to replace him as king with Ngola Hari, another Ndongan nobleman.<ref name=":19">Heywood (2017) p. 82-88</ref> Ngola Hari proved to be an unpopular leader with the Ndongan people, who viewed him as a Portuguese puppet, while some ''sobas'' supported his rule. A divide soon formed inside the kingdom of Ndongo in which the common people and lesser nobles supported Nzinga, while many powerful nobles supported Ngola Hari and the Portuguese.<ref>Heywood (2017) p. 92, 96</ref>

In November 1627, Nzinga again attempted to negotiate with the Portuguese, sending a peace delegation and a gift of 400 slaves. She indicated that she was willing to become a vassal of the kingdom of Portugal and pay tribute if they supported her claim to the throne, but was adamant that she was the rightful heir to the throne of Ndongo. The Portuguese, however, rejected the offer, beheading her lead diplomat and issuing the counter demand that she retire from public life, renounce her claim to the kingdom of Ndongo, and submit to Ngola Hari as rightful king—these demands were within the diplomatic norm in Europe, but were utterly unacceptable to Nzinga.<ref name=":20">Heywood (2017) p. 93-98</ref> Faced with the Portuguese rebuke and the realization that many Ndongan nobles stood against her, Nzinga (as had her father and brother) slipped into depression, locking herself in a room for several weeks. She emerged, however, and within a month had begun a new campaign to rebuild her alliances in Ndongo.<ref name=":19" /><ref name=":20" />

While rebuilding her strength, Nzinga took advantage of Ngola Hari's political weakness, highlighting his lack of political experience. Ngola Hari was despised by both his nobles and his Portuguese allies, for while previous kings of Ndongo had all been warriors, the usurper Hari had no soldiers of his own and was forced to rely on Portuguese soldiers. Hari and the Portuguese launched a counter-propaganda campaign against Nzinga, hoping to use her gender as a means to delegitimize her strength,<ref name=":21">Heywood (2017) p. 98-104, 105–110</ref> but this backfired as she increasingly outmaneuvered Hari in Ndongan politics. In one notable incident, Nzinga sent Hari threatening letters and a collection of fetishes, challenging him to combat with her forces; the messages terrified Hari, who was forced to call on his Portuguese allies for support, thus greatly diminishing his own prestige while adding to Nzinga's reputation.<ref name=":21" /> However, she was still unable to directly face the Portuguese in battle, and was forced to retreat from the advancing Portuguese army. She suffered a series of military defeats, most notably in a Portuguese ambush that saw half of her army, most of her officials, and her two sisters captured, though she herself was able to escape. By late 1628, Nzinga's army had been greatly reduced (down to around 200 soldiers according to one source)<ref>Heywood (2017) p. 107</ref> and she had been effectively expelled from her kingdom.<ref name=":21" />