Njinga: Fashionista Conqueror Who Drank Blood

Conqueror. Drinker of blood. 17th century fashionista. Queen Njinga of Ndongo-Matamaba displayed unmatched ferocity as she fought the slave-trading Portuguese for control of modern Angola. One of the few women war leaders who was unafraid to get her hands really dirty, she arranged a "Red Wedding" and led men and women through arrow storms and musket fire over ravines, rivers, and fortress walls. Using religion to meld a coalition of Catholics, cannibals and ancestor-worshiping pagans, she built an army of 80,000 men and drove the Portuguese conquistadors to the brink of ruin.  Actor Nathalie Emmanuel joins father-daughter history team Jon & Emily Jordan to tell the story of Queen Njinga of Ndongo-Matamaba. Find us on social: @warqueenspodcast Learn more about War Queens: diversionaudio.com/podcast/war-queens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Game of Thrones and Fast & Furious actor Nathalie Emmanuel presents: Every week father-daughter team Jon and Emily Jordan examine the incredible stories of history’s most powerful female battle leaders, the brilliant methods and maneuvers history’s "killer queens” used to defend themselves and their people from enemy forces—and both father and daughter find out something about each other and how each generation appreciates these incredible women. From ancient Persia to modern-day Britain, experience the daunting thresholds these exceptional women had to cross and the clever, sometimes violent ways in which they smashed obstacles in their paths. History’s killer queens come in all colors, ages, and leadership styles, and from countries and cultures around the world. Elizabeth Tudor and Golda Meir played the roles of high-stakes gamblers who studied maps with an unblinking, calculating eye. Angola’s Queen Njinga was willing to shed (and occasionally drink) blood to establish a stable kingdom in an Africa ravaged by the slave trade. Caterina Sforza defended her Italian holdings with cannon and scimitar, and Indira Gandhi launched a war to solve a refugee crisis.