The Women Kings
After watching the inspirational and jaw dropping Woman King, earlier this month and is a heavy recommend from me, as I got shades of Marvel's 2018's Black Panther. Seeing so many African and African American actors on the big screen partaking in something crucial for women and people of colour across the world, the story itself gives me hints of serval books I have read especially when it some to the character of Nawi, her character has shades of Adunni and her resilience and Zélie and her determination both books I would highly recommend a read whenever you get the chance, but that's not what I would like to talk to you guys about, rather the inspiration to the movie, The Woman King;
Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba
Who was Queen Nzinga? She was born in 1583 to the king of the Ndongo people. At that time, they lived in Luanda. This was part of the region of Africa called Angola today. As a child, Nzinga proved to be intelligent and charismatic. The Kingdom of Ndongo, formerly known as Angola or Dongo, was an early-modern African state located in what is now Angola. Queen Nzinga (Nzinga Mbande), the monarch of the Mbundu people, was a resilient leader who fought against the Portuguese and their expanding slave trade in Central Africa.
In alliance with former rival states Nzinga led an army against the Portuguese, initiating a thirty year war. She achieved victory in 1647, aided by the Dutch, and encouraged rebellion within Ndongo, which was now governed through a puppet ruler.
Amina the Queen of Zaria Nigeria
Amina was born in the middle of the sixteenth century CE to King Nikatau, the 22nd ruler of Zazzau, and Queen Bakwa Turunku (r. 1536– c. 1566). She had a younger sister named Zaria for whom the modern city of Zaria (Kaduna State) was renamed by the British in the early twentieth century. Commonly known as the warrior queen, Queen Amina of Zaria was the first woman to become the Sarauniya (queen) in a male-dominated society. She expanded the territory of the Hausa people of north Africa to its largest borders in history. Queen Amina is a legend among the Hausa people for her military exploits. She controlled the trade routes in the region, erecting a network of commerce within the great earthen walls that surrounded Hausa cities within her dominion. According to the Kano Chronicle, she conquered as far as Nupe and Kwarafa, ruling for 34 years.
Kandake - the empress of Ethiopia
Kandake or Candace was regarded as one of the most dreaded war generals of her time. Historians said she was known to be a fierce, tactical and uniting military leader. Kandake (Candance) is the Ethiopian queen of the Alexander romances. The name was the hereditary title of the queen-mother of Meroë, capital of ancient Nubia, sometimes called Ethiopia. Classical writers used Candace as a personal name for the queen of Ethiopia. Kandake Amanirenas was a queen of the ancient African Kingdom of Kush who was best known for skillfully defending her kingdom against the armies of the Roman Empire.
Nefertiti - Queen of Ancient Kemet, Egypt
Nefertiti was an Egyptian Queen and the Great Royal Wife (chief consort) of Akhenaten, an Egyptian Pharaoh. With her husband, she reigned during what was arguably the wealthiest period of Ancient Egyptian history. Nefertiti was the principal wife of the pharaoh Amenhotep IV (later Akhenaten), and lived in the 14th century BC. Written records providing concrete historical facts about her origins, her marriage, her family life, political status and death are scarce. The surviving images and texts are important sources of information, but allow for various interpretations. For this reason, there is a great deal of conjecture and various theories about Nefertiti’s life, but hardly any reliable knowledge.
Dahomey Amazons
The Dahomey Amazons (Fon: Agojie, Agoji, Mino, or Minon) were a Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey which existed from the 1600s until 1904. They are one of the few documented female armies in modern history. The Dahomey Amazons were not allowed to have children or partake in any form of family life, as they were formally married to the King. As he didn't have sexual relations with them, as a result, they remained celibate, although very few were given off in marriage to respected dignitaries of the kingdom. The Kingdom of Dahomey was an important regional power that had an organized domestic economy built on conquest and slave labor, significant international trade and diplomatic relations with Europeans, a centralized administration, taxation systems, and an organized military.Despite the compliments given to them by the Europeans, the Amazons were decisively crushed, with several hundred Dahomey troops being gunned down while reportedly 129 Dahomey were killed in melee combat within the French lines.