Ndongo and Matamba · 1622-1663

Queen Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba

For four decades Queen Njinga fought, negotiated and made alliances to keep her people free from Portuguese rule. Students follow one of the great leaders of African history and ask why she is remembered so differently.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1500 to AD 1650
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

For four decades Queen Njinga fought, negotiated and made alliances to keep her people free from Portuguese rule. Students follow one of the great leaders of African history and ask why she is remembered so differently.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Ndongo, Matamba, Luanda and the Kwanza river.
  • Describe three ways Njinga resisted Portuguese expansion: diplomacy, war and alliances.
  • Compare how Portuguese writers and Angolans today remember Njinga.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1500

Kingdoms of the interior

Open the map in 1500 and find the labels Congo and Ndongo. Which kingdom lies further south, along the Kwanza river?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1622

Coast and interior

Move to 1622 and zoom to the coast south of the mouth of the Congo river. Find the bay where the Portuguese town of Luanda stood. Njinga came here that year to negotiate.

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1650

An Atlantic war

Turn on Trade Routes and zoom out over the Atlantic. Ships also sailed straight from Luanda to Brazil. Why did the Dutch and Portuguese fight over Luanda in the 1640s?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. A famous story says Njinga was offered no chair at her meeting with the Portuguese governor, so a servant knelt to form a seat. What message did she send?
  2. Njinga became a Christian in Luanda in 1622, during her negotiations. How can religion be used in diplomacy?
  3. Njinga allied with the Dutch against the Portuguese. Why are alliances with outsiders risky?
  4. Portuguese writers described Njinga as cruel; Angolans today remember her as a hero. How can the same person be remembered so differently?
  5. Njinga ruled for about 40 years as a woman in a world of male rulers. What obstacles do you think she faced?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Elizabeth I, another woman who ruled in a world of kings. Then compare with Njinga, who ruled for about 40 years: how did each woman show her authority?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.