Nzinga was born to Nzinga a Mbande Ngola Kiluaje and Guenguela Cakombe around 1583. She lived during a period when the Atlantic slave trade and the consolidation of power by the Portuguese in the region were growing rapidly. Nzinga first appears in the historical record as the envoy of her brother, the Ngola Ngoli Bbondi, at a peace conference with the Portuguese governor in Luanda. After years of Portuguese incursions to capture slaves and intermittent bloody battles, Nzinga was able to negotiate a fair treaty of equal terms. Nzinga converted to Christianity to strengthen the treaty and adopted the name, Dona Anna de Souza. Unfortunately the Portuguese broke the treaty.

Upon learning of the breach, Nzinga asked her brother to intercede and fight back the Portuguese invasion. After he refused, she personally formed an alliance with the Jaga people by marrying their chief, and subsequently conquered the Matamba Kingdom. She gained notoriety during the war for personally leading her troops into and forbade her subjects to call her “Queen,” preferring to be addressed as “King.” The Jaga eventually betrayed her, but she was able to form an alliance with the Dutch until they were defeated by the Portuguese at Luanda. After the defeat of the Dutch, Nzinga retreated to Matamba and continued to resist Portugal. She was able to form a further coalition in 1635 with the kingdoms of Kongo, Kassanje, Dembos, and Kissama. She resisted Portugal for thirty more years, continuing to lead troops into battle well beyond her sixties.

She fought the Portuguese until finally, in 1659, weary from the long struggle, Nzinga signed a peace treaty with them. After the wars with Portugal ended, she attempted to reconstruct her nation that had been seriously damaged by years of conflict. She devoted her efforts to resettling former slaves and developing an economy that did not depend upon the slave trade.