The king of Ngola (modern day Angola) had a sister named N’Zinga N’Bandi (1582–1663), or Mistress Ana de Souza, name of baptism in the
Catholic church), who served as the negotiator of treaties with the
Portuguese. She became queen in 1624 when her brother died, and assigned women important government offices. The Portuguese broke the peace agreement, so she led her largely female army against the invaders and built a strong
confederation with neighbor kingdoms to eradicate the Portuguese. She ruled until she died at the age of 81.