Nzinga used diplomacy, shifting alliances and military resistance to defend her authority against Portuguese expansion in what is now Angola. She ruled Ndongo and later Matamba, offering refuge to people escaping enslavement while also participating in the slave trade herself. That contradiction belongs in her story. Her political skill and persistence deserve attention, alongside the human cost of her decisions. Hers is a powerful life to study with curiosity and an honest understanding of its complexity.