It allied itself with Matamba against the country in 1590 but was defeated in 1614. Now, Ndongo itself became a target for the slave trade, and its population fled in large numbers to neighbouring states.

Queen Njinga was the daughter of a deceased Ndongo ngola. At the request of Mbandi, the reigning ngola and her brother, she negotiated a peace treaty with the Portuguese. The treaty gave substantial trade and religious advantages to Portugal but delivered